If you think you’ve seen bizarre holiday movies, I bet nothing would’ve prepared you for the scenes of ‘Jack Frost‘. The 1998 film about a musician dad who dies in a car crash and returns as a talking snowman already sounds unbelievable, but the story behind the film’s lead role is even stranger.
Before Michael Keaton ever took on the role, did you know that George Clooney was lined up to lead the film? You’re probably wondering what happened then, right? Well, let’s find out.
Why George Clooney Never Starred In ‘Jack Frost’?
When Jack Frost was being planned, the story was already unusual. A musician’s father dies in a car crash and returns to life through a magical harmonica. It could have been a warm Christmas story, but it could also easily turn strange. The studio, however, treated it as a major project. And, they had good reason.
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At the time, George Clooney was one of Hollywood’s biggest names. He was coming off major roles, from action blockbusters to romantic comedies, and Sam Raimi was originally attached as director. With that team, the film looked much more promising than the version people later watched.
But then Raimi left. And once he stepped away, Clooney walked too. And that’s where everything began to fall apart. The production team had already started building the snowman’s face based on Clooney’s features. Losing him mid-process left them scrambling because the snowman literally didn’t match the new actor coming in next.
When Michael Keaton joined the film, the people at the Jim Henson Creature Shop had a problem. They had already designed the entire snowman head to look like Clooney. Starting over would have taken too much time, so they tried to rework it.
How Michael Keaton Replaced Clooney
The general manager said they basically had to rush and “play catch-up,” adjusting the chin and lips a bit because Keaton talks more from the front of his mouth. But they couldn’t redesign everything from scratch. And that’s why the final snowman looks so odd. Viewers often described the face as creepy, rather than cute or funny, but rather unsettling. It makes a lot more sense once you know it was originally modeled on someone else.
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Then the studio made things worse by releasing the movie in February. A Christmas film in February. Even Keaton said he didn’t understand why it happened and felt the timing made no sense. And with all that mess, the movie ended up losing about $50 million. Keaton had said he hoped the film would become a cozy holiday movie that families watched every year. But that definitely didn’t happen.
The more you hear about it, the clearer it becomes that the whole movie was built around Clooney from the start. Keaton walked into a project that had already lost its direction, and tried his best, but the movie was already halfway broken by the time he showed up. If Clooney had stayed, the movie might have had a real shot. Instead, Jack Frost turned into this strange Christmas movie that keeps popping up.
