Left: The Student
Reason: Unknown
Est. Salary Loss: Unknown
This film from 1954 was originally set to see Mario Lanza star as Prince Karl. But soon after he was cast, he quit the role, and MGM sued him accordingly for $5 million.
Yet, a settlement was reached and Lanza provided the voice for the character of Prince Karl. With Edmund Purdom replacing him, thus he had to move his lips in time to the dialogue that Lanza had prerecorded for the role.
Robert Redford
Left: Blue
Reason: Unknown
Est. Salary Loss: Unknown
The little production of "Blue" eventually saw Terence Stamp take the lead role. But originally Robert Redford had signed up for this role. Redford, though, dropped out of the movie with just a week left before cameras were set to roll, and Paramount Pictures duly gave its lawyers a call.
Redford was sued for breaching his contract. It’s said that because of this, he refused to work with Paramount on "Rosemary’s Baby" shortly after when director Roman Polanski offered him the role of Guy Woodhouse.
Woody Harrelson
Left: Benny and Joon
Reason: Wanted to Pursue Other Opportunities
Est. Salary Loss: Unknown
The quaint "Benny And Joon" worked well with Johnny Depp in the lead role, but the original plan had Woody Harrelson in mind as the lead role.
But Harrelson, however, left the picture, when he was subsequently offered the main role in Adrian Lyne’s "Indecent Proposal" which became a much bigger hit.
Evan Rachel Wood
Left: 10 Things I Hate About Life
Reasons: Personal
Est. Salary Loss: Unknown
The film was set to shoot at the start of 2013, but production was delayed four weeks after filming. What was the problem? She reportedly left the film back in 2013 for personal reasons, allegedly saying she couldn’t return until the end of the year.
It was revealed that a lawsuit was filed against the actress, claiming over $30 million in damages. That amount was made up of alleged lost profits, equity investments, and special damages. Evan Rachel Wood’s representatives declared the lawsuit “a bullying tactic from the broke producers,” claiming that they’d run out of money. Evan Rachel Wood denied the accusations in the lawsuit. The film remains unfinished, and it’s unclear just what happened with the lawsuit.
John Travolta
Left: The Double
Reason: Creative Differences
Est. Salary Loss: $17 million
John Travolta was back near the top of his peak in 1997, and he was set to star in "The Double," with director Roman Polanski. But after signing he dropped out of the movie, which prompted a lawsuit to be aimed in his direction.
The suit demanded that Travolta “insisted screenplay rewrites without the director's knowledge.” Travolta had been set to bag $17 million for this film, but his lawyer insisted that he had hadn’t signed the contract. No more details were forthcoming.