Go Back  DVD Talk Forum > Entertainment Discussions > Movie Talk
Reload this Page >

Actors/actresses signing on before getting the full script

Community
Search
Movie Talk A Discussion area for everything movie related including films In The Theaters

Actors/actresses signing on before getting the full script

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 01-23-15 | 10:07 PM
  #1  
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Special Edition
 
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,078
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Actors/actresses signing on before getting the full script

What are your thoughts on this?

I don't know how often it happens now, but I heard it was very common back in the day.
Old 01-23-15 | 10:11 PM
  #2  
Rypro 525's Avatar
DVD Talk Hero
 
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 28,263
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
From: a frikin hellhole
Re: Actors/actresses signing on before getting the full script

I'm sure it happens w actors wanting to work w certain directors
Old 01-23-15 | 10:12 PM
  #3  
Why So Blu?'s Avatar
DVD Talk Hero
 
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 40,427
Received 1,768 Likes on 1,345 Posts
From: Los Angeles
Re: Actors/actresses signing on before getting the full script

Depp/Burton
Old 01-24-15 | 12:01 AM
  #4  
hanshotfirst1138's Avatar
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
 
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 9,678
Likes: 0
Received 7 Likes on 7 Posts
From: Livonia MI
If someone offered me $10 million, maybe I could live with a crappy screenplay.
Old 01-24-15 | 05:46 AM
  #5  
Drexl's Avatar
DVD Talk Legend
 
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 16,077
Likes: 0
Received 16 Likes on 14 Posts
From: St. Louis, MO
Re: Actors/actresses signing on before getting the full script

It happens often with the sequels, or would-be sequels, to movies intended to be franchises. But that's a bit of a cheat because they generally will get to the see the script for the first film before signing.
Old 01-24-15 | 06:44 AM
  #6  
Jaymole's Avatar
DVD Talk Legend
 
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 11,109
Received 619 Likes on 358 Posts
From: N.Y, N.Y
Re: Actors/actresses signing on before getting the full script

Originally Posted by Rypro 525
I'm sure it happens w actors wanting to work w certain directors
Yes

I think all actors commit to a Woody Allen film before they see the script
Old 01-24-15 | 11:24 AM
  #7  
Defiant1's Avatar
DVD Talk Gold Edition
 
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,456
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Re: Actors/actresses signing on before getting the full script

Also Terrence Malick, Martin Scorcese, and directors of that ilk. Also applies to top secret projects like Star Wars

I remember seeing an interview with Laura Linney once, where she discussed her process of signing onto a project. The three key factors to her were the director, the script, and her co-stars. She said if 2 out of the 3 were solid, she would likely sign up too.
Old 01-24-15 | 12:57 PM
  #8  
Shannon Nutt's Avatar
DVD Talk Legend
 
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 18,591
Received 414 Likes on 310 Posts
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Re: Actors/actresses signing on before getting the full script

"We have a starting date...but we don't have a script. But what the hell, a lot of people have scripts that don't have a starting date." - DeForest Kelley paraphrasing Gene Roddenberry's comments about the upcoming STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE in the late 1970s.

I think Harrison Ford's THE FUGITIVE is an great example of a movie that shot while the script was still being written.
Old 01-24-15 | 01:33 PM
  #9  
hasslein's Avatar
DVD Talk Gold Edition
 
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 2,600
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
From: Sunny CA
Re: Actors/actresses signing on before getting the full script

Didn't Brad Pitt mention the same thing about Devil's Own? Called it irresponsible filmaking? And Hollywood Homicide was supposed to be a serious drama until Suge Knight showed up on set an demanded the film was to be a comedy, hmmm... common element?
Old 01-24-15 | 02:51 PM
  #10  
Banned
 
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 674
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Re: Actors/actresses signing on before getting the full script

To the Wonder never had a completed script, period, but an actor would have to be a full-fledged fool to turn down working with Terrence Malick.


--
Old 01-24-15 | 03:01 PM
  #11  
PhantomStranger's Avatar
DVD Talk Hero
 
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 29,316
Received 1,218 Likes on 1,017 Posts
From: The Phantom Zone
Re: Actors/actresses signing on before getting the full script

Most comedies don't have scripts, they have what are called treatments. Many comedies improv and ad-lib on set, which is why it's often very hard coming up with a funny sequel to a hit.
Old 01-25-15 | 06:22 PM
  #12  
Banned
 
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 21,580
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Re: Actors/actresses signing on before getting the full script

After a certain point in his career, it seems that Brando never looked at the script...either prior to or during shooting.
Old 01-26-15 | 05:25 AM
  #13  
Ash Ketchum's Avatar
DVD Talk Legend
 
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 13,275
Received 492 Likes on 364 Posts
Re: Actors/actresses signing on before getting the full script

Originally Posted by Jaymole
Yes

I think all actors commit to a Woody Allen film before they see the script
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. wouldn't commit to PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO without seeing a script first, so Allen gave the part to Van Johnson.

Originally Posted by EctoCooler
To the Wonder never had a completed script, period, but an actor would have to be a full-fledged fool to turn down working with Terrence Malick.
--
Christopher Plummer might argue that with you.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayli...e-malick-again

"I was put in all sorts of different spots and suddenly my character was not in the scene that I thought I was in, in the editing room. It was very strange. It completely unbalances everything. And a very emotional scene that I had suddenly became background noise," Plummer said about his experience, adding that afterward, he wrote him a letter. “I gave him shit. I’ll never work with him again.”

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.