Casting Conflict With Disney Sank David Fincher's 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA

Casting Conflict With Disney Sank David Fincher's 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA

While promoting his new movie Gone Girl, director David Fincher was asked about 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas. A film that he was developing for Disney but he says fell apart due to interference from the studio over casting. Check it out.

By nailbiter111 - Sep 15, 2014 02:09 PM EST
Filed Under: Marvel Comics
Source: blogs.indiewire.com

David Fincher wanted to reunite with his Fight Club star Brad Pitt for 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas, but Pitt turned down the lead role of Ned Land. The role Kirk Douglas played in Disney 1954 film based on Jules Verne's novel. After that, Fincher approached Daniel Craig ("Skyfall") and Matt Damon ("Finding Forrester"), but they too passed on the opportunity. When Fincher finally decided upon Channing Tatum ("22 Jump Street") for the part Disney balked at the choice and urged him to go with Chris Hemsworth ("Avengers: Age of Ultron"). Now, Fincher is doing press for Gone Girl and in an interview with Little White Lies he gives some insight his conflict with Disney that sank the film. 

"You get over $200 million — all motion picture companies have corporate culture and corporate anxieties," he explained. "Once we got past the list of people we could cast as the different characters in the film, once we got past one or two names which made them very comfortable, making a movie at that price, it became this bizarre endeavour to find which three names you could rub together to make platinum."

"I wanted Aronnax to be French, God forbid! It got to be a little too confusing to me," Fincher added. "I had this argument with a studio executive one time where he said to me, 'why is it that the actors always side with you and we're paying them?' And I said, 'I think it's because at some level, they know that my only real allegiance is to the movie.' And because that's very clear and it never wavers, they may not agree with the image of the movie I have in my head, but they know that's what I'm after. They've seen me for 100 days take the long way around. I think that when you're trying to put together a handful of people to deliver all those facets of humanity and who work well together, it has to be in service of the narrative and not in service of the balance sheet. It became very hard to appease the anxieties of Disney's corporate culture with the list of names that allowed everyone to sleep at night. I just wanted to make sure I had the skill-sets I could turn the movie over to. Not worrying about whether they're big in Japan."

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) - Climb aboard the Nautilus ... and into a strange undersea world of spellbinding adventure! Kirk Douglas, Paul Lukas, and Peter Lorre star as shipwrecked survivors taken captive by the mysterious Captain Nemo, brilliantly portrayed by James Mason. Wavering between genius and madness, Nemo has launched a deadly crusade across the seven seas. But can the captive crew expose his evil plan before he destroys the world? Disney's brilliant Academy Award-winning (1955, Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects) adaptation of Jules Verne's gripping tale makes "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" a truly mesmerizing masterpiece!

Actors: Paul Lukas, Peter Lorre, James Mason and Kirk Douglas
Director: Richard Fleischer * Screenwriter: Earl Felton
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Reasonnnn
Reasonnnn - 9/15/2014, 2:42 PM
Disney dun goof'd. Tatum is about to get an Oscar nom for FOXCATCHER, and you pissed off Fincher. Good for Fincher to walk away.
Pasto
Pasto - 9/15/2014, 2:43 PM
It's always Disney's fault.
gambgel
gambgel - 9/15/2014, 2:47 PM
Disney trying to sell Chris Hemsworth to Fincher? lol how surprising

now Disney just care about the avengers actors or what? chhh
Reasonnnn
Reasonnnn - 9/15/2014, 2:48 PM
@kevberg WELL YOU CAN GO [frick] YOURSELF WHILE I WATCH
Dingbat
Dingbat - 9/15/2014, 2:48 PM
Pasto
Pasto - 9/15/2014, 2:49 PM
@kevberg
You know they don't just hand out Oscars to anyone right? You have to have some level of talent when it comes to the roles you play for you to even be considered for an Oscar.
SonOfOdor
SonOfOdor - 9/15/2014, 2:50 PM
If my director wanted to cast Tatum for this lead role I would be worried too....and that's coming from someone who likes the guy
Havensent
Havensent - 9/15/2014, 2:53 PM
Wouldn't take the movie serious with, Tatum in it as the lead.

I like the guy, but no.
LuBeTHiGhWalK3R
LuBeTHiGhWalK3R - 9/15/2014, 2:56 PM
Tatum over Hemsworth? Really?
MercwithMouth
MercwithMouth - 9/15/2014, 2:57 PM
Wow, a film studio cares about the bottom line...

Who the [frick] would've thought...
Reasonnnn
Reasonnnn - 9/15/2014, 2:57 PM
@SuperioR23SupermaN Ben Affleck over Josh Brolin? Really?
SageMode
SageMode - 9/15/2014, 2:57 PM
David Fincher actually wanted Tatum in a lead role? Talk about a talent downgrade.
McGee
McGee - 9/15/2014, 2:58 PM
I read the book in High School even though it was never assigned.

That makes me better than all you.
Havensent
Havensent - 9/15/2014, 3:00 PM
Yesh, McGee? Well, I never read it at all! Haha! That makes me better than you, ya nerd!
MercwithMouth
MercwithMouth - 9/15/2014, 3:02 PM
Politics at the Oscars? No...

I've heard that for years, and I've always wondered...what politics exactly?
Bekss
Bekss - 9/15/2014, 3:03 PM
Every studio has 1000 conflicts with directors/actors per year but it's Disney so it's fine to say they're evil
South Park already put Mickey as a psychopath so it's fine
thewonderer
thewonderer - 9/15/2014, 3:03 PM
Wow, the people attacking Tatum here are the same people who attacked McConaughey a year ago.

Guess the ignorant never learn.
Reasonnnn
Reasonnnn - 9/15/2014, 3:04 PM
@thewonderer Seriously. These ppl are delusional.
SirDuckAlot
SirDuckAlot - 9/15/2014, 3:05 PM
200 mil film starring Tatum... Yeah I would of showed Fincher the door too.
Bekss
Bekss - 9/15/2014, 3:06 PM
Really? People is saying Tatum is up for an Oscar?
Every actor with a movie in the last film festival is up for an Oscar:
Tatum
Whiterspoon
Jennifer Aniston
Steve Carrel
Etc.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 9/15/2014, 3:06 PM
Disney tryna market and get work for their Marvel subsidiary actors haha. It's so obvious. Tatum is a good actor, Foxcather prob will ascend him to greatness and A-List, but he kinda isn't very family friendly in terms of film. He's a sex symbol. I think he can be though
Bekss
Bekss - 9/15/2014, 3:07 PM
That doesn't mean they are great actors or that they'll get nominated
CPBuff22
CPBuff22 - 9/15/2014, 3:08 PM
Disney owns Marvel. Marvel made Guardians of the Galaxy starring Chris Pratt in the lead role with WWE Wrestler Batista in a major role and the two BIG names they had (Vin Diesel & Bradley Cooper) only did voice work. Yet that movie did AMAZING. I feel like this Disney hate is just for the sake of hating Disney. It's not like they regularly turn down everyone who isn't a big star for major roles. If you look at the Marvel history you have Chris Evens, Chris Hemsworth, & Chris Pratt all in leading roles. Come to think of it, maybe Channing Tatum should change his name to "Chris" or "Johnny Depp" if he wants a Disney role.
Bekss
Bekss - 9/15/2014, 3:09 PM
Even if an actor gets an Oscar it doesn't mean they are great actor, just that they did it good one time

Cuba Gooding Jr



And btw I'm not saying Tatum is not a good actor, I'm just saying that some people would say whatever to attack the "evil company"
TheNameIsBetty
TheNameIsBetty - 9/15/2014, 3:17 PM
One of my favorite books, I hope they do it justice.
McGee
McGee - 9/15/2014, 3:32 PM
@Havensent

Pinocchio
Pinocchio - 9/15/2014, 3:41 PM
@Mcgee yoy maybe have read the book but I live that book for a month after transforming my bathroom in a submarine.. yeah the parents werent too happy 'bout it
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