David Schwimmer Recalls Turning Down ‘Men in Black’
David Schwimmer doesn’t regret turning down Men in Black, however, he acknowledges his “career would have taken a very different trajectory” if he starred in the 1997 film. https://t.co/IIEPjgD99Q
- The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 18, 2024
David Schwimmer doesn’t regret turning down 'Men in Black', however, he acknowledges his career would have taken a very different trajectory if he starred in the 1997 film.
“[It] was a brutal decision. I had just finished filming 'The Pallbearer', my first film with Gwyneth Paltrow, and there were high expectations of that which didn’t come true. It was kind of a bomb but there were high expectations and the studio which was Miramax wanted to lock me into a three-picture deal at a fixed price and I said I would do that if I got to direct my first movie.”
After months of negotiations, they agreed that he would act in three more movies for them if they let him direct his entire theater company in the first film, 1998’s 'Since You’ve Been Gone'.
“All these unknown actors but I was going to put them on the map, basically. I was going to let everyone discover the talent of this amazing company. We found this amazing script and we were developing it. We started pre-production. All my best friends in the world in my theater company quit their jobs so they could be in this film over the summer, which was going to be a six-week shoot in Chicago.”
However, his production for his directorial debut ended up overlapping with 'Men in Black' filming, leading Schwimmer to make a difficult career decision.
“We’re in pre-production, hired the whole crew, everything’s going and that’s when I was offered 'Men in Black.' It was a direct conflict with this. My summer window from 'Friends' was four months. I had a four-month hiatus and 'Men in Black' was going to shoot exactly when I was going to direct this film with my company. And of course, it was an amazing opportunity. … However, my theater company and that relationship with all those people would probably have ended. I don’t think it would have recovered.”
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