The movie Morgan Freeman refused to make unless his demands were met: “It’s such a thrill”
One of the many benefits of being an esteemed, respected, and Academy Award-winning veteran is that it leads to increased selectivity and input, with Morgan Freeman refusing to sign on for a movie unless his demands were met.
Cinema’s favourite wizened sage had already turned down the offer once already, but he eventually relented thanks to one filmmaker’s persistence and a non-negotiable co-star. Sometimes playing hardball is the only way to get things done, and Freeman was happy to stand his ground.
Based on how prolific he’s been throughout his career – not to mention the increasing amount of straight-to-video fluff he’s popped up in recently – Freeman has never come across as the type of actor who’d turn down many offers. Obviously, he will on occasion, even if it’s ironic that he initially refused a film that’s gradually evolved into one of his most popular and beloved.
It also popularised a term that’s become accepted as an everyday part of the everyday lexicon, and it was a hugely profitable enterprise that cleared $175 million at the box office. And yet, director Rob Reiner faced plenty of issues in bringing The Bucket List to the screen, with virtually every major studio in Hollywood turning it down until he finally found a willing backer in Warner Bros.
Freeman and Jack Nicholson made for a winning double act in the tale of a heartwarming late-blooming friendship, but it could have starred neither of them. The Shawshank Redemption favourite had turned his nose up at the screenplay once before, but his illustrious colleague was the key.
“Here was a situation where Morgan sort of gets to call the shots,” he said to Alex Simon, referring to himself in the third person for some reason. “It’s happened before in movies, and it’s such a thrill. I get a call from Rob Reiner about this story, which I’d read before. It was different before, and I’d turned it down. So Rob sends it to me, and I read it, called him back, and I really liked it and loved the idea of working with Rob.”
He was keen to partner up with Reiner, but as a two-hander, Freeman knew the other half of the central duo needed to be somebody on his level. “I said I’d do it,” he explained before outlining his one condition. “But I had someone in mind to play the other part: Jack Nicholson. So he said, ‘OK, we’ll get Jack’. Jack said, ‘Yes.'”
Fortunately, Reiner knew Nicholson, having directed him on A Few Good Men. Freeman had always wanted to work with the three-time Oscar-winning icon, and the fact he’d previously turned down The Bucket List indicated that he’d have no issues doing the same thing twice unless he got what he wanted.
