MovieChat Forums > The Hunt for Red October (1990) Discussion > Could have been a huge franchise if didn...

Could have been a huge franchise if didn't fire Alec

posted 8 years ago by parkerlgl
9 replies | jump to latest

In hindsight the studio made a billion dollar blunder by not continuing w Baldwin in the role. It was a real head scratcher when Ford took over the role. They could have groomed Baldwin so they'd have another A list star to make money on. Whoever made that decision should have been fired!! Alec so obviously owned the role. It's like replacing Cruise if they decided to make Top Gun 2.

It could have been a Bond or MI type franchise... instead of one rebooted every 10 years after an underperforming film.

[–] Alex_RM7 8 years ago

What could have been huge franchise? This movie is based on one book. There is no sequel to it as in The Hunt for Red October 2.

If you mean by franchise by all movies based on Tom Clancy's books then you should know there is no sequel to THFRO. For example The Sum of All Fears is a separate movie with a separate story and it has nothing to do with THFRO only the main character name being the same. But IT IS NOT a sequel. Which inherently means the lead actor does not have to be the same for the movie to make more sense

Hence, how could you compare that to Top Gun 2.

[–] CGSailor 7 years ago

What could have been huge franchise? This movie is based on one book. There is no sequel to it as in The Hunt for Red October 2.

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The stupid... it burnssss

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[–] Kojiro_Vance 8 years ago

As a fan of Harrison Ford, I thought he did a great job, but I still prefer Alec Baldwin. But that's probably because The Hunt for Red October is the best film in the series.

I'm just on my way up to Clavius.

[–] strntz 7 years ago

Baldwin was afflicted with the same disease Chevy Chase and Eddie Murphy suffered from: egomania.

They all became self-important and bigger than their roles, and it showed up on screen.

Is very bad to steal Jobu's rum. Is very bad.

[–] mvitale24 7 years ago

From what I recall, they didn't fire Baldwin. He declined to make Patriot Games because it conflicted with another movie that he really wanted to make: Prelude to a Kiss, which was based on a play that he'd done and was very attached to.

[–] intrepidami 7 years ago

Well you recall wrong. Baldwin himself blames it on wanting to do A Street Car Named Desire on Broadway not a movie.

He was offered the role in the next Jack Ryan movie with certain concessions. He was allegedly, which also was claimed against him in the legendary Diva movie The Marrying Man, asking for all sorts of perks and had delayed shooting for over a year with his negotiations. Baldwin readily admits that he thought they were bluffing and refused. He didn't realize they were hoping he'd refuse and wanted Ford to replace him anyways.

He publicly name calling attacked the person he felt responsible. That man responded in what seems to be a weird God Speak response about both himself and Baldwin not being the good people the public sees them as, but him taking the high ground. It's actually a very coded AA speak message basically saying I'm working on my problems, and you're not..nah nah nah nah.

This was long ago, but many of the same name calling has gone on , he called people pigs then, he calls them pigs in the 20teens!

[–] TMC-4 (19411) 6 years ago

http://citizens.trouble.city/showthread.php?tid=120088&pid=2764482#pid2764482

Apparently Baldwin's ouster from Patriot Games was a combo of factors: his "troublemaker" rep (then and now, candid fella), the postponement of shooting that would interfere with his Streetcar run on Broadway, and Paramount's feeling that Ford was a safer bet.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Thanks for the info.

[–] truther 7 years ago

Baldwin got himself fired. He was a difficult actor to work with and made himself replaceable.

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