Iconic movie roles originally offered to someone else

[VALuvsMKwan]

I think the only really crappy part of about the dubbing controversy was that Audrey took the role with the idea that she'd be singing all of the songs "with help" for the high notes, and then as she was filming scenes, they led her to believe that was what was going to happen as she already filmed some musical numbers lip synching to her own sung tracks (the fact they had her sing the score also made her believe they intended to use it in the actual film), and she only found out they were going to replace almost all of her singing with Marni Nixon in a roundabout way during filming was what got her. She actually stormed off set when she found out, but then came back the next day and apologized for her behavior and continued shooting without further problems. I think had she just been told from the beginning they were going to dub her nearly completely, she would have been disappointed but understood. The fact they tried to trick her and not tell her was what got her. It really is disrespectful.

I think had they told her from the beginning, she, Marni and George Cuckor (or the Andre Previn who supervised the score adaptation) could have worked together to blend the voices better and create the singing character much in the way Deborah Kerr did when Marni Nixon dubbed for her for The King and I, which really was one of the best dubbing jobs ever. Nixon really sounded like Kerr and Kerr and Nixon worked together to come up with how "Anna" was going to sing those songs for the movie version.

It's Cukor, but thank you for mentioning him (as he finally won the Best Director Oscar for MFL).

When the restored version of MFL was released on home video, part of the special features were "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and "Show Me' with Audrey's vocals laid in. "Loverly" would have made so much more sense with Audrey's "pre-Lady" voice - it is much more expressive of emotions and of "flahr gurl" Eliza than Marni Nixon's, to me at least. The last few notes which were set much higher than the rest of the melody would have still probably required dubbing.

I would have left the dubbed-by-Marni midsection of "Just You Wait" with Audrey's voice as well - it's a fantasy sequence in the movie, and what they let her try to sing before Marni's dubbing (the King was given a lot of Eliza's vocal which would have been higher than she comfortably could have sung) was in keeping with Eliza's imagining herself to be "proper and prim".

"Show Me" would have been fine with Audrey's voice as well, again with its vocal line until the very last note being in Audrey's range. The revoiced track with Audrey's vocal has the extended "Noooowww!" an octave lower that what Marni Nixon (and Julie on Broadway and cast album) sang.

"Without You" and "The Rain in Spain" and "I Could Have Danced All Night" were legitimately out of Audrey's comfort range. I have seen "Without You" with her vocals, and that is one place I wish that a collaboration between Audrey and Marni could have been in place because while part of Audrey's higher vocals were rather "tooty" and not full, her last line of "I can do BLOODY WELL" outclassed Marni's to me.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

After reading The Hunger Games books, I thought the casting of the two male leads should have been switched. Liam Hemsworth should have played Peeta and Josh Hutcherson should have played Gale.

I actually would have preferred anyone over Josh Hutcherson. Liam Hemsworth did do a good job as Gale. Josh just did not do Peeta justice. My sisters only saw the movie and couldn't figure out why Katniss would like him over Gale. I told them they would have to read the book to understand.

 

[VGThuy]

It's Cukor, but thank you for mentioning him (as he finally won the Best Director Oscar for MFL).

When the restored version of MFL was released on home video, part of the special features were "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and "Show Me' with Audrey's vocals laid in. "Loverly" would have made so much more sense with Audrey's "pre-Lady" voice - it is much more expressive of emotions and of "flahr gurl" Eliza than Marni Nixon's, to me at least. The last few notes which were set much higher than the rest of the melody would have still probably required dubbing.

I would have left the dubbed-by-Marni midsection of "Just You Wait" with Audrey's voice as well - it's a fantasy sequence in the movie, and what they let her try to sing before Marni's dubbing (the King was given a lot of Eliza's vocal which would have been higher than she comfortably could have sung) was in keeping with Eliza's imagining herself to be "proper and prim".

"Show Me" would have been fine with Audrey's voice as well, again with its vocal line until the very last note being in Audrey's range. The revoiced track with Audrey's vocal has the extended "Noooowww!" an octave lower that what Marni Nixon (and Julie on Broadway and cast album) sang.

"Without You" and "The Rain in Spain" and "I Could Have Danced All Night" were legitimately out of Audrey's comfort range. I have seen "Without You" with her vocals, and that is one place I wish that a collaboration between Audrey and Marni could have been in place because while part of Audrey's higher vocals were rather "tooty" and not full, her last line of "I can do BLOODY WELL" outclassed Marni's to me.

Man, imagine what Eliza's voice could have been if they just told Audrey from the get-go that Marni was dubbing her but encouraged them to work together to blend their voices to create THE movie Eliza voice. I bet it would be so much better than the final product even though I LOVE Marni's version of the songs. I just think it's jarring to hear it come out of Audrey's mouth since it doesn't match her speaking and singing voice. Compare to Kerr in The King and I and it's night-and-day. Nixon and Kerr were able to make the singing voice sound exactly like Kerr's speaking voice or at least you believe that's how Kerr would sound if she could have sung Anna by herself.

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

Man, imagine what Eliza's voice could have been if they just told Audrey from the get-go that Marni was dubbing her but encouraged them to work together to blend their voices to create THE movie Eliza voice. I bet it would be so much better than the final product even though I LOVE Marni's version of the songs. I just think it's jarring to hear it come out of Audrey's mouth since it doesn't match her speaking and singing voice. Compare to Kerr in The King and I and it's night-and-day. Nixon and Kerr were able to make the singing voice sound exactly like Kerr's speaking voice or at least you believe that's how Kerr would sound if she could have sung Anna by herself.

Try to find on YouTube, if you have not already, the song (which did not appear in the finished film of "The King and I") "Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?". They were trading WORDS in lines - it is truly amazing what they and the music editors achieved in that track, which I believe did appear on the film soundtrack album (certainly in more recently issued versions).

 

[Vagabond]

I guess the movie executives didn't want him to play Michael Corleone in "The Godfather" because of his short stature and were opting for Robert Redford, Ryan O'Neal, Jack Nicholson and even "Sonny" (James Caan) read for Michael. But Coppola wanted him and stuck to his guns.

Robert Redford as Michael Corleone?!

?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y64beE5yos



Oh, yeah! He would have fit right in!

 

[taf2002]

Al Pacino was already a major star, but Han Solo was Harrison Ford's breakout role. I wonder what would have happened to Ford if Pacino had said yes. Maybe George Lucas, who had already used Ford, would have given him a different part in a sequel to Star Wars, but then again, maybe Ford would have kept on with carpentry.

For me American Graffiti was his breakout role. But I know what you mean. Star Wars made huge stars of him, Carrie, Mark, & Billy Dee. I still haven't gotten tired of that trilogy.

After reading The Hunger Games books, I thought the casting of the two male leads should have been switched. Liam Hemsworth should have played Peeta and Josh Hutcherson should have played Gale.

If Liam had played Peeta he would not have been perceived as the underdog to Gale. Physically Liam is the more obvious choice. And I don't think Liam could have pulled off the decentness of Peeta not that Liam is not a nice person. But Peeta could have never devised the plan that got Prim killed. It wouldn't have been believable coming from Josh.

 

[Jay42]

One thing I know is that Audrey Hepburn took extensive singing lessons thinking she'd get to sing in MFL but then was told that her voice would be dubbed.

Julie Andrew has said many times she doesn't hold it against Audrey and thinks that Audrey Hepburn was a great person.

I know Julie Andrews has told the story a few times about how Audrey Hepburn told the president of Paramount Pictures that they'd remove Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany's over her dead body. Julie Andrews late husband, Blake Edwards, was the director.

 

[kwanfan1818]

r Plays do this all the time, I don't see why TV or movie roles are any different.

They re-cast roles in soap operas quite a bit, and not just when a character goes from being 4-year-old to a teenager over summer vacation, or a long-gone character reappears after amnesia and plastic surgery . Just a few examples on Another World: Victoria Wyndham followed Robin Strasser (who went on to play Dorian Lord on One Life to Live) as Rachel Cory, Ellen Wheeler, then Anne Heche played twins Marley and Vicky, and later Jensen Buchanan played Vicky*, with Marley's character written out, and Kyra Sedgewick, then Faith Ford, I think when Sedgewick left for college, played Julia Shearer, romance writer Felicia Gallant's young intern/assistant.

* When the characters moved to another soap, Buchanan played Vicky and Wheeler returned to play Marley.

 

[Cachoo]

I LOVED Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany in "Silver Linings Playbook" and apparently it was offered to Anne Hathaway first. Glad she turned it down....