Daniel Radcliffe was lined up for All Quiet on the Western Front
Producer Lesley Paterson says Daniel Radcliffe was originally lined up for the lead role in critically-acclaimed All Quiet on the Western Front
Daniel Radcliffe was originally lined up for the leading role in All Quiet on the Western Front, according to the film’s producer Lesley Paterson.
The German-language war film starring Felix Kammerer has impressively dominated awards season and looks set for more success as it has been nominated in nine Oscar categories.
However, the critically-acclaimed film could have been very different as producer Lesley, 42, has revealed that Harry Potter star Daniel, 33, originally agreed to work on the project.
Lesley said they did not originally think they would be able to make the war epic as a German-language film so planned to cast a high profile English actor as the lead.
She told The Mirror that Daniel agreed to play the main character, German soldier Paul Bäumer, back in 2011 soon after wrapping up on the Harry Potter franchise.
Casting: Daniel Radcliffe was originally lined up for the leading role in All Quiet on the Western Front, according to the film’s producer Lesley Paterson
Success: The German-language war film starring Felix Kammerer has dominated awards season and looks set for more success as it has been nominated in nine Oscar categories
The Scottish producer said she had hoped his high-profile signing would convince bosses to back the World War One film, but Daniel’s name did not rake in the funding needed.
She told the publication: ‘When we optioned the book 16 years ago, the landscape was so different, there’s no way you could have done a German-language, film and raised any money for it.
‘So we decided pretty early on, we would probably have to pitch it as English speaking with German accent.
‘And we thought: “What names are going to raise finance?” and at that time, Daniel Radcliffe was coming off the back of Harry Potter.’
Lesley explained that Daniel ‘loved’ the script and the team were thrilled at signing the star, raising their hopes that they were finally going to get the film made.
However, she said they quickly realised the ‘wonderful’ actor wasn’t right for the movie and his name unfortunately didn’t raise the finances they needed.
The team finally secured funding from Netflix after director Edward Berger signed on and they decided to cast all-German speakers in the adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s 1928 novel.
Austrian actor Felix was then cast in the leading role, while Daniel Brühl also took on a supporting role in the critically-acclaimed movie.
Lead: However, the critically-acclaimed film could have been very different as producer Lesley, 42, has revealed that Harry Potter star Daniel, 33, originally agreed to work on the project
Plans: Lesley (pictured) said they did not originally think they would be able to make the war epic as a German-language film so planned to cast a high profile English actor as the lead
When asked how The Lost City star Daniel would feel about the film’s incredible success, Lesley said he would be ‘so supportive’ and think it was ‘amazing’.
MailOnline has contacted Daniel’s representatives for comment.
Olympic triathlete Lesley bought the rights to the classic German book All Quiet On The Western Front and spent 16 years trying to get the film off the ground, all the while having to raise money to keep renewing the deal.
She recently told The Daily Mail’s Alison Boshoff: ‘I did the script in English and [writing partner] Ian Stokell and I did a lot of historical research, which is how we came up with the Armistice storyline. We approached a lot of German directors and didn’t get anywhere,’ she told me.
‘Eventually we got the script to Edward Berger, who said he wanted to do the German story in the German language.’
She added: ‘He made changes to the script in English, taking it back closer to the book — and then Edward himself translated the whole thing into German.
‘As a film it has an unusual perspective, both inside the conflict and outside it, and I think that is what helps it to be so powerful.’
All Quiet On The Western Front has now secured a slew of nominations at the Oscars after sweeping the BAFTAs with an incredible seven wins including Best Film.
The war film has been put up for nine nominations at the Oscars, drawing with The Banshees of Inisherin and being beaten only by Everything Everywhere All at Once, which has nine nods.
Celebrities will flock to the iconic Hollywood Boulevard on Sunday evening for the 95th Academy Awards – one of the biggest nights of the year for film.
The Oscars will be hosted by chat show host Jimmy Kimmel and are being held at the regular venue of the Dolby Theatre.
Acclaim: The team finally secured funding from Netflix after director Edward Berger signed on and they decided to cast all-German speakers, with Austrian actor Felix nabbing the lead role
All Quiet On The Western Front has already had an impressive awards season run and lead star Felix recently revealed he was thrilled when he discovered the film received 14 BAFTA nominations.
With its impressive stack of nods, the film equalled a record for the non-English language film holding the most nominations in BAFTA’s history.
The Austrian actor reacted to the incredible news in a gushing post shared to Instagram at the time.
He penned: ‘Thank you BAFTA!!! This is amazing! Congratulations to the best director @eeedwardberger, the most wonderful @lisychristl29a and amazing @h.merker and of course to my partner in crime @albrecht.schuch and the whole fanatastic team of this movie. See you in London.’
FULL LIST OF OSCARS 2023 NOMINATIONS
Best Picture
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Tar
Top Gun: Maverick
Triangle of Sadness
Women Talking
Best Director
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Spielberg, Fabelmans
Todd Field, Tar
Ruben Ostlund, Triangle of Sadness
Best Original Screenplay
Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Tar
Triangle of Sadness
Best Adapted Screenplay
All Quiet on the Western Front
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Living
Top Gun: Maverick
Women Talking
Best Supporting Actor
Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway
Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans
Barrry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Best Supporting Actress
Angela Bassett, Black Panther Wakanda Forever
Hong Chau, The Whale
Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All At Once
Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All At Once
Original Score
All Quiet on the Western Front
Babylon
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Production Design
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
Babylon
Elvis
The Fabelmans
Best Film Editing
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
Best Animated Feature Film
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
The Sea Beast
Turning Red
Best Live Action Short
An Irish Goodbye
Ivalu
Le Pupille
Night Ride
The Red Suitcase
Best Actor
Austin Butler Elvis
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser, The Whale
Paul Mescal, Aftersun
Bill Nighy, Living
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Tar
Ana De Armas, Blonde
Andrea Riseborough, To Leslie
Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Cinematography
All Quiet on the Western Front
Bardo, False Chronicle
Elvis
Empire of Light
Tar
Visual Effects
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Foreveer
Top Gun: Maverick
Best Original Song
Applause, Tell It Like a Woman
Hold my hand, Top Gun: Maverick
Lift me up, Black Panther
Naatu Naatu from RRR
This is a life, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Best Sound
All Quiet On The Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Batman
Elvis
Top Gun: Maverick
Best Costume Design
Babylon
Black Panther
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris
Make Up and Hair
All Quiet on the Western Front
Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Elvis
The Whale
Best Documentary Feature Film
All That Breathes
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Fire of Love
A House Made of Splinters
Navalny
Best Documentary Short Film
The Elephant Whisperers
Haulout
How Do You Measure a Year?
The Martha Mitchell Effect
Stranger at the Gate
Best International Feature Film
All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany)
Argentina, 1985 (Argentina)
Close (Belgium)
EO (Poland)
The Quiet Girl (Ireland
Best Animated Short Film
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
The Flying Sailor,
Ice Merchants
My Year of D***s
An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It
Source: Read Full Article