Anthony Michael Hall has been a lovable and compelling actor for some time. We all know him from the iconic John Hughes films like The Breakfast Club or as the star of the hit series The Dead Zone, but we almost saw a very different and gritty version of the star.
Flickering Myth and I had the distinct honor of speaking with Anthony Michael Hall in a lengthy interview. During this interview, he revealed to us that The Basketball Diaries was originally his project.
During our in-depth conversation, I asked the actor about dream roles he always wanted to do or missed opportunities throughout his legendary career. We got an exclusive about Hall initially set for one of Leonardo DiCaprio’s early iconic roles. Many people don’t know, but 1995’s The Basketball Diaries originally had Anthony Michael Hall attached, as he had worked on it with Jim Carroll.
He recalls, “Well, you know what? I’m gonna break something with you, which probably a lot of people didn’t know before now, but Leonardo, who’s had just a stellar career, and as a fine actor, I have great respect for DiCaprio. He wound up doing a film that I originally developed, which was called The Basketball Diaries.”
Hall continues, “When you brought that up, that was the first thought I had. I developed it with Jim Carroll. We were trying to get it made.”
This ties into Thomas Chestaro, his parent who would eventually manage him and many others. “My father, who is now deceased—God rest his soul—is no longer with us. He was a great manager. He wound up discovering Sandra Bullock, John Leguizamo, Mike Epps, and a lot of people after he worked with me as a child. So, we developed The Basketball Diaries—that was one that comes to mind,’ says Hall.
While researching, Jim Carroll himself confirmed this story in 1995. The film would’ve been filmed in the late ’80s with a script by Jeff Fiskin. “I thought [Hall] would have been perfect, and it was a good screenplay,” said Carroll to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, “but right before they were going to start, [Coca-Cola] bought Columbia and kicked out all of the executives.”
The Basketball Diaries would go on to star Leonardo DiCaprio as Carroll, along with Bruno Kirby, Lorraine Bracco, Ernie Hudson, Patrick McGaw, James Madio, Michael Imperioli, and Mark Wahlberg in supporting roles. The film was released to mixed reviews and grossed only $2.4 million at the box office.
Later in the interview, Hall insists he has never had hard feelings and that he wants the best for cinema. He adds, “So I’ve never been jealous or envious of people. You always want to see people win.” The actor also notes that he’s loved the journey of it all: “I’ve had some great experiences.”
Check back early next week for our full interview with Anthony Michael Hall, ahead of the June 21st release of his new Netflix film Trigger Warning, starring Jessica Alba.
Special Forces commando Parker (Jessica Alba) is on active duty overseas when she gets called back to her hometown with the tragic news that her father has suddenly died. Now the owner of the family bar, Parker reconnects with her former boyfriend-turned-sheriff Jesse (Mark Webber), his hot-tempered brother Elvis (Jake Weary) and their powerful father Senator Swann (Anthony Michael Hall), as she looks to understand what actually happened to her dad.
Parker’s search for answers quickly goes south, and she soon finds herself at odds with a violent gang running rampant in her hometown. Unsure of who she can truly trust, Parker draws on her commando training and proves herself a force to be reckoned with as she hunts down the truth and attempts to right what has gone wrong in Swann County with the help of her covert ops partner and hacker Spider (Tone Bell) and connected local dealer Mike (Gabriel Basso).
Joining Jessica Alba in the cast of Trigger Warning are Mark Webber, Jake Weary, Anthony Michael Hall, Tone Bell, Gabriel Basso, Kaiwi Lyman, and Hari Dhillon.
Trigger Warning arrives on Netflix on June 21st.