In 1959, the casting audition video of "Cleopatra" was very precious video material. The last black-haired actress was Joan Collins, who was also the most preferred candidate for Fox in the 20th century.
https://video.weibo.com/show?fid=1034:4537512245264415
The other candidates for the actress are Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, Gina Lauro, Brigida, Susan Hayward, Joanna Woodward, and Suzie Parker.
The total budget is 5 million U.S. dollars, because these actresses are relatively cheap, up to 250,000.
They initially paid Taylor 500,000 U.S. dollars, and Taylor became the most expensive actress in Hollywood with a remuneration of 500,000 U.S. dollars starting from "Summer Fantasy". She didn't want to take this role, so the lion asked for 1 million dollars and refused in this way.
The chairman of the company Skulas also didn't want to use her. Firstly, it was too expensive. Secondly, she was not a contracted actor of 20th Century Fox. Thirdly, her notoriety would cause trouble to the crew.
At that time, because she snatched Fischer, the husband of her girlfriend Debbie Reynolds after Todd's death, she aroused public outrage in the United States, and her reputation became very stinky.
"Gentlemen: You are purely wasting money on Liz Taylor. No one wants to see the way she treats that cute little Debbie Reynolds. Everyone likes Debbie, she is what teenagers call a doll. Kim Ger Rogers is still popular, but Liz is no longer popular. I heard a group of teenagers talking about Liz and they said,'She is a nasty person.' They are right.” This is October 1959 In May, the letter written by a woman in Beaumont, California to Adler and Wange, the two powers of 20th Century Fox, can be said to represent a voice of the American people at that time.
It's a pity that they don't listen to advice.
Especially Wange, influenced by his friend Mankiewicz, decided to use Taylor, because he believed that the role of the queen should be played by the most beautiful woman in the world. This wrong decision almost caused the company to go bankrupt, and he himself lost his position as president and was replaced by Zanuk, who returned from Europe.
Two or three years later, during the filming of "Cleopatra", Taylor and Burton had an extramarital affair that made her notorious, she was completely infamous, and she had reached the point where she was chased by women on the streets of Italy.
It wasn't until the spring of 64, because Burton's "Hamlet" achieved unprecedented success, the relationship between the two people was washed away. She proudly stood in front of the theater and said to reporters, "I understand now that success is the best deodorant."
In fact, it wasn't her own success, but Burton's great career success that washed her out by the way. Burton has now been among the top ten box office stars in Hollywood and has officially become a Hollywood movie superstar. Taylor fell out of the ranks because of the "Cleopatra" widely criticized. The couple's star journey has changed since 1963.
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