12 Supposedly Unfilmable Films That Actually Got Made

10. Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

Why It Was 'Unfilmable': Most likely Hollywood politics. There are a number of versions of the film that ALMOST got made, but it took screenwriter Craig Borten over 20 years of battling to see his work on the big screen. The real Ron Woodroof, of whom Dallas Buyers Club is the focus, was actually alive when Borten's first draft was written, when the AIDS crisis was still a Hollywood taboo. Dennis Hopper tried getting the film made with Woody Harrelson, but that fell through. Marc Forster and Craig Gillespie attempted to make it happen with Brad Pitt in the late 90s and Ryan Gosling in 2008, respectively, but neither managed it. How It Got Made: A combination of timing and the newfound star wattage of lead Matthew McConaughey, probably. 2013 was something of a watershed year for Hollywood diversification, a more liberal attitude to homosexuality shown in the embracing of films like Blue is the Warmest Colour and Kill Your Darlings. The Dallas Buyers Club subject matter was still highly controversial, however, which is why director Jean-Marc Vallee had to shoot it quickly, for just $5 million, over a period of only 25 days. Even with McConaughey (who met the daunting physical requirements of playing Woodroof by dropping 47 pounds) attached, the film would be shot fast and cheap - according to the star: "There were no lights, one camera, 15-minute takes."