During my Klaus research I've found details and talked to folks about some rumored but unrealized Kinski projects. One I'm always bummed out about is Klaus as Merlin in John Boorman's EXCALIBUR and readers of K2's autobio 'All I Need is Love' are well aware that he allegedly turned down the part of Major Toht in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK because he was offered more money for a role in VENOM.
While reading an interview with PHANTASM creator and BUBBA HO-TEP director Don Coscarelli, he mentions that when he was in pre-production on THE BEASTMASTER he originally had a role written for Klaus...
DVD Talk: When Phantasm made it big, you moved on to direct The Beastmaster for MGM but you've gone on record more than once stating that you weren't happy with studio decisions about the finished version of that film. What would your ideal version have been like? What were you trying to do with the movie that you weren't able to do?
Don Coscarelli: The creative interference was on many levels. It's hard to really project what the film might have been like. In the casting I had voted for a young Demi Moore as the lead, but was informed by the powers-that-be "she couldn't act." They liked Tanya Roberts. I also had proposed a role for Klaus Kinski, but was ignored because he wanted $5,000 more than our budget. The animal trainers I selected were replaced. And the editing process was just devastating for me. My cut was completely remanufactured. It was really surprising that in spite of this the film became so successful.
To read the whole interview visit DVD Talk.
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