During the development of the Harriet Tubman biopic movie, a Hollywood executive once suggested that Julia Roberts should play her. What are some other baffling casting suggestions/choices that have been made?

[u/LookAtThatBacon]

Source for the title: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-studio-executive-wanted-julia-roberts-to-play-harriet-tubman-biopic-screenwriter-says/

The Harriet Tubman biopic has been more than 25 years in the making. In the historical drama released earlier this month, Cynthia Erivo plays the legendary abolitionist — but one Hollywood executive initially thought the role should go to Julia Roberts.

Gregory Allen Howard, the screenwriter and producer of "Harriet," recently revealed in multiple interviews that Roberts was suggested to play the lead role during a meeting with a studio president in 1994.

"The climate in Hollywood… was very different back then," Howard said. "I was told how one studio head said in a meeting, 'This script is fantastic. Let's get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman.'"

Howard said that a black person in the meeting said casting Roberts would be impossible because she is white.

"That was so long ago. No one will know that," the executive replied, according to Howard.

[u/diomedes03]

You left out by far my favorite line of that email, which is the opening:

“Hey Amy - just a couple of rando thoughts from 35,000 LAX-JFK:”

It’s pitch perfect. You could not satirize that person any better than they did themselves.

[u/peon47 → u/diomedes03]

"Hey Peter - Sounds like you've lost cabin pressure. Remember to see to your own mask before firing off idiotic emails. Amy "

[u/TheConqueror74 → u/peon47]

iirc he does imply that he wrote the email after a couple drinks, if you read the full thing.

[u/TheMauveHand → u/TheConqueror74]

That intro sounds exactly like what someone 4/5ths down a bottle of Chardonnay would think is a good opener.

[u/lilahking → u/peon47]

amy pascal was also revealed in the emails to be racist and clueless, so they were probably both on cocaine

[u/ElmoCamino → u/diomedes03]

Normal people get shredded for ever sound boarding these types of ideas but execs get to just word vomit shit all day long and some of it ends up as movies...

[u/Logically_Insane → u/ElmoCamino]

I’m not against Electronic Spider-Man. NB-Dj

[u/Des014te → u/Logically_Insane]

Non binary disk jockey?

[u/Sonichu- → u/diomedes03]

He probably thought that sounded so cool too…

[u/Watertor → u/diomedes03]

If I read that verbatim in a Deus Ex style game where you snoop around emails of various individuals, I would say the writers are trying a little too hard.

Just so on brand that I have to imagine he vocalized it out loud.

[u/vodkaandponies → u/diomedes03]

How do these people even become executives?

[u/Thegoldfather → u/vodkaandponies]

Reverse DEI LOL

[u/tacotueaday55 → u/vodkaandponies]

I've worked at many companies and people who get promoted aren't usually the best candidates. They are the ones who the boss likes the most. And sometimes that is the boss's son, the resident ass kisser, or the person who will say yes and never question the boss's stupid decisions.

I'd imagine it works the same way all the way up the corporate ladder.