“I knew I would find him charming”: American Psycho Director Reveals Why She Refused to Cast Leonardo DiCaprio That Led to Her Firing – FandomWire | CPT PPP Coverage

Cryptopolytech (CPT) Public Press Pass (PPP)
News of the Day COVERAGE

200000048 – World Newser
•| #People |•| #World |•| #Online |•| #Media |•| #Outlet |

View more Headlines & Breaking News here, as covered by cryptopolytech.com

The 2000 film, American Psycho, has been one of the most successful and critically acclaimed films of Christian Bale’s career. However, the film was initially offered to the Titanic star, Leonardo DiCaprio. He later opened up about not taking the lead role, saying that he felt it did not mean anything in the end. While the studio wanted the Oscar-winning actor as the lead in the film, director Mary Harron was adamant about having Bale as Patrick Bateman.

While it would be hard to imagine anyone else in the lead now, the director of the 2000 film went through a tough time standing up to her decision. During an interview with Vice, she revealed that the studio fired her for the same, as she shared the reason she avoided meeting the Inception star for American Psycho. 

Read More: “I realized it didn’t amount to anything”: Leonardo DiCaprio Refused Cult-Classic $34M Movie Starring Christian Bale for a Role That Got Him Razzie, Nearly Decimated His Career

Marry Harron Avoided Meeting Leonardo DiCaprio

Based on the 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis,  American Psycho follows Patrick Bateman, an investment banker who is also secretly a psycho killer. When Mary Harron was offered to work on the book’s adaptation, she demanded to work on the screenplay with Guinevere Turner.

She also shared that everyone loved the script she and Turner worked on. But the studio was adamant about casting Leonardo DiCaprio and wanted Harron to meet him. She did not want to take any risk though, as she knew she couldn’t resist his charm.

“[Edward R. Pressman] did want me to meet DiCaprio. I said no because I didn’t want to start down that road. I knew I would find him charming.” 

Harron claimed that if she had met the actor, she most likely would have agreed with the studio’s plans to cast him in the lead role. However, it would not end with changing the lead actor only. The director shared that the Shutter Island star’s casting would have required to “change the script” to make the character “more sympathetic,” which would have changed the film’s tone.

Read More: Leonardo DiCaprio Got Director of Cult-Classic $34M Movie Fired for Choosing Christian Bale Over Him: “It’s going to be a disaster”

Marry Harron Was Disappointed With the Studio

After going through several ups and downs, Mary Harron was appointed to direct the film adaptation of Bret Ellis’ book. After reading the initial drafts of the script, the director started working on her own screenplay for the film and sent it to Christian Bale, as she felt he was the only actor who fit the role.

Considering all her work on the script, Harron was disappointed after Lionsgate stated that they wanted Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role. During her interview with Vice, the director shared that casting “DiCaprio meant more than [her].” And no one was concerned about what she had in mind.

“Then Guinevere started to write it with me, and in the version that they really liked, that brought the project back to life. [But] DiCaprio meant more than I did. Nobody was very concerned about me.”

After Mary Harron was fired from the project, the studio hired Oliver Stone as the director, and Leonardo DiCaprio was cast as the lead. However, the Oscar-winning actor eventually departed from the film, leading to Harron’s return, and she was able to get The Machinist star back as well.

American Psycho is available to stream on Disney+.

Read More: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Extremely Demanding Nature Forced Christopher Nolan to Rewrite ‘Inception’ Script Multiple Times

Source: Vice