Steven Spielberg is a prolific filmmaker who has made some of the most memorable and acclaimed films in the industry. He experimented in various genres that showed his versatility as a director. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park showed the range of work he could do.
The maverick director has also had a lot of projects that he was attached to direct but was ultimately replaced by other directors. One such film was Cape Fear and Spielberg had a particular actor in mind that he wanted for the role of Max Cady. It was a choice that no one would have expected.
Steven Spielberg Wanted Bill Murray as Max Cady for Cape Fear
Steven Spielberg wanted to adapt the 1957 novel The Executioners by John D. MacDonald for the big screen. The film was to be called Cape Fear and Spielberg was initially attached to direct the psychological thriller. As reported by Far Out Magazine, he wanted Bill Murray, who was a popular and beloved comedian at the time, to play a dangerous convicted r*pist in the film.
As the outlet continues, it seems Steven Spielberg and director Martin Scorsese had a successful trade-off during the 90s. While Spielberg was attached to direct Cape Fear, Scorsese was attached to direct Schindler’s List. Both found their respective projects daunting and they traded each other’s projects. This resulted in the existence of two of the most beloved films of the 90s.
Robert De Niro would eventually play Max Cady in Cape Fear which was directed by Martin Scorsese in 1991. De Niro put up a terrifying performance and it is interesting to think about how an actor like Murray would have played such a detestable character (which would be so against type for the actor). Spielberg on the other hand went on to make a harrowing holocaust drama Schindler’s List with Liam Neeson.
Steven Spielberg Did Not Take A Penny from the Profits of Schindler’s List
Steven Spielberg made one of the most harrowing WW2 dramas ever made in Schindler’s List. The film which tells the efforts of Oskar Schindler who saved hundreds of Polish-Jewish people from the holocaust remains as relevant as it was when it was released in 1993. The movie was a personal film for Spielberg and he did not take a penny from the humongous box office success of the film. He told Today.
“It is blood money. Let’s call it what it is. I didn’t take a single dollar from the profits I received from Schindler’s List because I did consider it blood money. When I first decided to make Schindler’s List I said, if this movie makes any profit, it can’t go to me or my family, it has to go out into the world and that’s what we try to do here at the Shoah Foundation. We try to teach the facts of the past to prevent another Holocaust in the future.”
The movie earned Spielberg an Oscar for best director while the film also won the Oscar for Best Picture. Spielberg has said many times that the film is the proudest film he has ever done, and many will agree with his statement.
