This film, largely forgotten by the general public, was almost directed by Spielberg! Discover this story of three drag queens confronting deep America!
You read correctly, American director Steven Spielberg almost made a film about a trio of drag queens played by Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo! A subject that is surprising to say the least for the filmmaker: how did he get involved in Extravagances?
In reality, the project is partly his initiative, because the director of Jurassic Park decided to finance it via his firm Amblin. We could see a certain opportunism on the part of the father of ET, since Extravagances was released just a year after the success of the Australian film Priscilla, Madwoman of the Desert, which has a similar pitch. In reality, the two projects were turning at the same time.
Amblin Entertainment
Considered the greatest storyteller in cinema, Spielberg found the script very funny and to check if the gags would work on people other than him, sent it to his reference in terms of comedy: Robin Williams. The latter had a lot of fun reading it, and that’s why he asked for a small appearance in the film.
Amblin Entertainment
To lead the project, Spielberg which hires director Beeban Kidron, who has just shot The Flight of Gabrielle for the BBC with Vanessa Redgrave. But Kidron, for fear of not being chosen, hid that she recently became pregnant. When she reveals it to the team, the film’s insurers become frightened, and the project finds itself close to potential cancellation (or Kidron’s forced departure).
Amblin Entertainment
It was then that Steven Spielberg made a commitment: he would complete Extravagances if the director’s pregnancy were to jeopardize the filming! Between Schindler’s List and The Lost World, the filmmaker could therefore have cast Patrick Swayze or Wesley Snipes!
“I kept saying to myself, ‘Why didn’t anyone from production push me down the stairs to finally get Steven Spielberg to direct the film?'”joked Beeban Kidron in 2015. “In reality”she added more seriously, “filming took a little longer than expected and on the last day I was nine months and five days pregnant and we had to get on a plane to film in New York. When I landed, my water broke has [l’aéroport] JFK.”
So it was decided within a day!