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Harry Potter became a household name whenHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stonewas released back in 2001. Baz Luhrmann, who directed Nicole Kidman’sMoulin Rougehad the golden opportunity of directing the first part of the franchise.
The director turned down the film because he wanted to work on a modern remake of the classic musical back in 2001. Well, Baz Luhrmann quickly regretted the decision when theHarry Potterfranchise became bigger than ever over the coming years.
Baz Luhrmann Turned Down Harry Potter For Nicole Kidman
Back in 2001, director Christopher Columbus took matters into his own hands when he directed the first part of a franchise that would earn a billion dollars. Columbus started the journey by directingHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stoneback in 2001 and other directors continued the legacy.
Also read:Tom Cruise Sued An Adult Film Star For Spreading False Affair Rumors That Led to His Divorce With Nicole Kidman
Before Christopher Columbus however, the opportunity was given to Baz Luhrmann. At the same time,Nicole Kidmanwas working as the lead actress inMoulin Rogue.Since director Baz Luhrmann was already attached to the project, he turned down the offer to direct Harry Potter. He would go on to regret the decision later on. In a 2013 interview onThe Graham Norton Show,Baz Luhrmann talked about how he regretted the decision later on and called himself an idiot for his decision.
“The first one came along, and they rang me, and while I love the pictures and the books now, then I thought ‘what’s that?’. And said: ‘Well, that sounds interesting, but I’m thinking of doing a reinvention of the modern musical’, and that was Moulin Rouge! So I’m an obvious idiot because I should have taken Harry Potter.”
AlthoughMoulin Rougereceived a great rating of 7.6/10 on IMDB and 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, theHarry Potterfranchise did win in the end. That wasn’t all since another notable actor refused to star in the iconic franchise after suffering an insult. The veteran actor, however, would go on to star in another classic franchise as Gandalf the Grey/White inThe Lord of the Rings.
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Sir Ian McKellen Also Refused To Star In TheHarry PotterFranchise
Related:“Just like a young Nicole, but even more beautiful”: Tom Cruise Was Reportedly Obsessed With Mission Impossible Co-Star Because of Ex-Wife Nicole Kidman Before Hayley Atwell Fling
While choosing to portray the role of Gandalf the Grey/White in Peter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy, Sir Ian McKellen refused to portray the role of Professor Albus Dumbledore in the billion-dollar franchise.
Richard Harris, who portrayed the role of Albus Dumbledore in the first two movies, had some disparaging comments aboutThe Da Vinci Codeactor and his co-stars Derek Jacobi and Kenneth Branagh by stating that they were“technically brilliant, but passionless”.Ian McKellen replied in kind by calling the statements“nonsense”.SirIan McKellenstated that he couldn’t take part in a project where he did not get respect.
“I couldn’t take over the part from an actor who I’d known didn’t approve of me.”
In the end, Ian McKellen went on to star in Peter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy whileHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stonewent on to be directed by Christopher Columbus. The billion-dollar franchise is available to stream on Max.
Source:The Graham Norton Show
Visarg Acharya
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3262
Visarg Acharya is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on movies, with over 3000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past three years and a copywriter at a corporation. Visarg usually covers news and theories on the MCU and the DCU, with an emphasis on Avengers and Superman; Game of Thrones, and more.A Tarantino fan, Visarg, spends his time critiquing various directors’ filmographies and watching them with curiosity. Medieval fantasy like The Lord of the Rings or sci-fi movies like Interstellar, watching the latest horror movies, and listening to Hans Zimmer become his comfort zone. When idle, he can be found reading fantasy novels with a terrible cup of coffee in hand.
