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The Controversial Thriller That Was Almost a Steve Martin Sex Comedy

The pair spent eight hours together discussing the potential collaboration back in 1980.

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In July 1999, Stanley Kubrick released what ended up being his final film, Eyes Wide Shut. The mystery-thriller revolves around Manhattan doctor Bill Harford, played by Tom Cruise, who finds himself at a strange, ritualistic sex party one night after learning of his wife’s desire to cheat on him. Based on Arthur Schnitzler’s 1926 novella Dream Story (originally known as Traumnovelle), Kubrick was considering making the movie as early as 1968. The director purchased the rights a little while later, but had a slightly different vision for the project in those early stages.

Initially, Kubrick was picturing the movie as a sex comedy. Ideally, he was looking for a lead actor with a comedian’s resilience, like Woody Allen, for one. In a........

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