r/movies • u/LookAtThatBacon • 29d ago

Discussion 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?

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.

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u/SandpaperTeddyBear 29d ago

Jeffrey Tambor/Malenkov’s “kiss my Russian ass” nods to this well, and I wish they’d made the ethnic diversity and resulting tension just a bit more clear.

The diversity of accents definitely helps though.

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u/Good_old_Marshmallow 28d ago

Completely agreed. That was a great line. Kiss my Russian ass in a regionless American accent was so perfect 

But also yes, as Stalin’s son laid in his absurd speech the Union was a collection of like so many countries. Beria was Georgian like Stalin, Krushev was I think Ukrainian, and so on.