Garth Brooks turned down a role in Twister because he didn’t want to be upstaged by a tornado

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Sometimes when I am thinking to myself about the mysteries of the universe, I often reflect on the career of Garth Brooks. I mean, what the hell happened to that guy? At one point he was the biggest thing in country music and then poof, he disappeared. Where a lot of musicians have crossed into the world of movies, Brooks never seemed to make that leap. But, now we may know why.

According to a lawsuit filed by his former partner Lisa Sanderson, Brooks is “paranoid, angry, deceitful, and vindictive man who will turn against those closest to him on a dime” and decided against working with directors like Tim Burton, Steven Spielberg, and Jan de Bont.

According to details shared over at The AV Club from the lawsuit, Brooks wanted to be the main star in any film projects he was offered. He didn’t want to be considered second to anyone and that includes natural phenomenon.

Included among them is an accusation that Brooks turned down a role in Twister, saying (seriously) that he refused to share the screen with the tornado, which he called the real star. He also nixed a slot in Saving Private Ryan because he was unwilling to share the spotlight with other less successful stars like Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, and Ed Burns.

Seriously? if that is true than the guy is further off the rails than anyone could have known. The suit also claims Brooks was in talks to appear in Tim Burton‘s ALICE IN WONDERLAND and somehow completely ruined any chance of working with the director. Brooks has also penned several scripts, including one similar to the Lewis Carrol story which he titled ALYSS. He also got into an issue with 20th Century Fox regarding a screenplay about a rock star when Brooks refused to share any of the rights to his songs and claimed his father was dead (at the time his father was alive).

In the end, I am glad we got TWISTER and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN sans a portly country singer with a shitty goatee. Why Spielberg would even have considered Garth Brooks is beyond me and makes me wonder how legitimate these film roles actually were. In the end, aren’t you glad you now have read this insane story?

Source: AV Club, IndieWire

About the Author

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Alex Maidy has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. A Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and a member of Chicago Indie Critics, Alex has been JoBlo.com's primary TV critic and ran columns including Top Ten and The UnPopular Opinion. When not riling up fans with his hot takes, Alex is an avid reader and aspiring novelist.