A retrospective of the Oscar-winning 1999 film Shakespeare in Love revealed that disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein threatened to kill a producer’s family if he didn’t quit.
Edward Zwick, one of the producers of the nearly $300 million-grossing seven Academy Awards, also revealed that Julia Roberts was originally set to play the role in 1991 where Gwyneth Paltrow broke as a star, winning her Best Actress.
Roberts has claimed in the past that she stepped out of the role after finding out her on-screen counterpart would not be played by Daniel Day-Lewis.
Zwick revealed that “the very idea of having the Pretty Woman wear a corset dress” was enough to get Universal Pictures on board.
“Someone, possibly her manager or agent, had gotten wind of the project and informed Universal that Julia might be interested in starring in a historical rom-com, possibly this one,” Zwick wrote in Airmail Friday.
A look back at the Oscar-winning 1999 film Shakespeare in Love revealed that disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein threatened to kill a producer’s family if he didn’t quit
He noted that Roberts was going through a torrid personal situation at the time, having “more or less” left fiancée Kiefer Sutherland with the author and was “shocking” with the actor’s boyfriend, Jason Patric.
On a flight to London with Zwick, Roberts revealed that she wanted Daniel Day-Lewis to play the part of Shakespeare, which eventually went to Ralph Fiennes.
‘He’s brilliant – he’s handsome and intense. And so funny! Did you see his performance in A Room with a View?’ He’s also done Shakespeare. Don’t you think he’d be perfect?!’
Zwick had to inform Roberts that while he agreed, Day-Lewis had already agreed to do In the Name of the Father.
Undeterred, Roberts sent Day-Lewis two dozen roses and asked the legendary actor to “be my Romeo.”
After Day-Lewis couldn’t be convinced, Roberts tested with the likes of Hugh Grant, Rupert Graves, Colin Firth, Sean Bean, Jeremy Northam, but didn’t like something about them all.
The starlet eventually had to leave the movie, as she couldn’t find the voice needed to play Viola de Lesseps despite taking lessons in dialect from coach Joan Washington.
“(O) when she started to say the words, something wasn’t right. There was no magic. The problem wasn’t the script. Or Paul McGann. It was Julia. From the moment she started talking, it was clear she hadn’t worked on the accent,” Zwick said.
Edward Zwick, one of the producers of the nearly $300 million-grossing seven Academy Awards, also revealed that Julia Roberts was originally set to play the role in 1991 in which Gwyneth Paltrow broke as a star and won her Best Actress.
Paltrow arrives for the premiere of Shakespeare in Love at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City on December 3, 1998
The film, starring Paltrow and Ralph Fiennes, won seven Oscars
After Roberts left and the film was on the line, Zwick was contacted by the now-disgraced Weinstein.
At the time, he noted that the film had already sunk $6 million before he ever shot a scene with Roberts, but it encouraged Zwick to further showcase the film in Hollywood.
Couples like Kenneth Branagh and Winona Ryder, Stephen Dillane and Emily Watson, Jude Law, Mel Gibson and Johnny Depp all occasionally bonded or read the script.
However, in 1996, Paltrow read a copy of the script while staying with Ryder and convinced Weinstein to buy it.
However, Weinstein wanted Zwick out of the film and was willing to do whatever he could to make that happen, Zwick claims.
However, in 1996, Paltrow read a copy of the script while staying with Winona Ryder and convinced Harvey Weinstein (pictured) to buy it.
However, Weinstein wanted Zwick (pictured) out of the film and was willing to do whatever he could to make that happen, Zwick claims.
“Do you think you can sue me, jerk?” You don’t know who you’re dealing with,” Weinstein reportedly said. ‘I’m going to ruin you! I’m going to make sure you never have to work again!’
It quickly escalated: ‘F**k you. I’ll kill your whole family, you little bastard,” Weinstein reportedly told Zwick.
‘Nice talking to you, Harvey. I’ll see you in court,” Zwick claimed, he replied.
After Zwick threatened to sue, Weinstein “promised to include my central role as producer in all press releases and to include me in every major interview about the film’s genesis.”
However, Weinstein did not allow Zwick to direct Shakespeare in Love, instead going with British filmmaker John Madden.
The film went on to earn $289.3 million at the box office and won seven Oscars, including Paltrow, Fiennes, writers Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, and Zwick as part of the Best Picture production team.
