MovieChat Forums > First Blood (1982) Discussion > The WORST thing about IMDB Trivia postin...

The WORST thing about IMDB Trivia postings

posted 9 years ago by jmim-1
7 replies | jump to latest

Every time I read Trivia posts about a movie with a memorable lead character, I can't believe how many people post the names of various actors who were "considered" for the part, with no verifiable source. This is so retarded, and so unbelievable. Especially when you go to the message boards and find people asking "Who else could have played this role?" It's obviously the work of a bunch of shallow-minded people who can't seem to fantasize about anything more worthwhile. The movie Rambo is probably one of the worst examples yet. Dustin Hoffman, Kris Kristofferson, Michael Douglas, Al Pacino, Ryan O'Neal, James Garner, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, Nick Nolte, Robert DeNiro, Chuck Norris, Paul Newman, Jeff Bridges.... what a bunch of *beep* If people have nothing credible to post they should NOT post. Maybe they should go get jobs.

[–] tk1891 9 years ago

They can also be incorrect. if you watch the making of first blood, the producers say very clearly that they instantly thought of and wanted sly. In fact the director says that's the only time in his 40 year career that they got the first guy they wanted within 24 hours of asking.

[–] spookyrat1 9 years ago

The novel was published 10 years before the film was made and the film rights were sold pretty early on. That is the reason there were so many other stars mentioned. Kotchoff hooked into the project early and that's where a lot of these other stars had their names bandied around. Believe you me, Kotchoff didn't have Sly in mind back in the early to mid 70's when Sly was making porn films and Ted was directing Clint Eastwood. Then everything fell apart only to be reformed years later with different producers who still wanted Kotchoff to direct. By that time he knew and wanted Sly. The trivia is not that far off the mark.🐭

[–] tk1891 9 years ago

Ted Kotchoff said as plain as day that he got the first guy he wanted within 24 hours of asking him. I just recited what I heard him say. He may have wanted other actors 10 years before but he didn't mention that or any other name other than Sly.

[–] spookyrat1 9 years ago

I just recited what I heard him say.

I'm not disputing that at all. I'm just outlining the scenario as to why all these other crew were mentioned "over the years" leading up to the actual making of the film.

The OP has gone clearly over the top with his talk of "retards" etc. and clearly doesn't understand the full story.🐭

[–] ebright99 9 years ago

I 100% agree that Trivia pages and wikipedia articles are too often cluttered with long lists of proposed casting that never happened, some of it often dubious. But in the case of First Blood the word of one producer saying Sly was their first and only choice and they got him in 24 hours is not the whole story. That guy was far from the first producer involved. The book was optioned and it went through the hands of nearly every studio in Hollywood for over 10 years before finally getting made.

[–] old-skool101 8 years ago

Agreed.....
The same cr@p was post on the rocky IV board.

8000 auditions,,Who would you pick to play Drago?

image for user old-skool101
by old-skool101 » Fri Nov 21 2014 06:54:18 Flag ▼ | Edit ▼ | Reply |
IMDb member since October 2013
Post Edited: Sat Jun 20 2015 01:07:03
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vernon Wells, Brian Thompson, Patrick Swayze, Kurt Russell, Peter Weller, Michael Biehn, David Hasselhoff, Tom Selleck, Jean-Claude Van Damme, William Sadler, Jürgen Prochnow, Johnny Depp, Kevin Dillon, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Brad Pitt, Mel Gibson, Jesse Ventura, Kiefer Sutherland, Thomas F. Wilson, Val Kilmer, Sean Bean, Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Alec Baldwin, Jsu Garcia, Robert Patrick, Matt Dillon, Sonny Landham, Richard Chaves, Alexander Godunov, 'Kane Hodder (I)', Chris Sarandon, Keanu Reeves, Paul Satterfield, Eric Stoltz, Chuck Norris, Viggo Mortensen, Gary Sinise, Tony Goldwyn, Armand Assante, Michael Madsen, Liam Neeson and Roddy Piper auditioned to play the role as Ivan Drago.

****EDITED UPDATE**** 6/20/15

This list of names has now been deleted, and now IMDb trivia only says that 8000 people auditioned for Drago, without mentioning ANY names.... So IMDb must realized that this was *beep* when someone with a bit of sense and a bit of sway told them so.

[–] A-zone 7 years ago

Even though Ted Kotcheff (the director) claims that Stallone was his first and only choice for the role, "First Blood" went through the hands of MANY producers, studios and directors before it ended up with Kotcheff. And all those filmmakers had different ideas and actors in mind for the role.

So the Trivia post that you mention is correct mostly. If you want reliable sources then you should check out the "First Blood" Wikipedia page as it has all of the sources and all of the actors and directors listed as well.

"I'm the dude, playing a dude that's disguised as another dude".