Line #17 Trivia/Nixon


1	* AbilityOverAppearance: Anthony Hopkins looks and sounds absolutely nothing like Nixon, but as one of the most acclaimed actors in history he's certainly up to the part. John Dean visited the set during filming and was impressed by how uncannily Hopkins nailed Nixon's mannerisms and personality despite his lack of physical resemblance. Similarly, Siskel and Ebert's review praised him for "hinting" at Nixon's image without being overly concerned about getting it exactly right.
2	* BoxOfficeBomb: Budget, $44 million. Box office, $13,681,765. Co-writer Christopher Wilkinson didn't write another screenplay for six years.
3	* CastTheExpert: Alexander Butterfield (the Nixon aide who revealed the existence of the White House taping system) has a small AutobiographicalRole as a White House staffer.
4	* CompletelyDifferentTitle: In Hong Kong, the movie was given a title that translated to ''The Big Liar''.
5	* DawsonCasting: E.G. Marshall was born less than a year after the real John Mitchell, and at eighty years old when he filmed the part, he was an older man than Mitchell ever was, who died in 1988, at the age seventy-five.
6	* DeletedRole: Scenes which featured Creator/SamWaterston as Richard Helms were deleted prior to the film's release, but later reinstated on videocassette and DVD versions. At the time of the theatrical release, Richard Helms was still living, and hotly objected to his portrayal in the film.
7	* DeletedScenes: The theatrical version is 28 minutes shorter than the Director's Cut later released on video. Among the more substantial cuts: all of Creator/SamWaterston's scenes as Richard Helms; Nixon, Haldeman and Ehrlichman being confronted by a mob of protesters while driving to the White House; J. Edgar Hoover informing Nixon about the leak of the Pentagon Papers and convincing him to install the taping system; and Nixon's unhinged rant to his cabinet about leaks. Other deleted scenes, including additional scenes with Creator/LarryHagman as Jack Jones, remained out of the Director's Cut, though some were included as extras on the DVD and Blu-Ray releases.
8	* DisownedAdaptation: Besides Helms, Nixon's daughters Julie and Tricia objected to the film's portrayal of their father, calling it a "character assassination." John Ehrlichman, who initially consulted with Stone and the screenwriters on early script drafts, hated the finished film and dismissed it as "made up stuff and...very cruel."
9	* FakeAmerican: Welshman Creator/AnthonyHopkins as Nixon and Brit Creator/BobHoskins as J. Edgar Hoover.
10	* FakeNationality: Italian-American Paul Sorvino plays German-born UsefulNotes/HenryKissinger.
11	* HostilityOnTheSet: Creator/AnthonyHopkins took a lot of ribbing from costars Creator/JamesWoods and Paul Sorvino over his American accent while filming. Depending on who you believe, it was either good-natured joking between actors or genuine hostility; Woods claims that Hopkins grew so annoyed with Sorvino's attempts at "coaching" him that he threatened to quit the movie and had to be talked out of it by Oliver Stone.
12	* PlayingAgainstType: Creator/SamWaterston, best known for playing morally strong characters like [[Franchise/LawAndOrder Jack McCoy]] and UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln, as the sinister CIA director Dick Helms.
13	* RecycledSet: The film used the same Oval Office set as ''Film/TheAmericanPresident''.
14	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
15	** According to Paul Sorvino, Creator/OliverStone originally considered him for the role of Hoover. Creator/EdHarris was Stone's first choice to play Bob Haldeman, but Creator/JamesWoods persuaded Stone to cast him instead, causing Harris to be re-cast as Howard Hunt.
16	** There were several other actors considered to play Nixon besides Hopkins, among them Creator/WarrenBeatty, Creator/TomHanks, Creator/GeneHackman, Creator/DustinHoffman, Creator/TommyLeeJones, Creator/JohnMalkovich, Creator/JackNicholson, Creator/GaryOldman, and Creator/RobinWilliams. Beatty came the closest, holding preliminary talks with Stone about the role, but Stone decided against him when Beatty demanded major revisions to the script.
17	** Creator/JessicaLange and Creator/MerylStreep were considered for Pat Nixon.
18	** Creator/JoePesci turned down the role of J. Edgar Hoover.
19	** Creator/PeterOToole was originally announced for Richard Helms.
20	** Creator/JohnTurturro turned down the role of Henry Kissinger.

Context Trivia / Nixon