The $17 million role that John Travolta left days before filming

On By Littum

John Travolta Saturday Night Fever

(Credit: Alamy)

After the success of Pulp FictionJohn Travolta became one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood with a string of hit movies that lifted his stardom (and earnings) through the roof. With the subsequent publication of Get Shorty, Face/Off and Michael, the actor made the most of his increased fame, booking back-to-back projects. However, there was one in particular that was to become Travolta’s biggest role, which he suddenly pulled out of a few days before filming.

The insidious director Roman Polanski was to make a film called The double in 1996, when Travolta’s agent negotiated a $17 million deal for him to star in it. It was originally intended as an adaptation of Dostoevsky’s book, with Isabelle Adjani joining the cast opposite Travolta and John Goodman in a supporting role. The film was greenlit and ready to go, with Sony subsidiary Mandalay Entertainment producing the project, with a release date set for 1997.

However, due to the technical logistics of shooting a film with a rapist, the film could not be shot in America due to the director’s active avoidance of being imprisoned. Polanski had fled the United States in the seventies to avoid prison, and if he ever visited the country again, he would risk being caught by the authorities. But because it is Hollywood, this did not stop him from working and making new films in what is a damning reflection of the film industry and the importance of women’s safety.

Shooting was planned to take place at Polanski’s hideout in France, and Travolta traveled over in May 1996 to begin the pre-shoot rehearsal period. But things quickly fell apart and Travolta left the set just a few days into filming, with alleged disputes over some rewrites for his character, with the actor and director apparently arguing on set.

It was reported that Polanski had added a nude scene to the film without consulting Travolta, and the actor saw no need for this to be included, prompting him to leave the project altogether. As Polanski tried to keep the film afloat, it inevitably fell apart and the film was killed.

In the following months, many conflicting perspectives were voiced, all with different versions of why the film had been such a failure. Polanski claimed he didn’t like Travolta’s acting style and Travolta had to hire a team of lawyers to avoid the legal ramifications of dropping out of the film, with the production companies understandably very unhappy. It finally went to court six months later, and the case was not settled until 2001.

While Polanski’s version of this story thankfully never made it to the screen, it was later adapted in 2013 by Richard Ayoade, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska. Ironically, neither of them got paid anything close to $17 million, but at least it was made, which is far more than Polanski can ever say.

Related topics

Subscribe to the Far Out newsletter