Casting What-Ifs
Alec Baldwin as Vincent; Robert De Niro as Vincent; Frank Sinatra as Don Altobello; Joe Spinell as Willie Cicci
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:20Read transcript
- Alec Baldwin as Vincent seems true and may have been his before he dropped out, part of a strange late-80s run of decisions.
- Nicolas Cage, a family member, could have been good.
- From internet lists, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon and Val Kilmer are not believed; Charlie Sheen maybe; Vincent Spano makes sense; Billy Zane is listed; a Luke Perry audition is doubted; where they landed was right.
- De Niro wanting to play Vincent, with Pacino aged up, seems true; Coppola did think about it.
- Sinatra for Altobello is carried into the what-ifs alongside the names mentioned for Vincent.
- The actor who played Willie Cicci (transcribed "Joe Spinelli") was supposed to work for Zasa but died before the movie, so the character was written out.
- Paramount approached Sly Stallone, Scorsese, Cimino and Warren Beatty over the years; in the early 80s Stallone was to write and direct with John Travolta, and there is an internet rumor that Eisner took a run at the script.