Rob Reiner’s Distress is a good film with quite a few improbable behind-the-scenes tales – together with the truth that a major assortment of massive actors have been supplied and turned down the position of Paul Sheldon earlier than James Caan mentioned “sure” (the listing together with Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, William Harm, Harrison Ford, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Kline, and Richard Dreyfus). However this is a brand new little bit of trivia: do you know that Billy Bob Thornton was initially forged to play a component within the acclaimed Stephen King adaptation? He did not land the position of Paul and even Sherriff Buster, who’s performed by Richard Farnsworth; as a substitute, the story is far stranger than that.
The latest version on Selection’s “Actors On Actors” sequence contains a sit down between Billy Bob Thornton and Kathy Bates, and probably the most fascinating elements of the dialog sees the previous disclose to the latter that he was nearly one among her co-stars in Distress (a movie that received Bates the Academy Award for Greatest Actress in 1991). He defined that he did not simply audition for a job however as a substitute received it within the room, saying,
There was a time I went in and skim for Rob Reiner for Distress… I swear to God. Initially, Richard Farnsworth, who performed the sheriff, had a deputy. I noticed Rob Reiner for it. And Rob mentioned proper within the room, he goes,’You’re the man. We will ship all people else residence.’
These of you who’ve seen Distress are most likely saying to yourselves proper now, “Wait a second… Sheriff Buster does not have a deputy within the film.” Effectively, I can guarantee you that your reminiscence will not be failing you. The Richard Farnsworth character (who, it must be famous, will not be featured within the Stephen King novel) has a terrific scene accomplice in Frances Sternhagen’s Virginia, his spouse, however he appears to function alone in Colorado’s Silver County.
In accordance with Billy Bob Thornton, there was a model of the script by William Goldman that featured Sheriff Buster having a deputy, and Thornton landed that half. There are two huge twists, nonetheless: 1) it was determined that the character can be minimize from the film previous to the beginning of manufacturing, and a couple of) Rob Reiner was prepared to shoot the scenes with Thornton even supposing he knew they weren’t going to make it into the ultimate minimize of Distress. The actor mentioned that he bought a really well mannered name from Reiner simply earlier than he was planning to go to set:
I bought a name from Rob – I’ve to say, not many administrators would do that; he was so good about it. He referred to as me and he mentioned, ‘Pay attention, I’ve been trying on the script and planning out what I’m going to do with this film.’ He mentioned, ‘You possibly can come up right here and shoot this for the cash or the insurance coverage or no matter you want, however I’m simply telling you, it’s not going to be within the film.’ After which he mentioned, ‘I do not need you to return up right here anticipating that that is going to be within the film. I did not need you to be upset.’ He mentioned, ‘However I will go away it as much as you.’
Billy Bob Thornton’s response was that he would have felt “bizarre” about doing that, and making a bunch of “stuff” that was “nugatory ultimately.” Thus, he did not go to set. This definitely seems like a candy case of an actor-turned-director reaching out a hand to a fellow skilled – maybe understanding from private expertise the burn of touchdown a job after which having it taken away. It was a really beneficiant supply.
However I’ve so many questions. Understanding that Distress wasn’t precisely an enormous blockbuster, how a lot would have the meant-to-be-cut scenes with Billy Bob Thornton have price the manufacturing had they been shot? What was the character’s persona, and the way did it match into the dynamic between Buster and Virginia? Is there even the slightest proportion likelihood that he would have been the sufferer within the scene the place Annie Wilkes rolls over a man with a lawnmower?
Sadly, it does not appear from the edited interview that Kathy Bates adopted up – so maybe there shall be a follow-up interview with Rob Reiner the place he clarifies his aspect of the story.
As is, Distress is an ideal film, and a part of that stems from how lean it’s as a horror/thriller. When you’re now within the temper to observe, the unhealthy information is that it is not at present obtainable in any libraries of the most important streaming providers, however the movie is broadly obtainable for digital rental/buy, and Kino Lorber launched a terrific 4K UHD version a couple of years in the past that may be a should for anybody constructing a Stephen King library.