12 Things You Didn't Know About December's Biggest Movies

2. Javier Bardem & Charlize Theron Were Originally Offered A Most Violent Year

Shortly after it was announced that J.C. Chandor would be directing A Most Violent Year as his next movie, Charlize Theron was offered the lead female role of Anna Morales, which she then passed on for undisclosed reasons and eventually went to the excellent Jessica Chastain. Soon thereafter, Javier Bardem joined the cast as male lead Abel Morales, though ultimately left the project after scripting disagreements with Chandor, leading him to be replaced by Oscar Isaac shortly before shooting began. The joke might be on Theron and Bardem, though, given the movie's mostly ecstatic critical response to date, with many predicting Oscar nominations for Chastain and Isaac. Given that Theron hasn't been in the serious Oscar conversation for almost a decade, this would have been a fine feather in her cap, but alas, it wasn't meant to be.