Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by halfnote (A) on May 16, 2021 at 06:17:12

In Reply to: RE: The role was originally intended for Richard Harris, but the studio.... posted by TWB on May 13, 2021 at 10:27:04

Sidney Pollack as Ziegler in EYES WIDE SHUT.

Harvey Keitel was supposed have the role, but had a falling out with Kubrick during the shoot. He was removed from the film, even though almost all of his scenes had been shot, and replaced by Pollack.

The official story was that Keitel had a scheduling conflict.

I still imagine how much better he would have been in the role, as a sneaky, weasel-ly duplicitous Ziegler, with a suspiciously urbane and mannered exterior.

Instead, we got an avuncular Pollack, totally unconvincing as a sexual animal, who spent way too much time playing with a billiard ball.