By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
June 6, 2003
Had George Stevens Jr. known then what he knows now, he may have worked up the nerve to ask out Elizabeth Taylor.
“I saw her [a few weeks ago] and she told me–several decades too late, unfortunately–that she used to have a crush on me,” says Stevens. “That was the most painfully late information that I have ever been presented with. I was kicking myself.”
The son of the late director George Stevens and the world’s most glamorous actress met on the set of “Giant,” which was released in 1956.
“I had just graduated from college and then gone into the Air Force,” says Stevens, phoning from his home in Washington, D.C. “I had a lot of
opportunities to drop in on the set while they were shooting. When I got out of the Air Force, I worked on editing the film with my father.
“It was a pleasure working as a very young guy with my father and knowing the care and dedication he put into making the film. I kind of feel I’m the custodian of his legacy, so I wanted to shoot for the same standards for this DVD.”
“Giant” makes its DVD debut Tuesday. The two-disc set includes commentary by the younger Stevens as well as vintage documentaries, trailers, photo galleries and filmography.
Though the images of James Dean, Taylor and Rock Hudson are embedded in fans’ brains as the ultimate Jett Rink, Leslie and Bick Benedict,
respectively, there were other notable actors the elder Stevens was considering for the roles.
George Stevens Jr. says Grace Kelly was in very serious talks for the role that went to Taylor. William Holden was in consideration for Bick. And Alan Ladd was one of the possibilities for Jett.
“I know you can’t imagine anyone other than Jimmy Dean playing Jett,” Stevens says. “When my father made ‘Shane,’ Montgomery Clift was supposed to play the role that Alan Ladd eventually got. [Ladd’s] career wasn’t soaring at the time, but he did such a wonderful job in the film that you can’t imagine anyone else in the role now.”
