John C. Reilly lately instructed Ted Danson on the “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” podcast that he tried to persuade Leonardo DiCaprio to show down “Titanic” and as a substitute star in “Boogie Nights,” written and directed by his good pal Paul Thomas Anderson.
Reilly stated he and Anderson had been “thick as thieves” after collaborating on Anderson’s 1996 directorial debut “Hard Eight.” Reilly labored with DiCaprio in 1993’s “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” and he instructed Anderson he was assured he would get the younger star to signal on for “Boogie Nights.”
“I met him when he was 17,” Reilly defined. “And I was like, ‘Give me the assignment, Paul. I’ll get this guy to do your movie. I’ve known him since [he was] a kid.’”
Reilly recalled telling DiCaprio, “’Listen, Leo, let me tell you something. That movie ‘Titanic’ is about a boat that sinks. Everyone knows the boat sinks. No one’s going to give a shit about who’s on the boat.’”
He additionally stated of Anderson on the time, “‘This guy, this director, is going to be one of the most talented film directors going forward, and you should not miss this opportunity.’”
Reilly remembered DiCaprio leaning towards doing James Cameron’s “Titanic,” since his brokers had been satisfied it was destined to be “a really big movie.”
Nonetheless, Reilly pressed on: “And I was like, ‘I’m telling you, man. I’m telling you, I wouldn’t give you a bum steer here. It’s about a boat that sinks.’”
Regardless of Reilly’s persistence, DiCaprio went on to star in “Titanic,” which grossed $1.84 billion by the top of its authentic run. Mark Wahlberg stepped into the function of Eddie Adams, aka Dirk Diggler, a younger dishwasher who’s catapulted into grownup movie stardom within the Seventies. Reilly starred within the movie as fellow performer Reed Rothchild.
