Casting What-Ifs
Sarah Jessica Parker turned down the Julia Roberts role for Sex and the City; Calista Flockhart reportedly turned down both roles; Drew Barrymore lost out to Cameron Diaz because Julia pushed for Diaz; Ed Burns turned down the Dermot Mulroney role
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:45:31Read transcript
- Sarah Jessica Parker turned down the Julia Roberts role because she was about to do Sex and the City; she was the first choice, which speaks to where Julia Roberts was at that moment.
- Julia's preceding run is read out as Dying Young, Hook, The Player, Pelican Brief, I Love Trouble, Ready to Wear, Something to Talk About, Mary Riley (as transcribed), Michael Collins and Everyone Says I Love You, a seven-year drought; Hook was a phenomenon nobody was happy with, and Pelican Brief is enjoyable but now feels 45 years old and slow, a solid cable movie.
- Calista Flockhart turning down both roles is read from IMDb trivia and doubted, dated to the peak first-year Ally McBeal era, which has not aged well; the Drew Barrymore item seems true: she lost out to Cameron Diaz because Julia really pushed for Diaz.
- Julia Roberts and Drew Barrymore have never been in a movie together, inviting speculation about an early-90s love triangle nobody knows about; one host has a lot of warmth toward Drew Barrymore.
- Billed as one of the great casting what-ifs the three have ever done: Ed Burns turned down the Dermot Mulroney lead role; the reaction is that it would be a way better movie, with one host needing a glass of water over Ed Burns and noting a husband's celebrity doppelganger is Ed Burns; he is called very handsome but too serious.
- Ed Burns would be more believable and an upgrade, clearly smarter than Dermot Mulroney; but if Michael is smart the whole house of cards collapses, since he is supposed to be confused while Julia and Cam carry the show, and Ed Burns would not put up with her and would stop the email; the counter is that every Ed Burns character is a moron, like the dumb cab driver in She's the One.
- Ed Burns is still married to Christy Tarlington (as transcribed), an iconic, inspiring couple, and it is a shame he skipped this movie because it would have been good for his career; one host is teased as a huge Ed Burns fan for whom he, rather than Michael B., may be the one.