9 Movies That Were Scrapped After Being Filmed (And Why)
6. Dark Blood (George Sluizer)
The Film: Late Dutch director George Sluizers Dark Blood followed a character named Boy as he retreats to the desert following the death of his young wife from radiation poisoning, the direct result of government tests being carried out near their home. As he passes his time carving Kachina dolls alone, he comes across a couple who have broken down in the desert. He rescues them, and then takes them prisoner, believing that he and this mans wife can create a better world together. Why It Was Scrapped: The part of Boy was played by River Phoenix, another member of the film world who is no longer with us. Most of Dark Blood was filmed on location in Utah, with only interior shots on a sound stage left to film. Before that could take place, however, Phoenix died of a drug overdose outside Hollywood nightclub The Viper Room with his siblings and friends by his side. The production of the film was halted while the powers that be tried to determine whether or not the movie could be released, but conceded defeat in November 1993. Nearly two decades later Sluizer revealed that he still had the original footage and was going to ask Rivers brother Joaquin Phoenix to finish the film on behalf of his brother, though the Walk The Line star declined to take part. Instead, the Dutchman decided to simply narrate the scenes that were yet to be completed in what turned out to be a surprisingly effective tactic. The film was finally screened at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2012, but is still to have a proper release.