Trivia / Chaplin

• Box Office Bomb: The film cost $31 million to make, and grossed $9.5 million worldwide. It got mixed reviews, but Robert Downey Jr. was widely praised for his portrayal of Charlie Chaplin.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Kevin Kline was considered for Chaplin before being cast as Douglas Fairbanks. Bronson Pinchot was also considered for the role.
• Cut Song: Robert Downey Jr.. recorded the song "Smile," which can be heard on the soundtrack from the movie. However, it was not used in the film.
• Fake American: The Canadian Dan Aykroyd as Mack Sennett. Subverted in that Sennett was born and grew up in Quebec.
• Fake Brit: Robert Downey Jr. does a pretty impressive English accent.
• Meaningful Release Date: The film received its limited release in the United States on December 25, 1992, the 15th anniversary of Chaplin's death.
• Method Acting: To prepare for his role, Robert Downey Jr.. learned how to play the violin and tennis left-handed. He also had a personal coach in order to help him imitate Chaplin's posture and way of carrying himself.
• Real-Life Relative:
  • Geraldine Chaplin is Charlie Chaplin's daughter and she plays her grandmother.
  • Richard Attenborough's brother-in-law Gerald Sim plays the doctor.
• Star-Making Role: Despite the mixed reviews and poor box office performance, the praise for Robert Downey Jr.'s performance and the subsequent Oscar nomination he received gave his career a huge boost and let him transition from a former brat packer and teen star to a legitimately respected actor.
• Starring a Star as a Star: Robert Downey Jr. as Charlie Chaplin and Kevin Kline as Douglas Fairbanks.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The film was originally to be distributed by Universal Pictures, but the studio wanted a bigger name in the starring role, preferring Dustin Hoffman or Billy Crystal. When Richard Attenborough refused to comply, the movie was put into turnaround and a new producer had to be found.
  • Peter Sellers wanted to make a Chaplin biopic in the 1970s.
  • Jeff Bridges, Nicolas Cage, Billy Crystal, John Cusack, Tim Curry, Johnny Depp, Jim Carrey and Tom Hanks were considered to star. There were even talks of Nick Nolte playing the older Chaplin.
  • John Goodman was considered for Mack Sennett, Winona Ryder was considered for Mildred Harris and Pierce Brosnan was considered for Douglas Fairbanks.
• Working Title: Charlie. The makers of Charly complained that the title would lead to confusion with their movie, so the film had to be renamed to Chaplin.

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