Legendary actor Gene Hackman died at the age of 95 but a deep dive on his filmography shows that he dabbled in almost every genre except horror but that almost changed after he bought the rights to “Silence of the Lambs”….
It’s hard to imagine anybody making “Silence of the Lambs” other than the cast and crew that created one of the most iconic and award winning horror films in history but the original plan for that movie didn’t involve director Jonathan Demme, Jodie Foster or Anthony Hopkins.
In 1988, Thomas Harris’ novel “Silence of the Lambs” was a massive best seller and that immediately led to speculation that a movie would eventually happen based on the novel. But a film adaptation didn’t come together very quickly due to a rights dispute thanks to Harris’ previous book “Red Dragon” already being adapted by director Michael Mann into “Manhunter,” which became a cult classic among fans but didn’t score at the box office.
Legendary actor Gene Hackman, who sadly passed away this past week at 95 years old, changed all that when he read the book and wasted no time deciding that he wanted to not only make “Silence of the Lambs” into a feature film but he wanted to be the one to direct it.
A quick look at Hackman’s filmography reveals that he crossed over numerous genres during his career including dramas, comedies, action films and even Westerns but conspicuous by its absence is that he never dabbled in horror. That was set to change with Hackman’s interest in “Silence of the Lambs.”
At the time, many well-known actors were getting behind the camera and Hackman decided that “Silence of the Lambs” was the perfect vehicle for him, especially after he started thinking about how this story could be transformed into a theatrical experience almost as soon as he finished reading the book.
“It’s one of the most cinematic books I’ve ever read,” Hackman said about the book. “As I read it, the movie was clicking in my mind.”
Hackman teamed up with his friends at Orion Pictures and purchased the rights to “Silence of the Lambs” with the intention that he would star and direct in the film.
There are conflicting reports about Hackman’s part in the movie with the two-time Oscar winner reportedly considering the role of Hannibal Lecter but there was also a rumor that he wanted to portray FBI agent-in-charge Jack Crawford, which would allow him more time to focus on directing rather than acting in the movie. Hackman reportedly saw two-time Oscar nominee John Hurt as a potential candidate to play Lecter and he reportedly identified Michelle Pfeiffer as the person who would play FBI agent-in-training Clarice Starling.
Hackman hired Ted Tally to write the script but he barely got started on his adaptation when he got word that “The French Connection” star was dropping off the project.
Now there are multiple stories related to Hackman’s decision to back off making “Silence of the Lambs.”
One version says that Hackman was at the 1989 Oscars where he was nominated for Best Actor for his role as an FBI agent in the dark, violent thriller “Mississippi Burning” and he decided he didn’t want to make another movie with such a similar tone. Years later another story surfaced that it was Hackman’s daughter, who read “Silence of the Lambs” and then told her father simply “Daddy, you’re not making this movie.”
Hackman bowed out of making “Silence of the Lambs” but Orion was already invested in the project so the studio bought out his half of the rights and moved forward with the film adaptation.
Director Jonathan Demme was hired to lead the film, which was an interesting choice at the time considering he had never directed anything with similar material with movies like “Swing Shift,” “Something Wild” and “Married to the Mob” on his filmography. Still, Demme had a vision for “Silence of the Lambs” and eventually a young Oscar winner named Jodie Foster was hired to play Clarice and an unassuming Britsh actor named Anthony Hopkins was cast as Hannibal Lecter.
It’s safe to say, “Silence of the Lambs” turned out all right after earning more than $272 million at the box office on just a $19 million budget with the film going onto win the Big Five at the 1991 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director (Jonathan Demme), Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally).
As for Hackman, he never actually ended up starring in any horror films during his career, although just a couple of years after he passed on “Silence of the Lambs,” he did decide to make another dark, ominous film when he starred as ruthless sheriff “Little” Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven.”
His performance earned Hackman his second Academy Award after he earned a Best Supporting Actor nod at the 1992 Oscars.
