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Film credit
Mel Gibson
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 3
- Movies in this archive
- 3
Rewatchables episodes featuring their films
Displaying all 3 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
Casting What-Ifs
Unverified Jake candidates: Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Michael Douglas, Tom Hanks
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:59Read transcript
- Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Michael Douglas and Tom Hanks are reported Jake candidates, but the reliability is explicitly doubted.
Casting What-Ifs
Pfeiffer; uncertain Gibson/Swayze reports; Newman/Peck; Scott alternatives
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:04Read transcript
- Michelle Pfeiffer reportedly declined Susan; Young is preferred as more plausible in this particular social setting.
- Reports that Mel Gibson and Patrick Swayze declined Tom are explicitly treated as uncertain.
- Paul Newman and Gregory Peck are discussed as implausible Brice alternatives because of interest or age.
- Reported Scott alternatives include Gary Oldman, Stephen Lang, Alec Baldwin, Michael Biehn and James Spader; Oldman excites interest, Spader seems young, and Patton remains preferred.
Most Rewatchable Scene
First bookstore encounter
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:35Read transcript
- The first bookstore encounter combines flirtation with the shoplifter, Rufus autograph and Anna’s abrasive comic manner.
- The Horse and Hound press junket is nominated.
- Honey’s birthday dinner and the contest over who most deserves the brownie are nominated.
- Dinner-party matchmaking without Anna, including Emily Mortimer, culminates in a touching, supportive conversation among friends.
- The couple’s day running lines and eating ice cream includes the Mel Gibson body-double joke; its isolation also foreshadows the press intrusion.
- The famous Just a Girl speech is acknowledged, although the earlier bookstore encounter is preferred.
- The final press conference is nominated alongside the dinner party and earlier junket.
- The junket’s pace, restraint and shifts between public and private Anna reveal the character; its media mechanics feel accurate and Mischa Barton appears.
- One initial choice is the junket, but the final exchange agrees on the first bookstore encounter for its tone, coarseness and one-liners.
Casting What-Ifs
Nick Nolte declined Peck; the extensive other-candidate list is treated skeptically.
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:23Read transcript
- Nick Nolte reportedly declined Dennis Peck for Another 48 Hrs.; Gere is considered essential despite a long and questionable list of other purported candidates.
- The untrusted candidate list includes Alec Baldwin, Tom Berenger, Jeff Bridges, Pierce Brosnan, Kevin Costner, Willem Dafoe, De Niro, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Jeff Goldblum, Ed Harris, William Hurt, Don Johnson, Tommy Lee Jones, Michael Keaton, Nolte, Pacino, Christopher Reeve, Kurt Russell and Schwarzenegger.
Casting What-Ifs
Gibson; Wright; Kidman; Kensit; Hurley; Grant; Cleese; Connery; disputed Elwes and Depp reports
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:03Read transcript
- Mel Gibson reportedly declined Robin after Hamlet.
- Robin Wright reportedly withdrew from Marian because of pregnancy and was replaced by Mastrantonio.
- Nicole Kidman is a reported Marian possibility.
- Patsy Kensit is a reported Marian possibility.
- Elizabeth Hurley is a reported Marian possibility.
- Richard E. Grant reportedly could not play the sheriff because of Hudson Hawk.
- The claim that Cary Elwes declined Robin is explicitly doubted.
- The claim that Johnny Depp declined Will Scarlet is explicitly doubted, though he is imagined as a better choice.
- John Cleese was reportedly proposed as King Richard before Costner pushed for Connery, whose fee was described as reduced to a charitable donation.
What’s Aged the Worst?
Luis; Nirvana’s absence; dated communications; Bobby Van; Gibson reference; intrusive gestures
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:33Read transcript
- The same romantic gestures could now feel frightening or intrusive: drunken possessiveness, a boombox outside a window and appearing at someone’s workplace are criticized.
- Post-club newsstand visits and the fear surrounding casual sex feel historically remote.
- Video dating looks obsolete but can also be read as a precursor to Tinder rather than wholly dated.
- Answering machines, broken machines and overheard live messages are dated plot mechanisms, with Swingers invoked as a later example.
- Luis’s elaborate romance deception is condemned as predatory and bizarre, especially pretending to leave for Spain while remaining nearby.
- The Bobby Van reference now requires explanation as a Make Me Laugh host.
- Nirvana’s absence is regretted; Crowe wanted Imodium, but the band publicly rejected appearing in a Seattle love story or rock movie.
- Linda’s ideal combining Holden Caulfield and Mel Gibson now carries baggage because of Gibson’s later conduct.
- The fax machine is dated, prompting an uncertain discussion of when faxing faded from ordinary use.
Casting What-Ifs
Ford; Gibson; disputed Miller alternative; Norton; Brooks; Thornton; disputed Madsen; Schweiger; Bay
In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:39Read transcript
- Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson are recalled as rumored alternatives for Miller; Gibson’s Australian identity makes him harder to picture.
- Ford is considered plausible and naturally suited to Miller’s guarded command style, but likely to give a grouchier performance.
- Ford is doubted as an equivalent for Hanks in the teacher speech because Hanks supplies unusual empathy and handles extended speeches naturally.
- Michael Bay is said to have declined an approach to direct; Pearl Harbor is used to imagine the likely result.
- Ford and Gibson are repeated as Miller alternatives; another proposed actor’s name is unclear in the transcript and the claim is explicitly doubted.
- Norton is said to have declined Private Ryan because of American History X.
- Garth Brooks is said to have briefly been considered for the sniper.
- Thornton is discussed as a possible Horvath who did not want to film the water scenes; the claim is treated as plausible rather than established.
- Madsen is said to have been offered Horvath and recommended Sizemore, but the account is explicitly doubted.
- Schweiger is said to have declined the prisoner role to avoid typecasting; his inability to seem goofy is discussed.
Recasting Couch
Morgan Freeman as Clubber’s trainer; Kevin Harlan as announcer; young Mel Gibson as the rabbi (jokingly)
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:53Read transcript
- Morgan Freeman is proposed as Clubber’s trainer despite the need to deliver instructions quickly.
- Kevin Harlan is proposed for the second fight’s play-by-play.
- A young Mel Gibson is jokingly proposed as the rabbi at Mickey’s funeral.
Casting What-Ifs
Batman contenders; Joker alternatives; Vicki Vale recasting; Grissom refusal; Adam West
In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:10Read transcript
- Casting what-ifs are deferred past the break; the film is said to have as many as any of the 226 editions, rivaling The Godfather.
- Nearly every 1980s star was reportedly considered for Batman, including Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, Charlie Sheen, Tom Selleck, Bill Murray, Harrison Ford, and one further name garbled in the transcript, with uncertainty over what is real.
- Pierce Brosnan reportedly met Burton but did not want to play a comic-book hero.
- Bill Murray, with Ivan Reitman directing, was earlier buzz that Peters favored for years; the hosts are glad it did not happen. An Eddie Murphy as Robin rumor is doubted.
- Damon Wayans, met by chance, reportedly denied the research claim that he and Bruce Willis feuded on The Last Boy Scout, illustrating the unreliability of casting research.
- Nicholson was reportedly the studio’s top Joker choice since 1980, and Willem Dafoe reportedly stated in 2009 he had been in talks.
- Robin Williams was reportedly offered the Joker to pressure Nicholson, released once Nicholson agreed, and then refused Warner roles such as the Riddler without an apology; the apology detail is doubted.
- Dead Poets Society was 1989’s third-biggest film; swapping Nicholson and Williams would make both films worse, and “he stole my balloons” is called a favorite line.
- Nicholson’s reported conditions included top billing, a share of earnings including merchandise, capped work hours, and no work on Lakers home playoff games; his fee dropped from $11 million to $6 million, but he may have made $90 million.
- Martin Landau reportedly turned down Carl Grissom for Crimes and Misdemeanors, and Jack Palance in that role is imagined as bad.
- Sean Young was cast as Vicki Vale and replaced after a horse-riding injury; the Knox actor later claimed she sabotaged a read-through, which is doubted. Her Catwoman costume audition for Batman Returns is recalled.
- The Knox actor also claimed Keaton blocked Peters’ choice of Michelle Pfeiffer because they had dated, which is doubted since she is in the sequel.
- Adam West was publicly disappointed not to be asked to reprise Batman.
In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:31:04Read transcript
- Stone is said to have sent the script to Costner, Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford.
- Gibson is argued as a great, wild-eyed Garrison who would better represent Stone's mind, and who later made Conspiracy Theory; another questions casting an Australian.
- Harrison Ford doesn't make sense but is a big what-if, with a wish he had more movies like this.
- Don Johnson tried hard for Garrison and has post-Miami Vice appeal, but doesn't read smart enough to be the district attorney.
- Jeff Bridges would have been amazing; 'Hank' (as transcribed) might work but may be two years too young and too aw-shucks.
- Will Patton is suggested as David Ferry; Stone wanted James Woods, but Woods wanted to play Garrison.
- Frank Whaley was going to be Oswald, and after the part went to Oldman he was made the imposter.
- Willem DeFoe (as transcribed) and John Malkovich turned down the Ferry role; Malkovich in the red wig would have been mind-boggling.
- Stone considered Marlon Brando for Mr. X, joked to need SNL monologue-style cue cards.
- Origin: Stone met Warner Brothers about a Howard Hughes film, but Warren Beatty had the rights, so JFK was the backup pitch; jokes follow about carrying three pitches and a Doug Collins 1972 Olympics pitch.
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:20:21Read transcript
- It's got to be Mel, with agreement and one last 'Mel!'
Podcast choices
- Speaker not identified
- Mel Gibson
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:50Read transcript
- Mel dials it up a few times; the 'give me back my son' scene is 19 out of 10, meant as praise.
- Leav Schreiber gets an honorable mention for being one note; he is judged not good in this movie and his character is hard to read.
Displaying discussions 1 - 12 of 26 in total
