John Travolta Turned Down Denzel’s ‘Flight’ Over ‘Silly’ Mid-Air Sequence

John Travolta is in the headlines again over his unlikely friendship with the late James Gandolfini’s family, but took a moment to slam Denzel Washington’s critically-acclaimed 2012 drama Flight, saying that the film’s mid-air sequences are “silly.”

Travolta is actually a qualified private pilot and well-known aviation enthusiast, but Washington’s film about alcoholic Captain Whip Whitaker’s personal struggles after a miraculous emergency landing didn’t exactly appeal to him.

Speaking at a British Film Institute event in London Tuesday, Travolta said:

“I loved that he was an alcoholic and I loved his journey a lot. But the plane stuff was silly, from my perspective. Flying upside down — it’s a bit much.”

Some of Travolta’s ire at the film might be due to his claim that the role was originally intended for him.

“The funny thing was it was written for me. But it was not written well enough yet — the plane stuff, not the character,” he continued. He said that he snubbed the role because of the mid-air sequences.

“I just wanted those bits to get redone. I asked the writer, ‘Did you not ask a professional or someone who knew something?’ And he said, ‘I didn’t want any interference — I just wanted the screenplay done. To hell with that stuff!'”

The Robert Zemeckis-directed film nonetheless earned Washington an Academy Award nomination for his role, as well as a handful of other honors including the African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor and the Black Reel Award for Best Actor.

Could you imagine John Travolta in Flight instead of Denzel Washintgon? Here’s the scene that Travolta finds “silly.” Do you agree?

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[Image via: Featureflash / Shutterstock]