What Were They Thinking?! Tom Cruise As Steve Jobs, Angelina Jolie On The Prairie & Other Bizarre Casting Ideas Of The Sony Email Leak
Mar. 9 2016, Updated 3:26 p.m. ET
Sometimes Hollywood casting decisions are a stroke of genius, but others can miss the mark. Leaked emails from the Sony hack reveal just how out-of-the-box some execs can be when it comes to finding roles for A-listers. Do you think any of these should make it to the big screen?
Sometimes Hollywood casting decisions are a stroke of genius, but others can miss the mark. Leaked emails from the Sony hack reveal just how out-of-the-box some execs can be when it comes to finding roles for A-listers. Do you think any of these should make it to the big screen?
Aaron Sorkin lobbied hard for Tom Cruise to take the role of Steve Jobs in his biopic of the Apple founder. He admitted, "the choice will be met with derision because it's such a commercial choice," but he insisted it would be "dazzling."
Sorkin also wanted Seth Rogen to play Job's partner Steve Wozniak -- even though at 33 he's nearly 20 years younger than Cruise. Sorkin said the movie was not "literal," so fans would accept the gap.
The Hulk of the Midwest? One exec said they "like Mark Ruffalo the best" to star in an upcoming big-screen version of The Little House on the Prairie.
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Joaquin Phoenix was listed as another possibility, however.
They also floated the idea of having Angelina Jolie take a leading role in the prairie epic, but while interested she said she'd rather focus on directing.
Sony exec Amy Pascal said Cumberbatch "would be right" for Angelina Jolie's Cleopatra, but mentioned that he also wanted to play David Bowie.
One surprise of the email leaks was the Beyonce's dad Mathew Knowles wanted to develop a Destiny's Child biopic. But perhaps more shocking? Sony execs wanted her to star as Princess Frostine in a Candyland movie! One called her a "crazy wild dream."
According to the emails, Emma Stone was approached to host the MTV Movie Awards and the Kids' Choice Awards but turned down both because "hosting just isn't something she is comfortable with at this time."