Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Take the "Did You Know" Quiz!


HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:   Did we ever figure out yesterday who we thought should play Lady Georgie in the movies? I know in TRUST ME, my Mercer Hennessey is Tea Leoni and in fact, have a photo of her on my bulletin board to inspire me.

But the role of Caitlin Strong, the iconic, smart, savvy and intrepid heroine of Jon Land’s novels—who should play her?  You know Jon Land right? He’s a Jungle Red hero himself, a dear pal and a brilliant writer and an unstoppable force. And such an imagination! (If you ever have the chance to take a class from him—do it! He’s life-changingly wonderful.)

Anyway, he’s been thinking about who ‘d be a good screen Caitlin—since his tenth (!) Strong novel is about to grace bookstore shelves everywhere. But you know Jon—he’s not only thinking about casting--he has some wonderful stories about it. And—a quiz!


Let’s Play DID YOU KNOW


         So who do you think should play Caitlin Strong in my dreamed-of television series or film? Chances are whoever producers really want for the role either won’t take it or end up eing replaced before shooting actually begins. Why do I feel that way? Look no further than some of the examples detailed below and presented here to commemorate the publication of the tenth book in the Caitlin Strong series, STRONG AS STEEL, on April 23.       

         DID YOU KNOW, for example, that the original choice to play Harry Callahan in the modern cop classic Dirty Harry wasn’t Clint Eastwood; it was Frank Sinatra! Upon reading the script, though, Old Blue Eyes wanted no part of such a violent film. The studio turned to Eastwood who ordered a major rewrite by the era’s top screenwriter John Milius. And Milius’ polish added virtually all of the film’s signature lines including, “Do you feel lucky? Well do you, punk?” And a star was born.

         Speaking of Frank Sinatra, DID YOU KNOW that he was also offered the role of John McClane in Die Hard. Not because the studio actually wanted him, but because they had no choice. See, Sinatra had purchased the rights to The Detective, a Roderick Thorpe novel which he produced as a film and played the hero Joe Leland. Well, as it turns out Die Hard was actually written by Thorpe under the title Nothing Lasts Forever as a sequel to The Detective. Because it also featured Joe Leland and Sinatra technically owned the rights to the character, he had to be offered the role. Sinatra, of course, declined, setting the stage for another star to be born in Bruce Willis.

         But DID YOU KNOW that Willis wasn’t the first choice for John McClane? Far from it, in fact. Kurt Russell was reportedly the studio’s pick, but he passed. So did Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Burt Reynolds and Richard Gere—all stars at the time who couldn’t imagine how an action movie set entirely inside a building could possibly succeed. Well, not only did it succeed, it redefined the action film forever and established an entirely new form in the process. How many times, after all, have you heard a film described as “Die Hard in a blank?”

         DID YOU KNOW that Paramount wanted no part of Al Pacino as Michael in The Godfather? Not only that, execs were so determined to fire him that director Francis Ford Coppola shot the famed restaurant scene out of sequence to prove Pacino was a star in the making. Case closed! Who was the studio’s original first choice to play Michael? In a 2004 interview with Movieline, Jack Nicholson said he turned down the role. “Back then I believed that Indians should play Indians and Italians should play Italians,” Nicholson said in the interview. “There were a lot of actors who could have played Michael, myself included, but Al Pacino was Michael Corleone. I can’t think of a better compliment to pay him.”

         DID YOU KNOW Paramount wanted no part of Marlon Brando either. The first name they raised to play Vito Corleone was John Marley who was coming off Love Story which had been the #1 movie of 1970. Marley, of course, went on to play film producer Jack Woltz and became famous for finding a horse’s head in his bed.

         Speaking of hit films, there are few with more tumultuous shooting timelines than Jaws. During all that downtime brought on by lousy weather and a broken mechanical shark, Steven Spielberg pondered why the shark hunter played by Robert Shaw hates sharks so much. It wasn’t in the book and neither author Peter Benchley or screenwriter Carl Gottlieb had a clue. So Spielberg called back the great John Milius (just as Clint Eastwood had for Dirty Harry) who’d already written the famed fingernails on the blackboard Quint intro. But DID YOU KNOW that when Milius couldn’t nail the scene, none other than Robert Shaw stepped forward and asked for a chance? The scene was scheduled to shoot on the Orca set the next day and Shaw promised to come in with pages. Only he showed up drunk instead, having memorized the lines. Knowing he couldn’t use the footage, Spielberg only pretended to roll the cameras as Shaw launched into the now famous Indianapolis monologue. The crew listened, utterly mesmerized, and then the next day Shaw came in sober enough to nail the scene in one take! All without ever putting the words on paper.

         And, speaking of Jaws, DID YOU KNOW that to the day he died Roy Scheider claimed he ad-libbed the signature line, “You’re going to need a bigger boat.” Although no one else has ever definitively corroborated that, watching the scene today it does appear the line caught Robert Shaw by surprise. But plenty of his fellow actors have corroborated John Belushi’s assertion that was indeed a real bottle of Jack Daniels he chugged for a scene in Animal House.

         Similarly, Matthew McConaughey became famous for the first line he ever uttered on film: “All right, all right, all right,” in Richard Linkletter’s Dazed and Confused. But DID YOU KNOW he almost never got to deliver it? Reading for his first film role ever, McConaughey killed his audition, but Linkletter told him he was too good looking to play Wooderson, the town’s perpetually adolescent Lothario. So he came in to his callback with a white t-shirt and a comb over. McConaughey got the role but his father died just before filming was scheduled to start and Linkletter hated the notion of recasting the role. So he held it open as long as he could and, lo and behold, McConaughey returned to the set just in time. Linkletter was shooting the drive-in scene at the time and was so happy to see McConaughey back, he added him to the scene with instructions to ad-lib his lines, including “Love them redheads,” another of his most iconic ones.

         Since I’ve recently taken over the MURDER, SHE WROTE series, though, let me finish with the fact that did you know the great Angela Lansbury wasn’t the first choice to play Jessica Fletcher? It was Jean Stapleton, who famously played Edith Bunker in All in the Family. Imagine that!

         Hey, I can only hope to be able to share a comparable story about the actress ultimately chosen to play Caitlin Strong sometime down the road.  In the meantime, though, we’ll have to settle for picturing Caitlin as she’s presented in STRONG AS STEEL and the other nine books in the series. Happy reading and do you have any DID YOU KNOWs you’d like to share?  

HANK: SO fascinating, as always! (And did you know my name was supposed to be Alexandra? But at the last minute, my mother decided I didn't look like an Alexandra. So  they decided on Harriet. Hmmm.) How about you, Reds and readers? Any did you knows in your life? And did you know about the Hollywood secrets John revealed?  (Wasn't there something about Elizabeth Taylor and Scarlett O'Hara?)




Jon Land is the award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of 50 books, including ten titles in the critically acclaimed Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong series, the last of which, STRONG TO THE BONE, won both the 2017 American Book Fest and 2018 International Book Award for Best Mystery Thriller. Suspense Magazine called the latest title in the series, STRONG AS STEEL, "what just might be the best novel of 2019." MURDER IN RED, meanwhile, will mark his third effort writing as Jessica Fletcher for the MURDER, SHE WROTE series when it’s published on May 28. He has also teamed with Heather Graham for a new sci-fi series starting with THE RISING. He is a 1979 graduate of Brown University, lives in Providence, Rhode Island and can be reached at www.jonlandbookscom and on Twitter @jonland






1994:  Texas Ranger Jim Strong investigates a mass murder on a dusty freight train linked to a mysterious, missing cargo for which no record exists.

The Present:  His daughter, fifth generation Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong, finds herself on the trail of that very same cargo when skeletal bones are found in the Texas desert near an excavation site where something else was clearly removed.  She’s also dealing  a mass murder of her own after a massacre claims the lives of all the workers at a private intelligence company on her watch.

What Caitlin doesn’t know, can’t know, is that these two cases are connected by a long-hidden secret with the potential to rewrite history. For centuries, men have died trying to protect that secret, but it’s left to Caitlin to uncover the shocking truth that something far more dangerous is at stake here as well: a weapon of epic proportions with the potential to kill millions.

To stop the world from descending into chaos, Caitlin and her outlaw lover Cort Wesley Masters must prove themselves to be as strong as steel to overcome a bloody tide that has been rising for centuries.


90 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the new book, Jon. It’s always a pleasure to read a new Caitlin Strong story.

    As for the Did You Knows . . . .
    Dana Delaney passed on the Carrie Bradshaw role in “Sex and the City” that went to Sarah Jessica Parker . . . .
    Molly Ringwald passed on the Vivian Ward role in “Pretty Woman” that went to Julia Roberts . . . .
    Harrison Ford became Indiana Jones when Steven Spielberg and George Lucas couldn’t reach a deal with Universal Studios for Tom Selleck to play the role . . . .

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    1. Wow— You are so full of interesting info! I did not know any of this… so fascinating!

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    2. Thanks for the good word, Joan, and these are great additions. The only one I knew about was Tom Selleck as the first choice to play Indiana Jones. Reminds me of when Pierce Brosnan was picked to play James Bond when he was still doing REMINGTON STEEL for NBC. NBC refused to release him from his contract so the role went to Timothy Dalton. Of course, Dalton was so god-awful as Bond, Pierce got another chance and went on to play Bond fairly well for, what?, six movies.

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    3. Pierce Brosnan was perfect as James Bond.

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    4. I thought he was very underrated. For me, and my generation, there is only one Bond: Sean Connery. Daniel Craig doesn't do it for me but these Tom Hiddleston rumors are interesting. In retrospect, many Bond fan-atics have warmed up to George Lazenby of all people, the male model who was Connery's replacement in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE.

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  2. Sadly, I don't have any Did You Knows?

    But I am excited to see Jon Land being spotlighted here again on JRW. I've got 'Strong As Steel' on order and will have it in my hands soon.

    I guess I have to ask Jon, do you know if you are doing any area signings for the book?

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    1. Oh yes, that would be that would be great to know! Love you see you around Boston —

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    2. Jay, did you know that you're one of my most loyal and ardent fans and I'm glad to see you stopping by even if you don't have any more to add. I've got signings coming up in New Hampshire and down in Wakefield, RI, but nothing yet in your neck of the woods. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

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    3. Well, I just like to support the authors whose work strikes a chord with me.

      Obligatory "We need a new Ben Kamal / Danielle Barnea adventure someday" reminder.

      The Barnes and Noble in North Dartmouth, MA would be a great place to hold and signing. And since that's where I first met you when you had the first four Kamal/Barnea books, it would be a nice bit of symmetry.

      Titcomb's Bookshop in East Sandwich, MA for an independent shop. They host some of their signings at the Sandwich Public Library where I've attended signings for Hank and Joanna Schaffhausen.

      An Unlikely Story in Plainville, MA is another possibility.

      I have a question for you: Have you ever considered having one of your books adapted into a graphic novel? Or writing an original story for a graphic novel?

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    4. No, Jay, I haven't. That said, I think the Caitlin Strong books might transfer pretty smoothly to that format, given all the action and bloodshed, at times, especially STRONG LIGHT OF DAY. I've never considered actually writing a graphic novel myself because I don't know the format or specifications. It's a unique art form better left to those who do it for a living. Not that I couldn't learn, given the opportunity, though.

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  3. Welcome Jon and Congrats! I love the story about Spielberg wondering why the character hated the shark. Don't we have to answer questions like that all the time??

    Cannot picture Jean Stapleton in Murder She Wrote. She will always be Edith Bunker to me!

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    1. Isn’t it funny how those characters become iconic? Hard to imagine it any other way…

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    2. Lucy, I agree about Jean Stapleton. As a devoted fan of the show (watching the series on DVD all the time), I just can't see her as anyone else.

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    3. Lucy, I agree about Jean Stapleton. She was a mystery writer, Adriane, in a Hercule Poirot mystery. I thought Angela Lansbury was perfect as Jessica Fletcher.

      Diana

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    4. Not a lot of people know that Angela Lansbury also played Miss Marple once, well before she became Jessica Fletcher.

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  4. Have to respectfully disagree with Lucy and Jay. That was one of the few substitutions mentioned that I actually COULD imagine having worked. Jean Stapleton was already an accomplished actress on stage, TV, and I think a few movies before she took the part of Edith Bunker. I always find it a bit sad when a really good actor or actress becomes so strongly identified with one role that it eclipses their range of possibilities. I seem to recall reading somewhere that Robbie Coltrane, who played Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies, is facing that problem now.

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    1. Jean Stapleton was lovely in the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan film "You've Got Mail" as the nice, grandmotherly woman with a scandalous past.

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    2. It's not that I don't believe she could've played the role. I just know that I would've seen her as Jessica Fletcher and kept thinking, "EDITH!"

      As for Robbie Coltrane, I know that people will always see him as Hagrid now, but to me he'll always be best remembered for playing the lead role on the British mystery series Cracker.

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    3. Thanks, Susan, for opening a whole new category here--the typecast actor. So many great examples of this, for me starting with Anthony Perkins who, of course, famously played Norman Bates in PSYCHO. People just couldn't look at him and picture anything else. Connery had that problem for a long time as the first James Bond. And Patrick MaGoohan, who cut his teeth as Drake in SECRET AGENT, gave up trying to run from that role and basically played the same character again in an unofficial sequel called THE PRISONER which became a cult classic.

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    4. That is so interesting about Hagrid! And it happens to beautiful female actors, who “play ugly” to let people know they can do something else.

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    5. Charlize Theron in MONSTER comes to mind immediately there!

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    6. I loved Robbie Coltrane in Cracker, too. I had to get used to Hagrid!

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  5. I agree! Jean Stapleton was a brilliant actress.She'd have been different, but she'd have been great. Speaking of Harry Potter, the wonderful actress who played Hagrid's girlfriend (Madame Maxine, played by Frances de la Tour) has turned up in all kinds of roles (she's in Vanity Fair, just for example). Maybe it helps that she's British and the Brits do well by their non-young non-gorgeous players.

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    1. I'm always struck by the number of actors I assumed were American who turn out to be British or Australian. Most recently, I learned Rod Taylor was actually Australian in his obituary about a year ago. Taylor was so great in THE BIRDS and FATE IS THE HUNTER and also has the distinction of being the only film actor to play John D. McDonald's brilliant character Travis Magee in DARKER THAN AMBER. Christian Bale had been cast a few years back to play Travis and when he dropped out, Leonardo DiCaprio stepped in. The film still hasn't been made but I read recently that Peter Dinklage from GAME OF THRONES is still attached to play Meyer is what would be perfect casting.

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    2. Hmm, having a really hard time seeing Leo DiCaprio as Travis. Who might be better?

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    3. How about Dinklage as Meyer, Deborah?

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  6. Right, Hallie! And now we see Olivia Coleman everywhere, too… It’s as if she’s always been there but we didn’t notice.

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  7. Jon, congratulations on the book, dying to read. Great post. Many people may already know this, but originally, Robert Redford and Candace Bergen were the studio's choices for Ben and Elaine in The Graduate.

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    1. Somehow I can't see Redford as the every-man that Benjamin needed to be. And can anybody picture anyone other than Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson?

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    2. But we can totally picture Candace Bergen as Mrs. Robinson, right? Icy and patrician? And then she turned out to be surprisingly hilarious!

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    3. The part I found amazing was when I discovered Anne Bancroft was only six years older than Dustin Hoffman in that movie! They didn't age her up with make-up or prosthetics, either - they just gave her the clothing, hair and accessories of an affluent forty-something in 1967.

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    4. Great point, Julia, and it reminds me of Hoffman playing the lead in William Goldman's brilliant thriller MARATHON MAN. That would have been made circa 1975, Hoffman already much too old to play a graduate student in his 20s. But it worked and I can't picture anyone else in the role of Babe Levy.

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    5. I thought Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft were perfect for their roles in THE GRADUATE. Candice Bergen was too young.

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  8. Such an interesting post -- I love this kind of trivia. I am still trying to wrap my head around Frank Sinatra as John McClane in Die Hard! Congratulations on your book release ~

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    1. It's hard to picture now, given Frank's health at the time. But check out his Tony Rome character from those movies and you'll see an actor who could definitely pull off a macho action role. Many consider his finest performance to be in SUDDENLY, which takes place in an apartment overlooking a presidential parade route. Sinatra, I believe, played the assassin holding a family hostage while he waits to take the shot.

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    2. Yes, that movie was really chilling. And remember his character in Manchurian candidate?

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    3. Which featured a brilliant performance by Angela Lansbury, my own Jessica Fletcher! She played the villainous mother, aka the Queen of Hearts, right? The great John Frankenheimer directed that film, I think, in an era ripe for political thrillers that also included the best of them all, SEVEN DAYS IN MAY. That film has gained a particular new relevance in view of today's political climate.

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    4. I loved seven days in May, and was really hooked by the book as well. What a chilling time that was, and those books, like FailSafe and Alas Babylon, and On the Beach, we’re really formative to me!

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  9. Congrats on the book, Jon.

    Hollywood is filled with "did you know" stories - none of which I can think of at this moment. Yes, I knew some of the ones mentioned above. With luck, you'll be part of the montage of "did you know" history some day.

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    1. Thanks, Liz, and I wouldn't mind being part of a "DID YOU KNOW" someday--as a writer, of course. Speaking of which, I love the Hollywood stories of rewritten screenplays that were still credited to writers who were long gone. BEVERLY HILLS COP was originally written for Sly Stallone and had to be rewritten for Eddie Murphy but it was the original writer, I believe, who actually got nominated for an Academy Award. Same thing with William Goldman in ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN. I think the only thing left of his screenplay by the time the film hit the screen were those great McDonald's scenes, but he still won an Oscar. Go figure.

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    2. Oh, that is complicated! We never think about that process, I guess....

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    3. Indeed, trying to figure out credit based on percentage on what a particular writer actually contributed is a mind-numbing process.

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    4. Ah, the $64,000 question! First, allow me to cop out by saying the best person to play Caitlin Strong is . . . the actress who ultimately plays her, if I'm lucky enough for that to happen. I think the trend of big name actors/actresses doing television opens up a lot of doors here. Jessica Biel maybe? I've always thought Jennifer Garner would be absolutely perfect, once Angelina Jolie had pretty much aged out of the role. I was having this discussion with my entertainment lawyer and he pulled out pictures of some clients his massive firm represents and there were several who were perfect for the role and I'd never heard of any of them. The key thing to remember in casting is that the role has to be tailored/altered for the write actress. I mean, if Texas native and resident Sandra Bullock wanted to play Caitlin, would I say, "No, you're too old." Of course not! I, or more likely the show's head writer, would tailor the role for someone of her age and you know what? The most important thing isn't who plays Caitlin, it's that somebody does because that would mean the show or movie is getting done!

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    5. "Too old"??? I cannot imagine any of the actresses being too old for the roles unless the Caitlin Strong character is supposed to be a teenager? These actresses are what I call "ageless". Perhaps the investors in the movies have different idea of what is "too old"?

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    6. End it would be cool, in its own way, to have the perfect new person for Caitlin, and then have that role become as iconic as any of the others we are discussing!

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    7. Caitlin does age in the books, although not a year per book. She started out as thirty-three and ten books later, she's thirty-eight or thirty-nine. I agree with Diana about the age issue, but an actress in her 50s playing Caitlin would be problematic for casting, given that you'd have to find the right actor to play Cort Wesley Masters from a comparable demographic. I would rather write to who they cast than cast within the narrow window of Caitlin is portrayed in the books.

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    8. Sure, and some brilliant director is going to have a vision, too… And that would be fun to see.

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  10. Thanks, Liz, and I wouldn't mind being part of a "DID YOU KNOW" someday--as a writer, of course. Speaking of which, I love the Hollywood stories of rewritten screenplays that were still credited to writers who were long gone. BEVERLY HILLS COP was originally written for Sly Stallone and had to be rewritten for Eddie Murphy but it was the original writer, I believe, who actually got nominated for an Academy Award. Same thing with William Goldman in ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN. I think the only thing left of his screenplay by the time the film hit the screen were those great McDonald's scenes, but he still won an Oscar. Go figure.

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  11. So wait, Jon! Who do you picture is Caitlin?

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    1. Yes, that's what I want to know! Who would be on your short list of actors when you sit down with the producers, Jon?

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    2. That's what I want to know too!

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    3. Ah, the $64,000 question! First, allow me to cop out by saying the best person to play Caitlin Strong is . . . the actress who ultimately plays her, if I'm lucky enough for that to happen. I think the trend of big name actors/actresses doing television opens up a lot of doors here. Jessica Biel maybe? I've always thought Jennifer Garner would be absolutely perfect, once Angelina Jolie had pretty much aged out of the role. I was having this discussion with my entertainment lawyer and he pulled out pictures of some clients his massive firm represents and there were several who were perfect for the role and I'd never heard of any of them. The key thing to remember in casting is that the role has to be tailored/altered for the write actress. I mean, if Texas native and resident Sandra Bullock wanted to play Caitlin, would I say, "No, you're too old." Of course not! I, or more likely the show's head writer, would tailor the role for someone of her age and you know what? The most important thing isn't who plays Caitlin, it's that somebody does because that would mean the show or movie is getting done!

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    4. More likely to pick an unknown actress, which often happens.

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  12. Jon Land, welcome to Jungle Reds! I am adding your books to my reading list!

    Hank, wonderful post! I think Elizabeth Taylor was only 7 years old when Gone with the Wind became a movie?

    Love the "Did You Know?" I agree with Jack Nicholson about not accepting the role and Al Pacino was perfect for that role. And didn't Frank Sinatra die before the movie Die Hard was produced?

    On another note, I remember a movie was written with the actress Alison Janney in mind and the producer insisted that she had that role. And she was nominated for an Oscar?

    Did you know that the actor, Ian Richardson, was slated for a role in Midsomer Murders' Death in A Chocolate Box? Unfortunately, Ian Richardson died three days before filming. The actor Edward Peteridge (sp?) from Lord Peter Wimsey bbc series took the role.

    Did you know that there was a "war" between a famous acting couple and the production team for Hallmark Hall of Fame movie "Love is Never Silent"? A Deaf actress was the producer and the production team wanted two Deaf professional actors to play the Deaf couple - Phyllis Frelich (she won a Tony for Children of A Lesser God and she was on the Barney Miller tv show) and Edward Waterstreet (he was a guest star on Reasonable Doubts). Well, this famous acting couple, who had many, many, many acting roles and yes, they could hear even if the husband was starting to lose a little of his hearing, really wanted to play the Deaf couple. This is a BIG issue in the Deaf world because there are not enough roles for Deaf actors. Five days before filming, the investors withdrew money from the production because the money people wanted that famous acting couple. Hallmark company came to the rescue because during the Depression, many Deaf people bought cards from Hallmark. And a wonderful team of women (producers with money) also came to the rescue! I asked the Deaf producer if it was ok for an actor, starting to lose their hearing to have the role. The Deaf producer explained that the role was a Deaf person who was Deaf most of their life! And I realized that there are actors with partial hearing losses like Jimmy Stewart who managed to have acting careers. I got what the Deaf producer meant!

    Sorry to go off the topic!

    Did you know that Marnie was written for Princess Grace of Monaco? They were hoping that Grace Kelly would return to acting then she said NO. That role went to Tippi Hendren (?)

    Diana

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    1. Diana, wow! That is completely fascinating… And you really know your stuff! And I had no idea about that controversy … The Hallmark connection is so intriguing!

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    2. Love everything you've said here and you finished with a bang. We all know now what a strange man Hitchcock was, his obsession with blond actresses being foremost on the list. He desperately wanted to turn Tippi Hendren into Grace Kelly in both MARNIE and THE BIRDS. He basically tortured her on the set of THE BIRDS. We could do a whole session on Hitchcock films, stories and anecdotes, and maybe we should someday. Don't get me started!

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    3. I also love your comment about casting to type--have someone who's deaf play someone who's deaf. A few years back I did a script based on my book HOPE MOUNTAIN (a real departure for me) that ended up with Disney. The story's about a teenage boy who loses his leg to an accident and still rises to become a champion skier. The one thing absolutely everyone agreed upon was that we had to cast an actual one-legged boy in the role. And, would you believe it, we found a kid who was PERFECT! But the movie never got made. Alas . . .

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    4. We’d love to have you come back for Hitchcock day, Jon! Let’s do it!

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    5. My next Murder, She Wrote book comes out May 28, MURDER IN RED. How about sometime around then. We can call the post 10 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT HITCHCOCK AND HIS MOVIES. I've already got half that many in mind!

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    6. With the #MeToo movement now, can you imagine what would happen to Hitchcock today?

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  13. Diana, wonderful additions and thoughts here! Just terrific! You also raise the issue a bit of miscast roles, or roles that were thought to have been miscast . . . by the actual authors of the books! Tom Cruise as Lestat, Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan and, most famously, not one but two different actors who faced the wrath of Clive Cussler when they played Dirk Pitt: First, Richard Jordan in RAISE THE TITANIC and then Matthew McConaghey in SAHARA. Cussler swore after RAISE THE TITANIC he'd never work with Hollywood again, then he did with certain assurances from Disney on SAHARA, none of which were followed through on. Cussler famously sued Disney, and not only lost, he also had to pay the studio's legal fees to the tune of around $7 million! Ah, Hollywood . . .

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    1. Oh, I did not know that, either! He sued because… Why?

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    2. His contract gave him script, director, and actor approval. Cussler demanded the script be rewritten, refused to approve Brett Eisner as the director, and rejected McConaghey as Pitt. Well, the studio sent him a revised script before promptly going back to the original, hired Eisner and cast McConahey as Dirt Pitt. He thought he had an ironclad contract and sued based on that. Turned out, not so much. Moral of the story: Don't mess with Disney. On the one movie I've had produced, a teen comedy called DIRTY DEEDS, we cast Ricky Ulman (Phil of the Future) in a big role. Disney told him not do our film, even though they had absolutely no right to do so. But you don't mess with Disney and we had to recast the role literally 48 hours before shooting began. Ughhhhhhh . . .

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    3. Jon, this reminds me of Agatha Christie. She was never happy with any of the actors or actresses they picked to play Poirot or Marple. In my opinion, David Suchet was the perfect actor to play Hercule Poirot and Joan Hickson was the perfect actress to play Miss Marple. Alas, they were picked after Agatha Christie died. I think her grandson Mathew Pritchard met David Suchet?

      Remind me not to mess with Disney. LOL.

      Diana

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  15. I am reeling (pun intended) from all of the DID YOU KNOWs - clearly, I knew none of these except for the Belushi/Jack story. Congratulations on your latest release, Jon! Such a fantastic series! Can't wait to read #10!!!

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    1. Thanks, Jenn. I'm a fountain of trivial information on stuff like this and thanks also for the kind words about Caitlin Strong. I have so much fun writing those books, it doesn't even feel like work, but don't tell my publisher that!

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  16. Jon, this is such fun! Thanks for the entertaining Tuesday! I'm still trying to wrap my head round John McClane NOT being played by Bruce Willis!!

    And can't wait to read the new Caitlin!

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    1. Thanks, Deborah! It was indeed Willis' humor and sense of the every-man that took DIE HARD far beyond the run-of-the-mill shoot-em-ups that were so pervasive at the time. Hey, none of us can picture anyone but Bogie in CASABLANCA, right? But the role was actually offered to George Raft first.

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  17. Fun topic! I know that Gene Kelly was cast in The Easter Parade until he broke his ankle. Fred Astaire took over the role in his charming fashion. Buddy Ebsen, valiant sidekick to Fess Parker's Davy Crockett, was cast as the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz. He dropped out when the aluminum dust makeup played havoc with his health. Jack Haley became the Tin Man.

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    1. So interesting! And so unpredictable… And you have to say: plot twist!

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    2. Great additions to the list, and you've also broached the issue of actors replaced because of illness, injury, or other issues. Did you know why Bruce Willis played so against type in THE SIXTH SENSE? He'd walked off the set of another Disney produced film called THE BROADWAY BRAWLER in Florida because the shoot was an utter disaster. He told Disney if they didn't sue him, he'd do any two pictures they asked him to and the first was THE SIXTH SENSE. Go figure.

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    3. I can’t believe you know all this amazing stuff! Your brain is quite the interesting place to be. Xxxxxx

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    4. Here's something else of note: William Shatner was not the original choice to star in STAR TREK. It was Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike as we saw from the pilot entitled THE MANAGERY. I forgot why the producers opted to go in a different direction for the show and cast Shatner as Kirk when they shot a second pilot that featured the great "Salt Monster." I seem to remember Hunter suffered a heart attack or something but I've never been able to confirm that. Maybe somebody out there can help!

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    5. And my brain is a truly dangerous place to be!

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    6. The original “Star Trek” pilot, “The Cage,” featured Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike. Although the network rejected the pilot for being too intellectual and lacking in action, they ordered a second one: “Where No Man Has Gone Before” with William Shatner as Captain Kirk. Gary Lockwood and Sally Kellerman played Enterprise crew members with enhanced psychic abilities created by contact with a strange barrier.

      Since the network wanted a “Wagon Train” to the stars, they approved this adventurous second pilot and scheduled the show for the 1965 fall season. Jeffrey Hunter, who did not want to reprise the Christopher Pike role, was injured in an on-set explosion while filming “Cry Chicago;” he suffered an intracranial hemorrhage while at home, and died in the hospital the following morning.

      The network considered both Jack Lord and Lloyd Bridges for the Captain Kirk role, but William Shatner was finally cast in the part.

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    7. Given how big a fan of the original Hawaii Five-0 series my mother was, it is a good thing Jack Lord didn't become Captain Kirk.

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    8. So I have to ask, are any of your watching Star Trek Discovery? I know that's a whole other topic, but it looks like we have some serious Trekkies here. I love Anson Mount as Pike.

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    9. Deborah, is Star Trek Discovery a new movie? I saw Chris Pine as Captain Kirk in a recent Star Trek movie. That was a while ago!

      Diana

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    10. Sadly, since we don’t subscribe to CBS All Access, we don’t see “Star Trek Discovery" :(

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  18. I don’t think we haven’t noticed, Jon that you have not mentioned one specific name :-) Not one at all! Very wily :-)

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  19. You give me too much credit, Hank. You must be a mystery writer because you've hooked me on the mystery on who I've left out. Ha-ha!

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  20. Meanwhile, I'm headed to the gym now but will check to respond to any additional comments early this evening. So check back then or whenever to see my responses and stay tuned for that coming lively exchange on all things Alfred Hitchcock. Let's start with this: who wants to venture which Hitchcock film was their favorite? Or save that thought and wait until I return to the world of Jungleredwriters!

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  21. I suppose that TV and movies seal an actor's portrayal in our memories. After all, thousands of actors have played Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, etc. Even on the stage, I remember Michael Hillegas' Fagin better than the actor in the movie. Michael played him in our high school play.

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    1. That is so interesting! ANd so true. And now Robert Goulet is playing King Arthur, not Lancelot. Do I remember, can it be, Henry Winkler doing Hamlet somehow? And Glenda Jackson as King Lear.

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  22. Night everyone! Good night Jon! Thank you for a wonderful day!

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