Films that never materialized?

TCM has a good, recent documentary about this project. Lean worked on the script with playwright Christopher Hampton ("Dangerous Liasons"), who had proposed his own "Nostromo" to the BBC, and then his friend Robert Bolt.

Hampton is one of the main interviewees, as is French actor Georges Corraface, whom Lean wanted in the title role and who had to keep going to gyms all round the world for years to stay muscular for a film that was never made (and which the money men, just before Lean's death, in the end would never have allowed him to appear in - they insisted on a big American name).

You actually get to see some clips of Corraface's screentests, when he is playing off a then little known Alan Rickman.

The documentary shoots down some false information about the potential cast that floats around internet: Marlon Brando actually turned down a Lean invitation, and Lean rejected Isabella Rossellini.

The production sketches look amazing.

David Lean’s ‘Nostromo’: The Old Man and the Untold Tale of the Seaboard • Cinephilia & Beyond

 

Interesting story. Sort of film Brad Pitt would star in.

 

Film that was never made?

Great poster !!

 

I read of a movie based on murderous Western Swing bandleader Spade Cooley, called SHAME ON YOU. It had a star as Spade - who directed it - and a female co-star.

 

Obviously, couldn't Arnold as Sgt. Rock have been made an immigrant? Austrian, too - not German! So, good.

 

If I remember correctly, elements of the Cagliostro script were reused for The Mummy (also starring Karloff).

 

Chantilly Lace - the story of the Big Bopper (following La Bamba, the Ritchie Valens story in 1987, and The Buddy Holly Story, from 1978)
The Last Full Measure - would have been the third movie of the Michael Shaara/Jeff Shaara Civil War trilogy, following Gettysburg (1993) and Gods and Generals (2002)

 

I would have liked to see what Orson Welles could have done with “Heart of “Darkness”

 

Arnold has been talking about another Conan sequel for at least 30 years or better. He turned down one script they had for it, which then became Kull The Conqueror, with Kevin Sorbo. Finally, Universal pulled the plug on the idea in the last couple of years or so.

 

Liked Arnold in the last Terminator film.
Well he be back ?

 

Schwarzenegger
Sgt Rock ( missed opportunity).

Jeff Bridges
Beach Boys film ( JB as Brian Wilson ).

 

There were supposed to be 2 more Indiana Jones movies made during the 1990's when Harrison Ford was still in his prime. Instead, they putzed around for years with the script before we got Crystal Skull, and are doing it again with this supposed fifth installment.

 

A trailer exists, though, as the film never went into production, it's just stock footage (I'm assuming) and promotional footage of Welles.



Welles did adapt Conrad's novel for CBS radio, in 1938, which is as close as we can get.

 

Diamonds Are Forever... least with George Lazenby playing James Bond.

 

I remember reading that one proposal was "Indiana Jones in a haunted house" (or maybe a haunted castle) that would have spruced up the classic horror movies the same way Raiders reinvented the adventure serial. That, I would have liked to see.

 

Jewish Space Lasers!

 

Actually, we can get closer than that: the BBC did a radio adaptation of the Welles' 1940 'Heart of Darkness' screenplay a few years ago.

 

Not sure if its been mentioned already, but here's a really fun book on this topic: Tales From Development Hell

 

The same writer has the equally entertaining 'The Greatest Sci-fi Movies Never Made.'

 

I remember talk about a Hendrix biopic with Prince in the title role.

 

coming in May:
Product - ABRAMS

 

Do you think Arnold could have dropped his accent to play Sgt. Rock?

With the accent he has now, it'd be hard to tell if he was Sgt. Rock or an enemy who infiltrated the platoon...

 

Nicola Pagett has said one of the reasons she left the tv series “Upstairs, Downstairs “ after two seasons was there was a proposed movie that was not going to have her in it. In order to get American financing, they were planning to cast an American actress as a Bellamy cousin. The picture didn’t get made, Pagett has said she doesn’t know if a script was even written and anyways after two years she didn’t want to get typecast.