In the "Odd Things You Come Across After Making a Few Clicks" Department...
Meg Tilly has done quite well for herself writing books and raising her kids since more or less leaving Hollywood. I stumbled upon her video podcast from last December and here's her Amadeus episode, talking about testing with the likes of Donald Sutherland (!) and also that F. Murray Abraham was quite like Saleri. Or worse!
She's kind of delightfully goofy and...well...you may have a new opinion of F. Murray to be sure!
Agreed, she's goofy, but comes across as sincere, and likeable.
While I feel terrible for her that she lost the part -- and in that way -- I honestly think Elizabeth Berridge was better suited to the role.
Abraham sounds like a first-class fiend. But what's amazing to me is that anyone would believe Tilly was having an affair with Tom Hulce. Tom Hulce is gay!
I like Berridge too though I would've been up for seeing Tilly in the movie, especially since she says there was more meat to the part before she bowed out. I do think Tilly was a much more capable actress than Berridge in general though Forman did an excellent job with her under the circumstances playing to her strengths (and weaknesses too for that matter since the role required a degree of naivetee). Still I remember the Sneak Previews guys grilling Berridge for how awful she was...Gabler in particular. Unfairly as well.
Either way F. Murray has been disinvited from my Labor Day BBQ! What a jerk
I'm also glad I stumbled upon her page, her videos are quite charming. And both she and her sister Jennifer have refreshingly politics-free social media feeds too.
Berrige came across as ditzy (sometimes annoyingly so) -- but to me that suited the character. Was the actual script pared-down to accommodate Berrige's inexperience, or was Tilly referring to Constanze's scenes which were cut out for the theatrical release (and later restored for the directors cut)?
I remember as the 80s wore-on, I often wondered "what happened to F Murray Abraham?", as he was conspicuously absent from cinema screens -- despite winning Best Actor for a box office juggernaut like Amadeus. I guess we now know one reason for that!
Lol. Funny thing is he's been more visible over the last couple of decades, working on multiple seasons of Homeland and assorted film roles. Maybe he chilled out? Seemed like a very insecure actor from her story.
