Paul Newman’s Unmade Dream: The Film He Couldn’t Get Off the Ground

Paul Newman, a true icon of the silver screen and a bloke with a fair bit of directing experience under his belt, found himself in a surprising spot late in his career. Despite his reputation and a string of acclaimed performances, he struggled to get backing for a project that meant a lot to him. As he got older, Newman became pickier about the roles he’d take on, often turning down scripts that didn’t spark his interest. In 1994, he made a rare move by appearing in two films in the same year—something he hadn’t done since the mid-70s. After that, he only added a handful of live-action credits before stepping back from acting altogether.

With his appearances becoming less frequent, you’d reckon studios would be keen to jump on anything he wanted to make, especially if he’d written it himself. But that wasn’t the case. Newman had his sights set on adapting Glendon Swarthout’s novel, The Homesman. He planned to direct and take on the lead role, marking his return to directing after more than a decade away from the director’s chair. The story follows George Briggs, a rough-around-the-edges drifter hired by Mary Bee Cuddy to help four women escape the harsh Nebraska Territory and start fresh in Iowa.

Newman’s Frustration with Hollywood’s Apathy

In a chat with Esquire back in 2000, Newman didn’t hide his disappointment with the state of scripts coming his way.

“Lean stuff out there,”

he said, describing the lack of interesting roles.

“It’s a dry, dry season.”

He was equally miffed that no one seemed interested in the one project he was passionate about.

“I can’t seem to get anybody interested,”

he admitted about The Homesman.

“I may have just run out of steam on it.”

If things had gone his way, Newman would have played Briggs, with his wife and long-time collaborator Joanne Woodward taking on a major supporting part. It would have been a return to form for both of them, but the project never got off the ground while he was alive.

The Homesman Finds New Life After Newman

After Newman’s passing, The Homesman finally made it to the big screen, but with a different team at the helm. Tommy Lee Jones stepped in, co-writing, directing, and starring in the adaptation. He pulled together a top-notch cast, including Meryl Streep, Hilary Swank, John Lithgow, James Spader, Hailee Steinfeld, and Jesse Plemons. The film was well received, with punters and critics alike praising its take on the Western genre.

It’s impossible to say how Newman’s version would have turned out, but it’s a bit of a shame he never got the chance to bring his vision to life. For a bloke of his calibre, it’s surprising that the studios didn’t get behind him when it mattered most.