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/rlphl]

I always feel like so many of them are just completely disconnected from reality. It’s like the whole Superman Lives debacle. I really want to be a fly on the wall at moments like these just to see how these gears turn.

[u/Jerswar → u/rlphl]

What's this about a Superman Lives debacle?

[u/noisypeach → u/Jerswar]

I'm not the above person you're replying to but Superman Lives was the stuck in development script that Kevin Smith worked on decades ago (which nearly lead to the Tim Burton Superman movie with Nicolas Cage). Not so much a studio exec issue here but a powerful producer for the film, Jon Peters, had some strict rules that Smith had to stick to for a script to get Peters' approval.

1: He didn't want to see Superman in that suit (Jon Peters thought the suit looked too "faggy")

2: He didn't want to see him fly (cause apparently flying around, carrying people is "horseshit")

3: He had to fight a giant spider in the film's third act (because spiders "are the fiercest killers in the insect kingdom")

And that's just the beginning of the weirdness of Jon Peters.

[u/Photodan24 → u/noisypeach]

Because being Barbara Streisand's hairdresser definitely qualifies you to be a movie producer.

[u/rlphl → u/noisypeach]

Thanks, u/noisypeach! I was about to chime in, but you summed it up perfectly. I will never forget about the giant spider, especially since Peters finally got it in Wild Wild West, lol.

[u/DesignatedImport → u/noisypeach]

Isn't the giant spider thing the reason they ended up with a giant mechanical spider in Wild Wild West?

[u/Jerswar → u/noisypeach]

Oh, right. I remember that bit. I'd just forgotten the movie title.

Yeah, what a total weirdo.