Anna Daniels
By now, Field of Dreams is such a beloved movie that it’s hard to imagine how key aspects of the production almost went in completely different directions. Based on W.P. Kinsella’s novel Shoeless Joe, the film was supposed to have the same title until test audiences reacted unfavorably, assuming it was a movie about a homeless man rather than one of the most infamous names in major league baseball. Field of Dreams was actually similar to W.P. Kinsella’s working title, Dream Field, which publishers scrapped.
Tom Hanks was first approached to play Ray Kinsella, but he turned the role down. Producers didn’t think Costner would want to do another baseball movie so soon after Bull Durham, but after reading the script, he signed on.
Costner wasn’t the only second choice for a main actor. Originally director Phil Alden Robinson wanted James Stewart to play Doc “Moonlight” Graham, but he passed. Burt Lancaster was cast instead, and while Field of Dreams was Lancaster’s last movie before retiring, the movie also features a nod to Stewart with a clip of his classic Harvey.
Finally, Robinson wanted composer Leonard Bernstein for the score, but Bernstein was overbooked. James Horner was his second choice, and reportedly cried during his first viewing of the Field of Dreams rough cut. Horner’s deep connection to the story is evident in every bar of the movie’s touching score.
Written by: Looper
