A couple of years ago, it appeared that not only would Lawrence Block’s A Walk Among the Tombstones get made, but that it had a decent shot at actually being….well, decent. Joe Carnahan (Narc) was slated to direct with a script from Scott Frank (Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Minority Report, The Lookout) and Harrison Ford as Scudder.
Well, it never happened.
The reason: “Harrison Ford chickened out.”
That is the answer coming from director/writer Scott Frank.
Frank is currently promoting his amazing new film, The Lookout (I hope to have a review up in the next day or so), and recently did an interview with Suicide Girls and touched on why Tombstone has not been made.
DRE: I know this may be an old project but any idea what’s going to happen with the adaptation of A Walk Among the Tombstones?
SF: On the record I can tell you I hope it gets made. It’s all about having the right cast once Harrison Ford chickened out.
DRE: What made Ford decide to not do it?
SF: I think he was concerned about the darkness in that character.
DRE: It’s interesting because I read that he has no desire to do smaller or independent films.
SF: He said that to us. He said his customers wouldn’t want to see him in something like this, to which I would argue I’m not sure he has the same customers that he once had. I think there are a lot of people who’d love to see him in this. I still would love to see him do this movie. It’s the perfect movie for him but who knows?
I can’t help but think that A Walk Among the Tombstones might have done for him what Pulp Fiction did for John Travolta: Give a sagging career a desperately needed boost.
But considering the level of quality of Mr. Ford’s recent films, maybe his backing out was a good thing.
Reading Ford's reasoning as relayed by Frank, it seems he's not willing to take chances, which is all actors do when starting out.
His concern for how the audience sees him reminds me of George Lucas's long-winded and futile defenses of Star Wars Eps. 1-3.
I would argue that, at this point in his career, this would not be a risk.
We are at a time where many of the biggest stars (Willis, Clooney, Pitt) regularly do films that are off of the mainstream.
Ford's career is dying. With the possible exception of the next Indy film, I would be shocked if he has another successful film in this decade.
I agree. I was excited when I first heard he was attached to TOMBSTONES. I thought he could play Scudder's world-weary side well.
I also think Ford is misreading Scudder somewhat. By the time we meet him, Scudder is already an ex-crooked cop trying to redeem himself. That's not very dark in my book. Not as dark as Ford's roles in PRESUMED INNOCENT and REGARDING HENRY pre-gunshot anyway.
Very sad. When I think of his performance in Witness, I can't help but think he would be perfect here.