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Singers Nearly Cast in 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' Revealed.
The casting alchemy behind the 1988 comedy 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' nearly produced a very different cinematic tune, as recent revelations from screenwriter Dale Launer suggest the film was almost a vehicle for two major music icons. Imagine, if you will, the sun-drenched French Riviera not as the playground for Steve Martin and Michael Caine’s dueling con men, but as the stage for Mick Jagger and David Bowie, two of rock's most theatrical personas, to engage in a high-stakes game of deception.This wasn't just a fleeting 'what if'; Launer's original vision pulsated with the kind of glam-rock energy these singers embodied, a concept that would have fundamentally reshaped the film's rhythm and texture. While the eventual pairing of Martin's physical comedy and Caine's suave sophistication created a classic comedic symphony, the road not taken hums with its own fascinating melody.The original 1964 film, 'Bedtime Story,' starring Marlon Brando and David Niven, already set a high bar for tales of competitive grifters, but placing Jagger and Bowie in those roles would have been less a remake and more a cultural event, blending their established off-stage mystiques with on-screen fiction. Their inherent charisma and history of playing with identity—Jagger with his swaggering frontman persona and Bowie with his chameleonic Ziggy Stardust—would have required less acting and more a curated projection of their own legendary statuses.One can almost hear the soundtrack, not the score by Miles Goodman, but perhaps a collaboration between The Rolling Stones and the Thin White Duke himself. The logistical nightmare of aligning the schedules of two global superstars at their peak likely contributed to the idea being shelved, a common dissonant chord in Hollywood's development process.Yet, this near-miss forces us to reconsider the entire landscape of 80s cinema; a Jagger-Bowie vehicle would have undoubtedly drawn a different audience, perhaps leaning into a darker, more subversive humor reflective of the New Wave music scene they helped pioneer. It stands as one of the great unmade films, a fascinating counter-melody in the career of a screenwriter who would soon strike gold with the perfectly cast 'My Cousin Vinny. ' The story of 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' is ultimately one of brilliant compromise, but the echo of the rock gods who almost starred is a captivating B-side that adds a rich layer of context to a beloved comedy, reminding us that the films we cherish are often just one version of many possible productions.
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#Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
#Steve Martin
#Michael Caine
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#film history
#1980s movies
