Trivia / The Mosquito Coast

• Actor-Inspired Heroism: In the novel, Allie Fox is paranoid, abusive, and slowly goes mad, taking his family along with the ride. In the film, he's played by Harrison Ford, so even in his darkest moments, he's never as menacing or as terrifying as he is in the novel.
• Box Office Bomb: Budget, $25 million. Gross, $14,302,779.
• The Cast Showoff: Harrison Ford puts his carpentry skills to good use.
• Playing Against Type: If Allie isn't an all-out villain he's still a much colder and fanatical character than Ford usually plays.
• Romance on the Set: Martha Plimpton and River Phoenix started a personal relationship on this movie which continued for a number of years.
• Separated-at-Birth Casting: Harrison Ford and River Phoenix as father and son. They'd go on to play the same character in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Jack Nicholson was reportedly the original choice to play Allie Fox. He withdrew from the film partially because he could not watch his Los Angeles Lakers basketball team from Belize where much of the movie was to be filmed. Robert De Niro considered taking the role.
  • Corey Haim was offered the role of Charlie Fox. His father, who was acting as his manager at the time, turned it down in favour of a starring role in Lucas.
  • Wil Wheaton (River Phoenix's Stand by Me co-star) was also considered for the role of Charlie Fox.

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