8. Kevin Smith Almost Directed Good Will Hunting
Most people associate Kevin Smith with the
Clerks movies and his characters Jay and Silent Bob, who pop up at random intervals over the course of his film canon to say funny things. They also probably associate Smith with always talking about retiring from movies (and never doing it) and that rant he went on about not being able to fit in an airplane seat. Kind of surprising, then, that the
Mallrats director was once offered the chance to direct Oscar-winning flick
Good Will Hunting. Yep: his buddy Ben Affleck genuinely offered him the role, one which Smith promptly denied, saying that they needed "a good director." At least he's honest. The film, of course, eventually went to Gus Van Sant, who steered it towards Oscar glory.
Would It Have Been Any Good? It would have been a whole lot different, that's for sure.
Good Will Hunting started life as more of a banterific buddy comedy in the Smith vein (with thriller elements), though the studio suggested that it was turned into more of a straight-laced drama. If Smith had got his hands on it, we might've been treated to a scene where Robin Williams' character talks about "his wife's diarrhea" instead of her more Oscar-appropriate "farts."