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What shelved film project do you wish had been made?

Chris Nolan was set to direct a Howard Hughes biopic starring Jim Carrey, but Marty Scorsese beat him to it with 'The Aviator' with Leo DiCaprio. DiCaprio was fine, but I think Carrey would have delivered a remarkable performance.

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by Anonymousreply 94July 8, 2025 9:24 PM

Chicago with Liza, Goldie and Fosse directing.

by Anonymousreply 1July 4, 2025 2:52 AM

Haven't several projects about the Tate - Labianca murders been shelved? I don't count the most recent.

by Anonymousreply 2July 4, 2025 2:56 AM

The Day The Clown Died With My Sister.

by Anonymousreply 3July 4, 2025 3:01 AM

Sunset Boulevard

by Anonymousreply 4July 4, 2025 3:02 AM

Remake of Lady Scarface a follow-up to Pacino's remake of Scarface, directed by DePalma, starring Lucille Ball. Unfortunately she was advised by someone in her inner circle to pass and made Life with Lucy instead.

by Anonymousreply 5July 4, 2025 3:03 AM

Paul Newman was supposed to star and possibly direct The Runner Stumbles

by Anonymousreply 6July 4, 2025 3:03 AM

Take Me Out.

by Anonymousreply 7July 4, 2025 3:24 AM

"Jackpot" with Himanshu Malik.

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by Anonymousreply 8July 4, 2025 3:26 AM

Gypsy with Streisand.

by Anonymousreply 9July 4, 2025 3:26 AM

A biopic of Janis Joplin with Sia was in the works, would have been interesting.

by Anonymousreply 10July 4, 2025 3:28 AM

Just look at those thick thighs and huge ass on Himanshu!

by Anonymousreply 11July 4, 2025 3:29 AM

Stanley Kubrick's 'Napoleon'. Also, his version of 'A.I.', a script that he bestowed upon Spielberg.

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by Anonymousreply 12July 4, 2025 3:33 AM

A Confederacy of Dunces, starring John Belushi.

by Anonymousreply 13July 4, 2025 3:34 AM

Citizen Kane ii

by Anonymousreply 14July 4, 2025 3:36 AM

I think the Nicholas Cage Superman thing would've been good.

by Anonymousreply 15July 4, 2025 3:43 AM

r15, he was also supposed to do Willy Wonka and dropped out, sadly he seems unstable.

by Anonymousreply 16July 4, 2025 3:49 AM

^Big news! Tear out the front page!

by Anonymousreply 17July 4, 2025 4:04 AM

Pretty Conductor: The Harriet Tubman Story.

by Anonymousreply 18July 4, 2025 5:21 AM

Are we talking only about projects that never made it to being filmed or worse--movies that were made and are never coming out?

by Anonymousreply 19July 4, 2025 5:33 AM

Vicki about suffragette Victoria Woodhull with our Faye directed by George Cukor.

by Anonymousreply 20July 4, 2025 5:35 AM

Stompanato with Sharon Stone as Lana Turner and Antonio Banderas as Johnny.

by Anonymousreply 21July 4, 2025 5:39 AM

There are a few movies that were actually made that will not see the light of day. That's much worse.

by Anonymousreply 22July 4, 2025 5:56 AM

Jodorowsky's Dune would have been insane.

by Anonymousreply 23July 4, 2025 6:05 AM

The next season of Mindhunters

by Anonymousreply 24July 4, 2025 6:09 AM

R23 has it right. The sheer quantity of quality talent associated with Jodorowsky's "Dune" was mind-boggling: H.R. Giger, Mobius, Dan O'Bannon, Salvador Dali, Orson Welles, Gloria Swanson, Alain Delon, Mick Jagger, Pink Floyd...it may well have ended up being a mess, but it probably would have also ended up being the ultimate cult film.

R12 I'm not a huge Kubrick fan, but even if one were to stipulate to his genius or whatever, he would run into the same problem anyone trying to do a Napoleon film would: his life and career would be impossible to adapt with any satisfaction into a feature-length film. Even a three-hour film would be insufficient, as Ridley Scott's 205-minute abomination makes abundantly clear. "Barry Lyndon" is as much as we need from Kubrick on the pre-Industrial blackpowder age of Europe, I think.

by Anonymousreply 25July 4, 2025 6:25 AM

Jim Carrey is very needy as a dramatic actor, I would not have liked it.

Then again, I did not like Aviator. Cate Blanchett and Leo chowing down on the scenery.

by Anonymousreply 26July 4, 2025 6:28 AM

What r21 said. Long overdue

by Anonymousreply 27July 4, 2025 6:38 AM

The biopic of Janis Joplin starring Courtney Love. The biopic of Janis Joplin starring Renee Zellweger. The biopic of Janis Joplin starring Zooey Deschanel. The biopic of Janis Joplin starring Brittany Murphy. The biopic of Janis Joplin starring Amy Adams. The biopic of Janis Joplin starring Pink. The biopic of Janis Joplin starring Nina Arianda. The biopic of Janis Joplin starring Michelle Williams.

by Anonymousreply 28July 4, 2025 7:01 AM

R19 Both

by Anonymousreply 29July 4, 2025 7:33 AM

The Gore Vidal story, starring Kevin Spacey. This was, in fact, filmed for Netflix but quickly shelved when the Spacey scandals broke. I still want to see it.

by Anonymousreply 30July 4, 2025 7:43 AM

The rumored 3rd Joel Schumacher Batman movie starring Madonna as Harley Quinn. I know how DL feels about Madonna's acting ability but I think this would have been a good role for her. She would fit into Schumacher's campy version of Gotham.

by Anonymousreply 31July 4, 2025 7:56 AM

That sounds good r30. Despite my dislike of this predator he could be could in this.

by Anonymousreply 32July 4, 2025 7:59 AM

A proposed 1976 film starring Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis. Hepburn would have played a senator and Bette a taxi driver. Another never-done Bette project was the film version of "Follies". Bette would have sung "I'm Still Here".

by Anonymousreply 33July 4, 2025 8:08 AM

So many failed attempts at bringing 'A Confederacy of Dunces' to the big screen has led to some calling the ambition cursed.

Nick Offerman did successfully play the lead role in a Boston theater production in 2015.

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by Anonymousreply 34July 4, 2025 8:24 AM

R13 Comment 34 was in response to yours.

by Anonymousreply 35July 4, 2025 8:32 AM

R6 - the title was The Front Runner (based on the Patricia Nell Warren novel)

by Anonymousreply 36July 4, 2025 10:46 AM

David Cronenberg's Frankenstein

Brian DePalma's The Demolished Man (based on the 1953 Alfred Bester science fiction novel)

by Anonymousreply 37July 4, 2025 10:50 AM

Garbo as "The Duchess of Langeais" to be directed by Max Ophuls, 1949. They got as far as shooting a few lighting tests (on YouTube).

by Anonymousreply 38July 4, 2025 1:02 PM

That was one I was also going to mention, R30. There's also a movie called Rich Man's Burden that was apparently shelved, though nude shots of the main actor still made it onto various male nudity sites. Another movie that got shelved was Peter Greenaway's Walking To Paris with Emun Elliott, who was also apparently nude in it. Nudity abounds in most Greenaway movies.

by Anonymousreply 39July 4, 2025 3:12 PM

The Montgomery Clift biopic

by Anonymousreply 40July 4, 2025 3:16 PM

Speaking of Alfred Bester above, there's the science fiction novel The Stars My Destination that was originally planned for director John Carpenter.

by Anonymousreply 41July 4, 2025 4:01 PM

Mike Myers' Sprockets.

by Anonymousreply 42July 4, 2025 4:10 PM

No Bail For the Judge

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by Anonymousreply 43July 4, 2025 4:12 PM

Napoleon by Kubrick.

by Anonymousreply 44July 4, 2025 4:14 PM

R43 - another Hitchcock film would have been The Short Night, which he would have made had he not gotten ill.

Among the male leads he considered were Walter Matthau, Sean Connery, Clint Eastwood and Steve McQueen.

And among the female leads he considered were Catherine Deneuve and Liv Ullmann.

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by Anonymousreply 45July 4, 2025 4:56 PM

Julie and Dick's SHE LOVES ME.

by Anonymousreply 46July 4, 2025 5:00 PM

House of Leaves, although it seems as though pieces of The Navidson Record from the book have been used in movies about houses that have mismatched interior and exterior dimensions.

by Anonymousreply 47July 4, 2025 5:37 PM

The Merry Widow - starring Barbra Streisand, directed by Ingmar Bergman (was expected to start production in late 1972). Based on the Lehar operetta.

Stardust Ballroom - based on the 1978 stage musical, starring Barbra Streisand, directed by Rob Marshall, music by the Bergmans who were to write all new music for this movie. Marshall was pushing for this in 2003, but shelved it. He tried again in 2006, with Bette Midler instead of Streisand (who was no longer interested), but it didn't go forward.

by Anonymousreply 48July 4, 2025 7:07 PM

Tarantino’s Star Trek movie.

by Anonymousreply 49July 4, 2025 7:08 PM

The sequel to Jupiter Ascending. Without the Russian family crap.

by Anonymousreply 50July 4, 2025 7:11 PM

5 years ago, America's favorite gay "bro" on the street rom-com star announced he was developing "Man in the Box." Oh, Sammie!

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by Anonymousreply 51July 4, 2025 7:23 PM

Diana Ross in 'Josephine'.

Diana Ross and Liza in 'Jazz Babies'.

by Anonymousreply 52July 4, 2025 7:35 PM

What?

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by Anonymousreply 53July 4, 2025 7:43 PM

The movie "Pay The Girl", (about Heidi Fleiss) starring Nicole Kidman. When she became too old, it went to Hillary Swank. Now she's too old so I'm not sure who it will be offered to next.

by Anonymousreply 54July 4, 2025 7:48 PM

Saturday the 14th

by Anonymousreply 55July 4, 2025 7:54 PM

I actually think a Paul Lynde biopic would be interesting

by Anonymousreply 56July 4, 2025 7:56 PM

Neill Blomkamp's 'Alien: Zeno' starring Sigourney Weaver which would have been a direct sequel to Jim Cameron's 'Aliens' and disregarded the storylines in the already made, subsequent sequels. Fan favorite characters Newt and Hicks would have survived and been in Blomkamp's film. Weaver seemed genuinely excited about the project.

20th Century Fox chose to go with Ridley Scott's prequel 'Alien: Covenant' instead and when it didn't do well at the box office, it was years before interest was shown in another addition to the franchise.

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by Anonymousreply 57July 4, 2025 9:00 PM

Orson Welles' "Heart of Darkness."

by Anonymousreply 58July 4, 2025 9:13 PM

Glamorama

by Anonymousreply 59July 4, 2025 9:53 PM

The Auntie Mame remake with Tilda Swinton.

by Anonymousreply 60July 4, 2025 10:48 PM

Orson Welles’ “It’s All True”

It started as The History of Jazz, which would have had music by Duke Ellington and starred Louis Armstrong but morphed into a a Latin American anthology that included The Story of Samba when Orson was appointed a good will ambassador to Latin America and cajoled into making a documentary of Brazil’s Carnaval in 1942 as part of the Good Neighbor Policy. A regime change at RKO terminated the filming and years later much of the footage that had been shot was dumped into the Pacific Ocean.

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by Anonymousreply 61July 5, 2025 12:16 AM

"Mame" starring Cher.

by Anonymousreply 62July 5, 2025 1:53 AM

"DIVA" starring Diana Ross.

by Anonymousreply 63July 5, 2025 2:08 AM

All the projects Gary Morton talked Lucy out of

by Anonymousreply 64July 5, 2025 3:02 AM

Dancer From the Dance.

Will it ever transpire?

by Anonymousreply 65July 5, 2025 3:18 AM

There was supposed to be a movie made about b-movie actress Susan Cabot starring Rose McGowan like 20 years ago and if you know that woman’s story you know it was make for a WILD story — maybe even too wild? It might be one of those examples of truth being so much stranger than fiction it couldn’t land. But Rose would’ve been great casting especially now that we know she’s truly unstable

by Anonymousreply 66July 5, 2025 3:30 AM

r65 Dancer from the Dance deserves to be a six- or eight-part series.

by Anonymousreply 67July 5, 2025 5:38 AM

Two parts just for the wardrobe.

by Anonymousreply 68July 5, 2025 2:03 PM

The White Hotel by DM Thomas. So many actresses attached to it over time, starting with Barbra to be directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. Thomas wrote an entire book about the efforts made for the film version.

by Anonymousreply 69July 5, 2025 3:03 PM

I'm still hoping Scorsese can pull together his Devil in the White City movie although I'd rather somebody not Leo Dicaprio play HH Holmes (Tom Hardy would be better) - I have a feeling that one's dead for the time being though and will have to wait for a younger director in the future. If you can't get the money together for it with Scorsese & Leo then there's clearly an issue. I guess it would also make a great limited series, it's such a rich world

by Anonymousreply 70July 5, 2025 3:23 PM

A Confederacy of Dunces would be such a difficult movie to cast. Though, I've always envisioned Grace Zabriskie as Ignatius' mother.

by Anonymousreply 71July 5, 2025 3:29 PM

Ken Russell's Liza/EVITA

by Anonymousreply 72July 5, 2025 3:39 PM

I hope none of you bitches said Sex and the City 3.

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by Anonymousreply 73July 5, 2025 9:12 PM

Second Ken Russell’s EVITA starring Liza with Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond costarring. He was also supposed to do a Sarah Bernhardt bio with Streisand.

Tina Turner was set to do a Merchant Ivory film in the early 2000s costarring Matthew Modine but it got stopped at the last minute.

I love the movie, but Educating Rita was written and planned for Dolly. Always wondered how she would have pulled it off.

by Anonymousreply 74July 5, 2025 9:23 PM

To a Violent Grave with De Niro and Barbra. A competing film with Ed Harris' Pollock.

April 17, 1993 12 AM PT

Abstract Vision: Barbra Streisand’s Barwood Films is developing a film on Abstract Expressionist artist Jackson Pollock, based on Jeffrey Potter’s 1985 biography, “To a Violent Grave.” Robert De Niro is slated to play Pollock, and Streisand will play his wife, artist Lee Krasner. Christopher Cleveland is writing the script, focusing on the couple’s “complex, fascinating relationship,” according to Cis Corman, president of Barwood. Cleveland will have access to dozens of taped interviews conducted by Potter in the course of writing the book.

by Anonymousreply 75July 7, 2025 4:42 AM

Streisand's "Skinny & Cat", based on the life of photographer Margaret Burke-White and author Erskine Caldwell. This was a big project she was trying to get going since 1987-88*. She was to be the star / director/ and co-producer (along with Linda Yellen). It was acquired by her Barwood films. The search was on for her male co-star (rumored to be Robert Redford).

It kind of stopped and restarted for her throughout the 90s. By the early 2000s, she had dropped the idea of being the star, and rumors were she was 'in talks' with Madonna to star, but that died out by the mid-2000s. Then it was announced in the late 2000s she reached a deal with Cate Blanchett to star. opposite Colin Firth. Streisand acknowledged in 2012 'everything was in place' except for financing. The last time this project was mentioned was around ten years ago. I guess it's a goner.

*A TV movie about Burke aired in 1989 and starred Farrah Fawcett. It received bad reviews, and flopped in the ratings. Not even Farrah could escape the bad reviews. Co-producer Linda Yellen spoke on behalf of the Streisand project, saying the flop of the Fawcett movie only encouraged her and Barbra to move forward with their project. "It was poorly reviewed, and it wasn't the same story we're going to tell."

by Anonymousreply 76July 7, 2025 12:13 PM

Bogart Slept Here. A Neil Simon script directed by Mike Nichols starring Robert DeNiro and Marsha Mason.

Production shut down after a week of filming in 1975, when Nichols realized that De Niro was unable to adjust his intense Method style of acting to Neil Simon's precise dialogue. Simon reconceived the story, which was filmed two years later as The Goodbye Girl.

by Anonymousreply 77July 7, 2025 12:47 PM

James Kirkwood's novel "Good Time/Bad Times". Dorothy Loudon, Cliff Robertson, and Keith McDermott, were attached but the production was shut down and the film was never completed.

There should have been another actor to play against Keith McDermott - there were two protagonists. Maybe an unknown, maybe not yet cast. (I do believe McDermott was the object of Edmund White's affection. Maybe obsession.)

by Anonymousreply 78July 7, 2025 2:00 PM

An adaptation of "Paradise Lost" starring Bradley Cooper as Lucifer, directed by Alex Proyas of "The Crow" and "Dark City." The film was canceled because the special effects being planned would have had an astronomical price tag.

The Jurassic Park film that would have featured human/dinosaur hybrids. The script sounded insane.

by Anonymousreply 79July 7, 2025 3:48 PM

I love Dark City, r79. I'm sure Paradise Lost would have had some incredible sets.

I'd like to see Jurassic Park made by James Cameron. He was considered as an option and supposedly wanted a much scarier movie than what Spielberg made.

by Anonymousreply 80July 7, 2025 4:42 PM

Logan’s Run remake, scripted closer to the original novel than the 1976 version. This remake idea spanned back to the late 90s and went through so many stages, and directors, and producers over the decades. It seems forever cursed.

Heart of Glass: the Story of Blondie. This seemed like a reality sometime in the late 00s, around the time that Runaways film came out, even being publicly blessed by most of the original band members. There was a lot of back and forth about who should play Debbie, but Kirsten Dunst seemed to be the final choice. Again, it kept getting stalled, and then stopped.

I think in both cases there are various screenplays floating around.

by Anonymousreply 81July 7, 2025 5:10 PM

Douglas Sirk's biopic about Maurice Utrillo (supposedly he began to work on this in the early '60s and dropped it when he became ill).

by Anonymousreply 82July 7, 2025 5:48 PM

Peter Lefcourt's [italic]The Dreyfuss Affair: A Love Story[/italic] back when Tuc Watkins was young enough to play the lead. It was optioned by Universal about 5 years ago, but that project seems to have gone nowhere. Last I heard a German company had bought the rights for an adaptation about soccer players.

by Anonymousreply 83July 7, 2025 6:28 PM

Don Juan starring Ricky Ricardo

by Anonymousreply 84July 7, 2025 6:37 PM

R84 Perfect casting.

by Anonymousreply 85July 7, 2025 7:13 PM

Showboys- the sequel to Showgirls (1995).

by Anonymousreply 86July 7, 2025 7:18 PM

There was a project in the works about The Lonely Doll author Dare Wright. I think Naomi Watts was supposed to play her but it never got off the ground

by Anonymousreply 87July 7, 2025 7:19 PM

In the early 2000s, Sondheim pushed the idea of remaking the movie of his musical, 'A Little Night Music'. He claimed he was never happy with the Liz Taylor movie from 1977. He reportedly made offers to Glenn Close to star as Desiree, and with Angela Lansbury to play Madame Armfeldt. Both actresses were on board, but finding the right leading man posed a problem, and the project dragged on. The project was finally shelved when Sondheim decided to do the 2008 West End and 2009 Broadway revivals, instead.

by Anonymousreply 88July 7, 2025 9:05 PM

I, Claudius (1937). Production was dogged by ill-luck. A car accident involving Merle Oberon. And star Charles Laughton felt he never had a handle on the title role.

by Anonymousreply 89July 8, 2025 5:54 PM

Dark Blood (1993). Star River Phoenix died during production.

by Anonymousreply 90July 8, 2025 5:58 PM

The Anita Bryant bio-pic starring Ashley Judd.

by Anonymousreply 91July 8, 2025 5:58 PM

Sondheim was a bitch for not allowing Barbra to both star and direct "Gypsy".

by Anonymousreply 92July 8, 2025 6:02 PM

Divine Rapture with Marlon Brando, Debra Winger and Johnny Depp.

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by Anonymousreply 93July 8, 2025 6:11 PM

I've posted this a few times in the past, but I will add it to the list...

Back in the late 90's (after the success of 'The Preacher's Wife' ), Will Smith proposed a remake for 'A Star Is Born' starring himself and Whitney Houston. Smith would co-produce the film, and partially finance it. It would take place in the world of R&B music, with Smith as the established star, and Houston the singer on her way up. Smith tried to start this for a few years, but Houston couldn't give a solid commitment, blaming her 'recording schedule' got in the way

By 2003, Smith finally said Houston was out (speculation was because of drugs, not her recording schedule), and he was 'in negotiations' with Janet Jackson (who was also interested in the Lena Horne musical biopic). Janet Jackson's negotiations dropped after February, 2004's "nipplegate" (as did her planned Horne movie), and Smith tossed the names of Beyonce and Sade. By 2010, the remake was still on - but no longer with Smith, and no longer in the world of R&B.

by Anonymousreply 94July 8, 2025 9:24 PM
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