Basinger beats out Madonna for ‘Door’ role
Two words Madonna never heard from director Tod Williams: You’re hired!
The man behind the camera for the upcoming film “The Door in the Floor” met with Madonna and “just about every other actress in the world over 40,” he says, for the coveted role of an older woman who seduces her teenage summer helper.
“Madonna really wanted to do the part,” Williams said. “I wasn’t really even considering her, but I called her in because I just wanted to meet Madonna.”
So how was it?
“It was a strange meeting,” he says. “She asked me about techniques, how all the shots would happen in the movie.”
But Madonna was not the only one who did not get the rol. To read the full story from today’s Chicago Sun-Times please click on the Full Article link below.
Williams met withother A-listers, each of whom had their own problems with a role that includes seducing a teen, lots and lots of nudity and passionate lovemaking scenes. “I very seriously considered Kristin Scott Thomas,” says Williams. “But she wouldn’t even stand on the beach in a bathing suit in this film, let alone get naked.”
He thought about Frances McDormand. “She really knows what the heck she’s doing, but I wasn’t sure about casting her. The part calls for someone who is stunningly beautiful.” What about Susan Sarandon? “She’s just so sexual to me,” Williams says. “She owns her sexuality. She’s connected to herself in that way. This character — a mother grieving the loss of her child who has this affair – isn’t so sure of herself.”
Sigourney Weaver was dubbed “interesting” by Williams. So was a Chicago legend. “Joan Allen is a great, great actress,” Williams says. “But she didn’t seem right.” He liked Michelle Pfeiffer and Robin Wright Penn. “Both loved the script, but they were uncomfortable with the idea of sleeping with a young man.”
Not so for Kim Basinger, who eventually got the coveted role and now is enjoying early Oscar buzz. “She was fearless during the nude scenes,” says Williams. “Yes, she was scared of the darkness of this role, but because it scared her, she did it.”
Article by Cindy Pearlman, Chicago Sun-Times