Second choice Crowe was right man for 'State of Play'

By Steven Rea | The Philadelphia Inquirer • Published April 19, 2009

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"It's funny with this film," says Kevin Macdonald about his taut conspiracy thriller "State of Play," starring Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck, and opened Friday, "because I find myself spending a disproportionate amount of time talking about a film that might have been, that wasn't."

"17 Again" — Mike O'Donnell gets a chance to correct the mistakes of his past and change his life when he is miraculously transformed back into a teenager. However, in trying to fix his past, Mike might be jeopardizing his present and future. (1:42) PG-13 for sexual material, language and teen partying

"The Audition" — This exclusive addition to the Metropolitan Opera's series is a backstage look at the pressures young opera singers face as they struggle to succeed in one of the most difficult professions in the performing arts, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Fleming, with fellow National Council winners Susan Graham and Thomas Hampson. (2:15) PG

"Beer Wars Live" — Fathom and Ducks In A Row Entertainment present a one-night event taking you inside of the boardrooms and back rooms of the U.S. beer industry. The event will feature the exclusive never-before-seen documentary "Beer Wars," followed by a live discussion with the country's leading independent brewers and experts. (2:10) PG-13

"Crank: High Voltage" — Chev Chelios faces a Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a battery-powered ticker that requires regular jolts of electricity to keep working. (1:25) R for for bloody violence, crude and graphic sexual content, nudity and pervasive language

"State of Play" — Handsome, unflappable U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins is the future of his political party. All eyes are upon the rising star to be his party's contender for the upcoming presidential race until his research assistant/mistress is brutally murdered and buried secrets come tumbling out. (1:58) PG-13 for brief drug content, violence, sexual references and language

That would be the "State of Play" that almost starred Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. Just weeks before cameras were set to roll last year, Pitt abandoned the project — at odds with his director over a script that had jettisoned many of the elements from the six-hour British miniseries that the movie is based on. (Norton left as well, due to scheduling issues.)

"It all happened very last-minute, within a week of shooting," recalls Macdonald, on the phone from his home in North London. "It put us in quite a tricky position. But in hindsight, I think we ended up where we should have been. ... Russell was the right actor for the role, and somehow we got there, albeit by a very circuitous route.

"And although we were both probably in denial about this, the reason that Brad and I couldn't work it out creatively was that I think we realized, in some way, that he wasn't right for the part."

And so, with no star, and millions of dollars on the line, Macdonald scrambled.

"We had a whole crew and a cast and a huge set and everything all waiting there," says Macdonald, 41, who made the move from award-winning documentaries to feature films with 2006's "The Last King of Scotland."

"There was a lot of pressure to do something quickly, and it was one of those situations where either we have an actor within a couple of weeks or the movie's not going to happen. ... So I sent the script to Russell with some urgency and he read it in a couple of days, got back and said, 'I'm interested. We should talk.' "

And so Macdonald got on a plane to Sydney, to meet with Crowe.

"My wife had just flown out to see me in L.A., from London," he remembers, chuckling. "She arrived and I pretty much straightaway left her, without either me or her children, and I went to Australia.

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