Halle Berry might’ve been tricked into appearing in the third “X-Men” movie under the guise Storm would be feeding starving kids in Africa.
Director Matthew Vaughn recently opened up about why he decided to turn down X-Men: The Last Stand in the mid-2000s after learning how execs planned to dupe Berry. While Vaughn went on to direct X-Men: First Class
in 2011, he was first tapped to direct the 2006 installment and replace Bryan Singer, he told The Hollywood Reporter.Vaughn backed out after learning how studio execs planned to deceive Halle Berry.
“One of the main reasons I quit ‘X-Men 3,’ and this is a true story,” Vaughn said.
“I went into one of the executive’s office and I saw an X3 script, and I immediately knew it was a lot fatter.
I was like what the hell is this draft. He went, ‘Don’t worry about it,’ and I’m like, ‘No, no. I’m the director. I’m worrying about this draft,’” he recalled. “He wouldn’t tell me, so I grabbed it literally—it was like a crazy moment—opened the first page, and it said, ‘Africa. Storm. Kids dying of no water. She creates a thunderstorm and saves all these children.’”After reading it, Vaughn thought it was a “pretty cool idea,” to have it in the film. But he was turned off once he learned about the execs’ plans to cut it after Berry signed on to the film.
“[I went,] ‘What is this?’ [They said,] ‘Oh, it’s Halle Berry’s script. I went, ‘OK, because she hasn’t signed up yet.’ ‘But this is what she wants it to be, and once she signs up, we’ll throw it in the bin,’” the director said.
The Kickass
director was instantly taken aback.“I was like, ‘Wow, you’re gonna do that to an Oscar-winning actress who plays Storm? I’m outta here.’ So I quit at that point.”
Berry did go on to appear in X-Men: Last Stand and no scene of Storm feeding starving kids in Africa was included. She also returned for the fourth film in the franchise which Vaughn directed.
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