20 films that almost had other directors

by tudor-baltoiu | created - 08 Apr 2015 | updated - 08 Apr 2015 | Public

Sometimes, the director of a film is not the first director proposed. We all know the final result, but it is interesting to imagine how the film would have looked like had other directors tackled it.

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1. The Godfather (1972)

R | 175 min | Crime, Drama

100 Metascore

The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton

Votes: 2,013,564 | Gross: $134.97M

Proposed: Sergio Leone

2. Rain Man (1988)

R | 133 min | Drama

65 Metascore

After a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.

Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino, Gerald R. Molen

Votes: 546,811 | Gross: $178.80M

Proposed: Steven Spielberg

3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

PG | 152 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy

65 Metascore

An orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world.

Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris

Votes: 856,407 | Gross: $317.58M

Proposed: Steven Spielberg

4. Interstellar (2014)

PG-13 | 169 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi

74 Metascore

When Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.

Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Mackenzie Foy

Votes: 2,101,772 | Gross: $188.02M

Proposed: Steven Spielberg

5. King Kong (1976)

PG | 134 min | Adventure, Horror

61 Metascore

A petroleum exploration expedition comes to an isolated island and encounters a colossal giant gorilla.

Director: John Guillermin | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, Jessica Lange, John Randolph

Votes: 35,569 | Gross: $52.61M

Proposed: Steven Spielberg

6. Jurassic Park (1993)

PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

68 Metascore

A pragmatic paleontologist touring an almost complete theme park on an island in Central America is tasked with protecting a couple of kids after a power failure causes the park's cloned dinosaurs to run loose.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough

Votes: 1,067,644 | Gross: $402.45M

Proposed: Tim Burton

7. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)

PG | 131 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

58 Metascore

After rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebel Alliance attempt to destroy the second Death Star, while Luke struggles to help Darth Vader back from the dark side.

Director: Richard Marquand | Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams

Votes: 1,121,827 | Gross: $309.13M

Proposed: David Lynch

8. Total Recall (1990)

R | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

60 Metascore

When a man goes in to have virtual vacation memories of the planet Mars implanted in his mind, an unexpected and harrowing series of events forces him to go to the planet for real - or is he?

Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Rachel Ticotin

Votes: 354,724 | Gross: $119.39M

Proposed: David Cronenberg

9. One-Eyed Jacks (1961)

Not Rated | 141 min | Drama, Western

After robbing a Mexican bank, Dad Longworth takes the loot and leaves his partner Rio to be captured, but Rio escapes and searches for Dad in California.

Director: Marlon Brando | Stars: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Pina Pellicer, Katy Jurado

Votes: 13,280 | Gross: $9.37M

Proposed: Stanley Kubrick

10. Good Will Hunting (1997)

R | 126 min | Drama, Romance

71 Metascore

Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.

Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård

Votes: 1,068,797 | Gross: $138.43M

Proposed: Mel Gibson

11. Alien (1979)

R | 117 min | Horror, Sci-Fi

89 Metascore

The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.

Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright

Votes: 951,423 | Gross: $78.90M

Proposed: Roger Corman

12. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

PG-13 | 169 min | Adventure, Fantasy

58 Metascore

A reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of dwarves to reclaim their mountain home, and the gold within it from the dragon Smaug.

Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis

Votes: 873,347 | Gross: $303.00M

Proposed: Guillermo del Toro

13. Spider-Man (2002)

PG-13 | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

73 Metascore

After being bitten by a genetically-modified spider, a shy teenager gains spider-like abilities that he uses to fight injustice as a masked superhero and face a vengeful enemy.

Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco

Votes: 880,222 | Gross: $403.71M

Proposed: James Cameron

14. Life of Pi (2012)

PG | 127 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

79 Metascore

A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.

Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain, Tabu

Votes: 667,055 | Gross: $124.99M

Proposed: M. Night Shyamalan

15. 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)

PG-13 | 154 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama

47 Metascore

Christopher Columbus' discovery of the Americas and the effect this has on the indigenous people.

Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Armand Assante, Sigourney Weaver, Loren Dean

Votes: 32,817 | Gross: $7.19M

Proposed: Oliver Stone and Francis Ford Coppola

16. Jaws 2 (1978)

PG | 116 min | Adventure, Horror, Thriller

51 Metascore

Police chief Brody must protect the citizens of Amity after a second monstrous shark begins terrorizing the waters.

Director: Jeannot Szwarc | Stars: Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Joseph Mascolo

Votes: 84,515 | Gross: $102.92M

Proposed: Steven Spielberg

17. True Romance (1993)

R | 119 min | Crime, Drama, Romance

59 Metascore

In Detroit, a pop-culture nerd steals cocaine from his new wife's pimp and tries to sell it in Hollywood, prompting the mobsters who own the drugs to pursue the couple.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer

Votes: 242,579 | Gross: $12.28M

Proposed: Quentin Tarantino

18. The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)

R | 130 min | Biography, Drama

79 Metascore

The story of controversial pornography publisher Larry Flynt, and how he became a defender of free speech.

Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton, Brett Harrelson

Votes: 100,754 | Gross: $20.19M

Proposed: Oliver Stone

19. American Psycho (2000)

R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Horror

64 Metascore

A wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.

Director: Mary Harron | Stars: Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Bill Sage

Votes: 716,156 | Gross: $15.07M

Proposed: Oliver Stone

20. Batman Forever (1995)

PG-13 | 121 min | Action, Adventure

54 Metascore

Batman must battle former district attorney Harvey Dent, who is now Two-Face and Edward Nygma, The Riddler with help from an amorous psychologist and a young circus acrobat who becomes his sidekick, Robin.

Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman

Votes: 266,651 | Gross: $184.03M

Proposed: Tim Burton



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