Kubrick’s Napoleon.
Terry Gilliams-Don Quixote
David Lynch was offered, and passed on, Return of the Jedi. I hope it would have been better than Dune (theatrical version). Who knows what it would have been like.
The film Dune was supposed to be first made by Alejandro Jodorowsky. It was supposed to star Salvador Dali, have H.R. Geiger handle art duties (later alot of it was used for Alien), and have a soundtrack by Pink Floyd. The project was just too huge and it never happened. Imagine if it did though! When Jodorowsky has a budget, he really uses its full potential, especially visually. My guess is it would have visually been like a mix of Holy Mountain, Alien, and Lynch’s Dune. I thought Dune by Lynch was his worst film, but there are alot of great moments in it, it just seemed too cheesy sci-fi for me.
Coin Locker Babies, although supposedly on/off production. I would have loved to see it made by Miike since he did a fairly good job with Ru Murakami’s other work, Audition.
Cory-Since I hate both El Topo and The Holy Mountain I doubt his version would have been any better than Lynchs. Lynch’s Dune does have some nice moments but Dune has a very convoluted plot which is hard to make cinematic in a standard length film. Plus his special
effects shots were not very good.
Quentin Tarantino offered to do a James Bond film but was turned down-he couldn’t have been any worse a choice than Marc Foster.
Cronenberg’s version of Total recall.
Cronenberg’s version of Basic Instinct 2.
Kubrick’s A.I.
Kubrick’s Aryan Papers
Kubrick’s Napoleon
Welles’s entire filmography post-Kane in its completed form
I also remember reading something about Chaplin’s last project that looked really cool but he didn’t get a chance. Ditto on Hitchcock.
Richard-They have just announced a remake of Total Recall so you can start your petitions for Cronenberg to helm
Steve, my fingers are crossed.
Orson Welles’ once-planned version of Joseph Conrad’s novel, “Heart of Darkness”…I would’ve loved to have seen an actual black and white version of that, with a film noir style…or jungle noir, if you like. Anyway, a version done by Welles I think would’ve been really fascinating to see. Maybe insipired by the style of artist, Burne Hogarth, who illustrated the Tarzan comics for quite a few years.
And though I love the version that came out with Caine and Connery, I would’ve loved to have seen a version of John Huston’s “The Man Who Would Be King” that was initially planned with Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart.
I’d have to agree with Kubrick’s Napoleon. I think it would have been the most powerful epic that film would ever have seen.
Interesting movies guys – how about this one: Hammer’s I AM LEGEND.
Richard Matheson (who wrote Devil Rides Out for Hammer) wrote a script for his novel I AM LEGEND that was ultimately never made. But he took it to Hammer and they were interested. The idea i guess would have seen the story relocated to the UK, with then contemporary setting (I get the impression Hammer were trying to reinvigorate themselves) and I would assume starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. It didn’t happen because when the UK censor saw the script they said HELL NO! That they’d refuse to pass it – and over here without certificate you cannot put the film in cinemas.
But still… there’s a movie in my head that looks amazing.
The Cronenberg Total Recall got well into scripting — pretty far along i think. Since he’s had a number of commercial movies released in the time since Iwonder if they might just offer it to him again. I’d love to see it. Right now I’m imagining a movie that mixes History Of Violence with Videodrome and James Bond.
jodorowski’’s KING SHOT. i know they claim it’s going to be made, i don’t it’ll ever happen
Tarkovsky’s Hoffmanniana. And anything else he might have made if he hadn’t died so young.
Issac Asimov and Harlan Ellison’s I, Robot. Instead we got the bad Will Smith vehicle directed by a director I used to respect.
Max Ophuls’ “La Duchesse de Langeais” with Garbo. All that exists are the glorious screen tests shot by James Wong Howe and William Daniels.
“The Cincinnati Kid” that was to directed by Sam Peckinpah.
Although Kieslowski announced retirement, he went on to write (with Krzysztof Piesiewicz) the trilogy Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. Due to my boycotting the latter films, I’ve only seen Heaven, directed by Tom Tykwer. Although Tykwer’s portrayal of what Kieslowski may have wanted/done proved successful I wish I could have seen the trilogy through the eyes of Kieslowski.
Apparently after Orson Welles completed The Magnificent Ambersons, the studio RKO, without informing him, hired another director and writer to re-finish the ending. The studio thought audiences needed a better, happier ending- the original version was lost and it’s been said it would have made the film epic.
Not long before he died, Alfred Hitchcock was interested in filming Elmore Leonard’s “Unknown Man No. 89.” Good book, great director — good movie? If “Family Plot” is any indication, I’m not sure we missed much.
But here’s an Elmore Leonard thriller I dearly wish Hitchcock HAD directed: “52 Pick-Up.” Terrific thriller from the 1970s which involves a rich married man who is kidnapped and forced to watch his girlfriend’s death on film, which is also to implicate his own involvement. He’s innocent, but the kidnappers have set him up and will turn over the film to the cops unless the man comes up with a lot of dough.
As you can imagine, the book is quite cinematic, especially the scene above, which takes place in a crummy old vacant theatre. It’s such an overpowering, nightmarish scene, to be faced with these horrendous larger than life images.
The story actually got made by John Frankenheimer, but it wasn’t very good. For one thing, instead of being forced to watch the film in a theater, he is forced to watch a videotape. Granted, by the time the movie got made (mid-1980s) that would have been more credible, but it just looked lame and ineffective, given the possibilities.
The book still awaits the touch of some hungry, mad, feverish, inspired director.
Wasn’t Bresson about to make a film based on the Old Testament? That’s probably the greatest film never made.
I aslo think that Dreyer was going to direct a film that had something to do with christianty (maybe about Jesus himself), but I’m not sure.
It would have been cool to se Vincent Wards take on Alien3. Complete with monks, religious mumbo jumbo, a wooden planet and giant crop-fields on fire.
Hitchcock doing Elmore Leonard! I’d never heard about that. It could have been amazing. Family Plot may not be so great – but Frenzy is really interesting.
Vincent Ward’s Alien 3 looked soooo cool from the documentary on the disc. Hugely missed opportuinity. How about George Romero’s movie of Stephen King’s THE STAND. Huge mythic post apocalyse film. Perfect for the old school Romero. Indeed what about the original version of Day Of The Dead? It was a huge idea that advanced so much further than the film we got (though I have to say I LOVE that film).
Terry Gilliam’s movie of GOOD OMENS is something i’m still crossing my fingers for. Let alone the Hunchback of Notre Dame that almost was.
L. Ron Hubbards BATTLEFIELD EARTH… Big book and big potential. Burn the previous inception and start over. (no offense to Travolta… He’s a fine actor but eee-gad what an epic flop). And I’ll throw in for Kubricks NAPOLEON. It would have been amazing.
Still waiting for Spike Lee to do his Jackie Robinson film.
I saw some thing that was scorsese’s direction of a scene from an unfinished script that he owns that Hitchcock was to direct called “The Key To Reserva” or very similar.
I am counting down to 2013 for Linklater’s Before Twilight
Turd Burglar, that was a wine commercial.
“I saw some thing that was scorsese’s direction of a scene from an unfinished script that he owns that Hitchcock was to direct called “The Key To Reserva” or very similar.”
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That was a tongue-placed-firmly-against-cheek comedic short that Scorsese did, an hommage to Hitch. There was no unfinished script. It was a joke. If you know Hitchcock, this stuff is terrific.
Here is the short: http://www.scorsesefilmfreixenet.com/video_eng.htm
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1151319/
Neil Snowdon
Let’s face it. No matter how good you think THE PRINCES BRIDE to be, it would have been a whole lot better if Richhard Lester had made it, and he was attatched to do so, not long after Musketeers. And how about the film of SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES that was to have been directed by Sam Peckinpah? ‘How are we going to make it Sam?’ asked Ray Bradbury, the author. ’We’re going to tear the pages out the book and stuff them down the lens’ says Sam. I want to see that movie. So what about anyone else? The movies that almost happened but never did. Or did but with the wrong director. What would you kill to have seen happen?