Trivia / Jack Frost (1998)

• Actor-Inspired Element: Michael Keaton co-wrote two of the songs on the film's soundtrack.
• Box Office Bomb: Budget, $85 million. Box office, $34.5 million (domestic).
• Production Posse: Director Troy Miller, having just come from four seasons of Mr. Show, was able to get Paul F. Tompkins, John Ennis and Jay Johnston in various bit parts, as well as archival audio of David Cross in a brief clip from the "Ding Dong Burgers" commercial (pretty much the only part of that deeply R-rated sketch suitable for a family movie).
• Star-Derailing Role: The film's failure knocked Michael Keaton off the A-list for over a decade. He still had supporting roles in Toy Story 3 and The Other Guys before finally netting an Oscar nomination with Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), which led to a full-fledged Career Resurrection.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Sam Raimi was originally attached to direct the film, and even wrote a draft with his brother Ivan that would have been an adaptation of Frosty the Snowman.
  • George Clooney was originally attached to the project, but when he left to do Batman & Robin, ex-Batman Michael Keaton was cast into the lead role. This became very problematic for Jim Henson's Creature Shop, as they had designed their snowman animatronic specifically to Clooney's facial features and acting style. Mel Gibson was considered, but he turned it down in favour of Conspiracy Theory. Alec Baldwin, Kevin Costner, Dennis Quaid, Kurt Russell and John Travolta were also considered.
  • Melanie Griffith and Renée Zellweger were considered for Gabby Frost.
  • Danny DeVito and Vincent D'Onofrio were considered for Mac MacArthur.
  • Jake Lloyd was considered for Charlie Frost.

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