BeforeGreasedirector Randal Kleiser shake off Olivia Newton - John as Sandy , he considered a identification number of other actress for the part . One of them wasCarrie Fisher .
Kleiser andGeorge Lucashad known each other as students at the University of Southern California ; in 1966 , Kleiser had evenstarredin a forgetful flick of Lucas ’s calledFreiheit . While Kleiser was still in the planning stage forGrease , Lucas was concentrated at work directing another movie : Star Wars . He shared somerushes — unedited footage from the celluloid shoot , also lie with as “ dailies”—with Kleiser in face Fisher was a good match for the star role in his eminent schoolmusical .
According toVanity Fair , the footage was n’t really enough to go on . Kleiser could n’t even get a feeling for how well Fisher could act — lease alone whistle or dance . Why he decided against investigating further remain unclear ; perchance he just was n’t uncoerced to hold off until she wrappedStar Warsto schedule her for a more formal audition . Whatever the lawsuit , Kleiser and manufacturer Allan Carr moved on to other option , include Deborah Raffin and Susan Dey .
The most promising was Marie Osmond , who was really propose the role . “ They asked me first , and the script was a lot edgier . Sandy was not a nice girl , ” she later say onWatch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen . It was n’t just the character ’s harsh edges that turned Osmond off . As she explain in anotherinterview , she “ did n’t like the fact that the girlfriend had to turn bad to get the guy cable . ”
In fact , the transmutation from good girl to speculative girl was a big part of the reason Kleiser was n’t ab initio bully on casting Newton - John — he was disbelieving that she could perpetrate it off . luckily , Carr and John Travolta convinced him that she was correct for the role .
[ h / tVanity Fair ]
