Back in the 90s a Studio Executive Wanted Julia Roberts to Play Harriet Tubman in a Biopic
The people in power in Hollywood have had a lot of brain farts and made stupid decisions over the years. With the Harriet Tubman biopic, Harriet, currently playing in theaters, screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard shared a story about an attempt to get the movie made back in 1994. This story highlights the kind of crazy people who are making movies.
The pitch resulted in one studio executive suggesting Julia Roberts take on the role of the African-American abolitionist?! You seriously can’t make this shit up! This guy wanted Julia Roberts to play a black woman. Could you imagine the shitstorm that would have caused in today’s climate!?
The story was shared during a recent Q&A with Focus Features in which Howard said:
“Harriet, which was set up at Disney 26 years ago, was my first assignment. When I got in the business, I wanted to tell these historical stories by turning them into entertainment. I didn’t want to give history lessons. I wanted to turn Harriet Tubman’s life, which I’d studied in college, into an action-adventure movie. The climate in Hollywood, however, was very different back then. I was told how one studio head said in a meeting, ‘This script is fantastic. Let’s get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman.’ When someone pointed out that Roberts couldn’t be Harriet, the executive responded, ‘It was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference.'”
That’s just crazy, and if anyone said anything like that today they would be blackballed in Hollywood. I seriously doubt Roberts would have even entertained the idea if the studio approached her about it. It’s just so ridiculous.
Howard went on to say that nothing was happening with Harriet for years. It wasn’t until the success of two films that the project was pushed into production:
“When 12 Years a Slave became a hit and did a couple hundred million dollars worldwide, I told my agent, ‘You can’t say this kind of story won’t make money now.’ Then Black Panther really blew the doors open.”
Thankfully, no one suggested Roberts should play Harriet again.