Russell Crowe has starred in numerous epic blockbusters throughout his incredible career. Best known for his role in Gladiator, the 59-year-old star’s other remarkable masterpiece was his 1997 superhit L.A. Confidential. The crime movie was such a massive hit among audiences worldwide that the makers were bound to think of an epic sequel to follow.
However, the brilliant sequel starring Russell Crowe in the lead never came to be for although the filmmakers and scriptwriters had the perfect script to pitch, no one was willing to go on with the idea – neither Warner Bros. nor Netflix.
Brian Helgeland Had The Perfect Pitch For Russell Crowe’s L.A. Confidential 2
Released in 1997, L.A. Confidential was a stylish crime thrilling starring Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, and Guy Pearce as three cops who work together to solve a multiple murder case that took down with it one of their own.
The film was a box-office blockbuster, earning a striking $126.2 million on an estimated budget of $35 million. Not only this, but it also received nine Oscar nods, securing two of them for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Kim Basinger and Best Writing, Screenplay for Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson among other nominations.
With a spectacular win like this, the makers were more than delighted to look forward to creating a sequel. In an interview with Deadline, screenwriter Helgeland shared the story pitch for the sequel revealing they even thought of casting the late Chadwick Boseman in a prominent role.
“James Ellroy and I worked out an elaborate pitch for L.A. Confidential 2 that takes place during the Patty Hearst (era) when the Symbionese Liberation Army came down to L.A., and we had Guy Pearce attached and we had Russell (Crowe) attached and I had Chadwick Boseman playing a young cop who’s working for Mayor Bradley who just had been elected at the time.”
However, L.A. Confidential 2 never came to be, and for a very peculiar reason at that.
Why Russell Crowe’s L.A. Confidential 2 Never Happened
Although the plot was remarkably amazing, no one seemed to want to go on with it. Continuing to tell Deadline how Warner Bros was the first one they approached and got turned down by, Helgeland said,
“We pitched it to everyone. We had to go to Warner Bros first and Warner Bros is like we don’t make movies like this.”
He proceeded to share how one executive at Netflix even nodded off while James Ellroy was pitching the sequel’s plot to them.
“Ellroy is a performance artist and he would do the pitch, and it was the most amazing pitch,” Helgeland said, adding, “Our executive at Netflix fell asleep during the pitch. They fell asleep and nodded off during the pitch.”
Thus, feeling defeated and discouraged to take it any further, Helgeland decided to call the idea off.
“I got home, and said ‘We can’t do that anymore’.”
Considering how the Russell Crowe starrer L.A. Confidential received the most outstanding responses from audiences worldwide with a whopping 99% approval rating by Rotten Tomatoes even over two and a half decades later, the sequel would’ve undoubtedly been an epic masterpiece as well. Had it happened, of course.
Source: Deadline
