Fox executives gave Halle Berry a phony script in an attempt to mislead her into signing onto the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand.
Filmmaker Matthew Vaughn, 52, gave new details about his own 2005 departure from the film while speaking on a panel at New York Comic Con at the Javits Center in New York City on Saturday.
Vaughn explained how executives with Fox – which sold its entertainment properties to Disney years later – produced a phony script they felt would appeal to the Academy Award-wining actress, 57, who played the role of Storm/Ororo Munroe in the franchise.
‘I thought, if you’re going to do that to an Oscar-winning actress who plays Storm, I quit; I thought, I’m mincemeat,’ Vaughn said during a panel at the event, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Vaughn said that in an effort to cement Berry to the project, Fox produced an extended script centered around Berry’s character Storm. It featured a huge sequence at the start of the film, and elements to the storyline they had no intent on actually including in the finished product.
The latest: Fox executives gave Halle Berry, 57, a phony script in an attempt to mislead her into signing onto the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand, filmmaker Matthew Vaughn, 52, said on Saturday
‘One of the main reasons I quit X-Men 3, and this is a true story: Hollywood is really political and odd,’ the director said. ‘I went to an executive’s office and I saw an X3 script. It was a lot fatter. I asked, “What is this draft?” They were like, “Don’t worry about it.”‘
Vaughn, who has directed films such as 2021’s The King’s Man, 2017’s Kingsman: The Golden Circle, 2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service – said he read through a sequence concocted to persuade The Monster’s Ball star to agree to reprise her role in the film franchise.
‘I grabbed it, and opened the first page, and it said, “Africa. Kids dying from no water, and Storm creates a thunderstorm to save all these children” – I thought it was a pretty cool idea,’ Vaughn said.
He continued: ‘I said, “What is this?” They said, “This is the Halle Berry script, because she hasn’t signed on yet. This is what she wants it to be. And once she signs on, we’ll throw it in the bin.”‘
Berry would eventually sign up for the movie, joining an ensemble cast that included Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen, Ian McKellen, Kelsey Grammer and Elliot Page.
Vaughn initially replaced X2 director Bryan Singer in the franchise, and would ultimately be replaced by Brett Ratner for the 2006 movie.
The film was a financial success, making $234 million in domestic box office and $460 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
Berry would go on to return to the film franchise with 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past; and went on to work with Vaughn in Kingsman: The Golden Circle.
Vaughn gave new details about his own 2005 departure from the film
The Academy Award-wining actress played the role of Storm/Ororo Munroe in the franchise
Berry would eventually sign up for the movie, joining an ensemble cast that included Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen, Ian McKellen, Kelsey Grammer and Elliot Page
Berry and costar Jackman were seen promoting the movie in Cannes, France in 2006
Vaughn said his future work prospects were threatened as he stepped away from the film, according to Screen Rant.
He returned to the franchise for 2011’s X-Men: First Class, saying that his work on the 2010 movie Kick-Ass got him back in the good graces of studio brass.
‘The man who said, “You’ll never work in this town again” watched Kick-Ass, and, to his credit, he called me up and said, “I didn’t mean it when I said that,”‘ the filmmaker said.
