Never Again! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Edward Furlong

Edward Furlong's debut role was as John Connor, the future leader of the resistance movement against the machines, in "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" (1991). It literally catapulted him to stardom and many figured he would be a shoo-in for the role if a future picture eventuated. There are sources that indicate that he was offered the role in the third "Terminator" film and that he declined the offer. Other sources called into question his sobriety and his public struggles with substance abuse and highlighted this as the reason for not landing the part.
Nick Stahl took over the role from Furlong in "Terminator 3" and looked set to return for the fourth instalment however, the producers could not agree on the movie's direction and when the timeline in the story was eventually shifted forward in time it was considered that Stahl no longer fitted the bill. At the same time Stahl was also having his own battles with substance abuse and a propensity to go "walkabout" without communication.
The role of John Connor was handed to Christian Bale in 2009's "Terminator Salvation". Thomas Dekker became the character in the short lived television series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (2007).

Answer: Clarice Starling

Jodie was adjudged the Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance as Clarice in "Silence of the Lambs" (1991). The dignified response that she gave to director Ridley Scott was that she was working on another film at the time, "Flora Plum", which would turn into a long running saga and, in 2012 (after thirteen years), it was still "in development". Jodie has indicated that the character of Clarice has a special place in her heart but, after reading Thomas Harris' novel, felt that Clarice had developed some "negative attributes" which "betrayed" the character from the original film. (Spoiler Alert) What may have disconcerted Jodie is that in the book Hannibal Lecter manages to brainwash Clarice and the pair then engage in a violent killing spree.

In the film this ending was altered. Julianne Moore was selected to take on the role of Clarice.

Answer: Charlton Heston

Heston was not keen on doing the sequel "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" and figured by killing his character off he'd be done with it. He allocated only eight days of shooting time for it, asked only for the minimum Guild wage and then donated that to his son's school.

The script for the film ended up being re-written a number of times to accommodate Heston's request and, in the end, the studio used his character as a means to frame the story and provide the catalyst for setting of the Doomsday device at the conclusion of the film.

Heston also figured that by destroying the planet he'd kill off the franchise. It didn't. "Planet of the Apes" spawned a further three sequels to the one above and this time Charlton had no role in any of them. However, in a case of never say never, Heston would return for a cameo in the 2001 remake of the original as an aging chimpanzee named Zaius.

Answer: No

The original film had John Goodman at the helm as Fred Flintstone, which was an inspired choice. There was even an indication that if Goodman had not signed on the project, in all likelihood, would have been shelved. Elizabeth Perkins played his wife Wilma, Rick Moranis, his best mate Barney and Rosie O'Donnell was Barney's wife Betty. All four said "no" to the sequel/prequel which was panned in all quarters of the media and slated (pun so intended) as one of the worst remakes of all time.

In addition it failed miserably at the box office. Makes you wonder if the old cast had seen the script before they were asked to make their decision. Rosie O'Donnell did have a small part in the sequel, providing the voice for the Octopus Masseuse.

Answer: Richard Harris

Richard Harris had a long and distinguished career as an actor which was blessed with two nominations for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role. He was held in such high regard that Mickey Rourke dedicated his Best Actor BAFTA that he won in 2009 to him. Harris took the role of Dumbledore in the first two instalments of Harry Potter; "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (2001) and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (2002).

He was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease in August of 2002 and passed away two months later, only weeks before the US premiere of "The Chamber of Secrets".

Answer: Katie Holmes

There were a number of people who were disappointed that Katie didn't reprise the role of Rachel Dawes in the next episode of "Batman" but there were just as many who considered that she was the weak link in Christopher Nolans first part of the trilogy.

The rumour mill hit full stride at Katie's non appointment claiming that she had demanded too much money, that it was her association with Tom Cruise and that her tabloid exposure was drawing attention away from the film itself. In truth the role of Gotham's Assistant DA was offered to her but she declined as a result of scheduling conflicts.

The opportunity arose for her to work alongside one of her idols in Diane Keaton in "Mad Money" (2008) and she jumped at the chance. Maggie (Gyllenhaal) reportedly did not take on the role until she received Katie's blessing.

Answer: Hulk

Norton's performance in "The Incredible Hulk" (2008) was outstanding and it was thought by most people that "surely his signature was already drying on the contract" for the role of Bruce Banner and his green alter ego in the next blockbuster "The Avengers". By many reports Norton was keen; he'd had discussions with both Marvel and the new director Joss Whedon and was looking forward to taking his green pills. Marvel, however, stepped forward and announced that they were heading in a new direction with the character and that Norton didn't suit their requirements. You can't help but think that there was just the tiniest ounce of bitterness in Norton's response when he said "Marvel's going to have to deal with their own karma". Mark Ruffalo, whom Norton calls a good friend, got the part and put forward an excellent performance.

Answer: Rachel Weisz

It was sad news for lovers of the franchise when word came through that Rachel would not be reprising the role of Evelyn O'Connell. It was Rachel's decision, not the director's nor the studio's. As for the reasons behind her decision, well, the reports are varied.

They range from "Rachel is pregnant" to "Rachel doesn't like the script" to "She doesn't want to be away from her son for such an extended period of time", however whatever the reason there was certainly an impact on this instalment of the franchise. Certainly there was action aplenty, there were wise cracks galore and there was any number of big scary ancient dudes. And yes, Maria Bello did a fine job as the new Evelyn but somehow the chemistry that seemed to be manufactured so naturally between Rachel and Brendan Fraser could not find its way into the new pairing or this film.

Answer: Oracle

Gloria Foster made quite an impact as the Oracle in "The Matrix" (1999) and "Matrix Reloaded" (2003), unfortunately she succumbed to complications brought on by diabetes before she could see out the trilogy. She was replaced by Mary Alice and, to accommodate this, the Wachowski Bros made alterations in the script to explain away her change in appearance rather than replace the character.

The Wachowskis had encountered a similar issue with the previous instalment, "The Matrix Reloaded", when R&B singer Aaliyah was killed in a plane crash.

She had already filmed segments for her character Zee but on this occasion the directors decided to re-shoot her segments using her replacement Nona Gaye (daughter of Motown legend Marvin Gaye) in the shots.

Answer: Crispin Glover

Crispin Glover received a fair amount of screen time in the first movie, "Back to the Future", where he virtually played two roles - George at ages 17 and 47. For the sequels he put his foot down and demanded a salary that almost matched that of Michael J. Fox and requested script approval rights. Hmmm ... not a good career move Crispin.

The producers said "No" and then "Please take a walk". George McFly does appear in the sequels but it's not Crispin Glover - sort of. First the studio employed Jeffrey Weissman for the role.

They created prosthetics for him to make him resemble Glover and then used all forms of trickery to disguise the fact that it wasn't Crispin. They filmed a number of shots from behind and weird angles. In any frontal shots Jeffrey is wearing sunglasses.

The studio decided that they would then cut into these shots segments of archive footage from the first film. This all worked well except that the studio didn't get Crispin's permission to use his image. He sued and the studio settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

In addition the Screen Actor's Guild created new regulations that banned the use of an actor's image without their permission.