Post by The Low Dweller on Oct 4, 2021 19:58:33 GMT
a new book claims that bale and benicio del toro were almost cast in zodiac. bale originally wanted to play the lead role but as fincher was set on gyllenhaal he was willing to settle for the part that eventually went to robert downey jr. this article doesn't clarify why the talks with bale broke down. maybe the book goes into more detail. but considering how enthusiastic bale seemingly was about the project i don't think money was the issue. maybe scheduling problems with rescue dawn. or fincher might've wanted someone older for the role. in any case that's at least twice that fincher and bale have come close to working together. hopefully one of these days it'll happen.
How David Fincher's Zodiac Cast Was Almost Completely Different
New book reveals how close Christian Bale & Benicio Del Toro came to starring in Fincher's classic.
David Fincher's Zodiac is one of the very best thrillers of the 2000s. With astonishing attention to detail, the film chronicles the Zodiac killer's spree across the late 1960s into the early 1970s, and the lives of the people who became obsessed with solving the case and putting the criminal behind bars (which, of course, famously never happened).
Part of what makes the movie so special is the all-star cast, full of recognisable stars giving some of the finest performances of their careers. Holding the project together is the triple-header of Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith, the newspaper cartoonist who dedicated much of his life to tracking the killer down; Robert Downey Jr. as Paul Avery, the San Francisco Chronicle journalist who reported on the Zodiac killings; and Mark Ruffalo as David Toschi, chief investigator on the case.
It's almost impossible to think of anyone else in these roles, however thanks to the new book by the real-life Robert Graysmith (who also wrote the book the movie is based on, and helped Fincher with 18 months of new interviews and investigations into the Zodiac killer during pre-production), we now know just how different the cast could have been.
Released August 31st and titled Shooting Zodiac, the new book provides detailed, fascinating accounts into the production. In terms of casting, the author details how Fincher was 100% committed to casting Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith. Understandably though the role itself was extremely coveted and piqued the interest of numerous A-listers, including Christian Bale, who had himself just been cast as the new Batman for Batman Begins and was blown away by the Zodiac script.
Excerpt from the book;
Part of what makes the movie so special is the all-star cast, full of recognisable stars giving some of the finest performances of their careers. Holding the project together is the triple-header of Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith, the newspaper cartoonist who dedicated much of his life to tracking the killer down; Robert Downey Jr. as Paul Avery, the San Francisco Chronicle journalist who reported on the Zodiac killings; and Mark Ruffalo as David Toschi, chief investigator on the case.
It's almost impossible to think of anyone else in these roles, however thanks to the new book by the real-life Robert Graysmith (who also wrote the book the movie is based on, and helped Fincher with 18 months of new interviews and investigations into the Zodiac killer during pre-production), we now know just how different the cast could have been.
Released August 31st and titled Shooting Zodiac, the new book provides detailed, fascinating accounts into the production. In terms of casting, the author details how Fincher was 100% committed to casting Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith. Understandably though the role itself was extremely coveted and piqued the interest of numerous A-listers, including Christian Bale, who had himself just been cast as the new Batman for Batman Begins and was blown away by the Zodiac script.
Excerpt from the book;
"This is one of the best scripts I've ever read". Bale said."As soon as I finished reading it, I wrote one word on the cover."
Bale dropped the heavy script on the table and pointed to the word he had written: "Phenomenal"
Bale apparently lobbied hard to play Graysmith himself, meeting with producers as well as screenwriter James Vanderbilt. Of course, Fincher isn't a director known to budge once his mind is set on a creative choice, and so Vanderbilt returned from his meeting and pitched Bale for the role of Paul Avery, who at the time was proving difficult to cast.
Graysmith reports how a few names had been bandied around for Avery, but none had stuck. The author recalls how Fincher was initially considering Aaron Eckhart (another Batman alumn) to play the journalist, while Vanderbilt suggested Kevin Spacey for the role, which the director was momentarily open to before trying to fit him into another role and then, ultimately, dropping him from the list. With Bale's enthusiasm for the project though and clear acting talent, the producers were keen to get him on board.
Graysmith reports how a few names had been bandied around for Avery, but none had stuck. The author recalls how Fincher was initially considering Aaron Eckhart (another Batman alumn) to play the journalist, while Vanderbilt suggested Kevin Spacey for the role, which the director was momentarily open to before trying to fit him into another role and then, ultimately, dropping him from the list. With Bale's enthusiasm for the project though and clear acting talent, the producers were keen to get him on board.
Unsurprisingly, Detective Toschi was also difficult to cast. Hilariously, Graysmith explains that Fincher originally had his sights set on Sean Penn, but was "turned off" after seeing The Assassination of Richard Nixon, a middling drama set around the same period as Zodiac with Penn in the lead role.
After Penn was out, the Fincher-approved Benicio Del Toro solved the production's Toschi issue. And, for a time, it looked as though Jake Gyllenhaal, Christian Bale and Del Toro were set to star as the leads.
There was only one issue, according to Graysmith: money. Del Toro was expecting the same pay as Jake Gylenhaal, which the producers were reluctant to agree to due to Toschi's smaller role in the film. Budgetary concerns are a common theme in Graysmith's book, and at one point he even recalls how Vanderbilt summed up Fincher's approach to paying actors:
After Penn was out, the Fincher-approved Benicio Del Toro solved the production's Toschi issue. And, for a time, it looked as though Jake Gyllenhaal, Christian Bale and Del Toro were set to star as the leads.
There was only one issue, according to Graysmith: money. Del Toro was expecting the same pay as Jake Gylenhaal, which the producers were reluctant to agree to due to Toschi's smaller role in the film. Budgetary concerns are a common theme in Graysmith's book, and at one point he even recalls how Vanderbilt summed up Fincher's approach to paying actors:
"The way he looks at it is, 'If I have a seventy-five million dollar budget, I'm not going to waste ten of it on an actor.'"
So, the production opted to look for someone cheaper, and Fincher settled on Mark Ruffalo - strangely enough - thanks to a recommendation from Jennifer Aniston. After some wrangling with the actor's agent, who essentially worried the producers would take Ruffalo for a ride knowing they could offer him a low wage in exchange for a good role, he officially came on board. As for Avery, Fincher eventually decided on Robert Downey Jr. as talks with Christian Bale broke down.
The extensive casting process clearly paid off, but it's interesting to imagine a what-if alternate reality where Zodiac starred Jake Gylenhaal, Christian Bale and Benicio Del Toro. Not to mention the book reveals that other actors were also in contention for roles, like Philip Seymour Hoffman and Greg Kinnear.
For a bigger insight into the casting process and more from the production, make sure to check out Shooting Zodiac for yourself.
For a bigger insight into the casting process and more from the production, make sure to check out Shooting Zodiac for yourself.