Casting What-Ifs
Sandra Bullock as Karen Sisco; Barry Sonnenfeld as director; Danny DeVito or Garry Shandling as Ripley
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:47Read transcript
- Sandra Bullock was supposed to play Karen Sisko; a quote from the director says she and Clooney had great chemistry but for the wrong movie, not Elmore Leonard energy, so they landed on Lopez; the pair later made Gravity.
- The film was offered to Barry Sonafield first; he dropped out to do Men in Black, and his Get Shorty shows how different the tone would have been.
- Luck matters: a different director can make a movie great, and Eddie Murphy almost got fired from 48 Hours.
- Chemistry screen tests are explained as a last hurdle in couple-driven romantic comedies; rumor says Lopez's test was shot at Clooney's house, and TV shows sometimes rewrite when leads lack chemistry.
- Danny Davidow and Garris Shandling were considered for Ripley; Shandling as Ripley is an intriguing what-if, though he might have glanced at the camera and needed a different edge for the office scene.
- Shandling never found the right movie part; his Mike Nichols movie was a legendary disaster.