
From Joaquin Phoenix to Winona Ryder: How star dropouts changed Hollywood movies
These projects were set to become blockbusters, but at the last minute, their main stars backed out. The result? Some films failed miserably, others succeeded beyond expectations, and some never even made it to the cinema




![The result? Long before nepo baby were making headlines, Francis Ford Coppola showed the world exactly what the concept meant. After Winona Ryder dropped out, the director looked around and found his daughter Sofia, who happened to be in Italy visiting the set to spend Christmas with her parents. Since Sofia had been the inspiration for the role, Coppola decided she was the perfect fit to play the role. She wasn’t so sure, and the outcome proved disastrous. The role earned Sofia two Razzie nominations for Worst Supporting Actress and Worst Newcomer, and she became the subject of ridicule from critics.
Years later, Sofia downplayed the ordeal: “It was embarrassing to be thrown out to the public in that kind of way. But it wasn’t my dream to be an actress, so I wasn’t crushed. I had other interests. It didn’t destroy me,” she told 'The New York Times.' Her father, however, took it harder: “They came after this 18-year-old girl, who had only done it for me […] The daughter took the bullet for Michael Corleone — my daughter took the bullet for me.”
After the backlash, Sofia Coppola went on to establish a brilliant career as a director, while Winona Ryder had the opportunity to work with Francis Ford Coppola on Dracula.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/SJR7Y6LSAFFLBDKWWQCZZIIZUA.jpg?auth=37e38e512d83f2be23a4f56c414e6567e00437df73a084806b553b56c9ad361c&width=414)











