Trivia / The Game (1997)

• Creator Backlash: Despite its success in the box office and its cult following, David Fincher has admitted in interviews that he is not proud of the film. He has explained that he was fighting with executives at Polygram Entertainment, which was the distributor of the film, during its production. He also stated that he agreed with his wife Cean Chaffin (who produced the film) that he never should've made it, citing that they couldn't figure out the third act.
  "...and it was my fault, because I thought if you could just keep your foot on the throttle it would be liberating and funny."
• No Stunt Double: Deborah Kara Unger fractured a bone in her foot and jumped into a dumpster infested with real rats during the escape scene.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Jodie Foster was originally signed to play Michael Douglas' sibling in the film. However, David Fincher was uncomfortable with putting an actor and movie star of her stature in a supporting part. After talking to her, he considered rewriting the character of Conrad as Nicholas' daughter so that Foster could play that role. However, Douglas didn't like the idea and requested it to change the character to his sister, which Foster found peculiar as Douglas is almost 20 years her senior and also appeared with her in Napoleon and Samantha, when Foster was 9 years old while Douglas was 28. Due to differences in opinions and also scheduling conflicts with Contact, Foster could not appear in the film. Once she left, the role of Conrad was offered to Jeff Bridges, but he declined and Sean Penn was cast instead.
  • Jonathan Mostow was originally set to direct the film in 1993 with Kyle MacLachlan as Nicholas Van Orton and Bridget Fonda as Christine.

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