Trivia / Miller's Crossing

• Acclaimed Flop: It was a critical darling, yet didn't make its money back due to stiff competition.
• Acting for Two: Albert Finney also plays the matron in the ladies' restroom. No, really.
• Box Office Bomb: Budget: $14 million. Box Office: $5,080,409.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Jon Polito was originally offered the role of Eddie Dane but he campaigned for the part of Johnny Caspar.
• Dueling Movies: GoodFellas, The Godfather Part III, and State of Grace were all released around the same time.
• Fake American: Englishman Albert Finney plays the Irish-American Liam "Leo" O'Bannon.
• Life Imitates Art: The Coens found it first hilarious, then infuriating, that while filming this movie full of police corruption they were repeatedly hit up for bribes by New Orleans Police Department officers.
• Method Acting: In a 2015 interview Jon Polito revealed that, during the production, a distressed Marcia Gay Harden, in her first major role, complained to him that she felt Gabriel Byrne was acting cold and distant towards her. Polito believed Byrne was doing this to remain in-character, for the sake of their performances.
• Production Posse: This was the Coens' first collaboration with John Turturro, Steve Buscemi, Michael Badalucco, and Jon Polito.
• Real-Life Relative: Joel Coen's wife Frances McDormand is the mayor's secretary.
• Star-Making Role: For Marcia Gay Harden, who has become one of the most respected actresses in the industry since her breakthrough in this film and won a best supporting actress Oscar.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The initial script has Tom's last name as "Duschaine" instead of Reagan, and The Dane was called Bluepoint.
  • Eddie Dane was originally written for Peter Stormare and was to be named The Swede. Stormare had to decline as he was appearing as Hamlet in the Broadway production. The part was then re-written and re-cast, and became The Dane.
  • Willem Dafoe, Andy García, Elias Koteas, Dylan McDermott and Tom Sizemore were considered for Tom Reagan.
  • Trey Wilson, who had appeared in Raising Arizona, was originally cast as Leo, but he died before production began (the film is dedicated to him). Ian Holm and John Mahoney were also considered.
  • Michael Gambon and Joe Mantegna were considered for Johnny Caspar.
  • Gary Cole and Kevin Spacey were considered for Eddie Dane.
  • Linda Fiorentino, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Demi Moore and Julia Roberts auditioned to play Verna.
• Working Title: The Bighead, which was The Coen Brothers' nickname for Tom Reagan.

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