Due to computer issues yesterday, we were unable to post the morning show blog until late in the day. Thanks for your patience.
ACTORS AND THE ROLES THEY TURNED DOWN
Here's a quick list of actors and actresses, and the big roles they TURNED DOWN, according to the website Glamorati.com. It's pretty fun to imagine what some of these people would have done if they'd taken the parts that were offered to them...
MOLLY RINGWALD could have been the female lead in both "Pretty Woman" and "Ghost", if she'd wanted them.
JENNIFER JASON LEIGH... (from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High") . . . also had a shot at "Pretty Woman".
JULIA ROBERTS... passed on "Basic Instinct", "Godfather 3", "Sleepless in Seattle", "Shakespeare in Love" and "While You Were Sleeping".
MEL GIBSON walked away from "Gladiator" and "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves".
ALEC BALDWIN was offered the title role in "The Fugitive".
SIGOURNEY WEAVER could have played the attorney in "The Accused"
As frightening as this sounds, KEANU REEVES passed on the CHARLIE SHEEN role in "Platoon".
WARREN BEATTY could have had JAMES CAAN'S part in "Misery", MICHAEL DOUGLAS' role in "Wall Street"... and even ROBERT REDFORD'S part in "The Sting".
MICHELLE PFEIFFER and JODIE FOSTER were originally supposed to play "Thelma & Louise"... but had to drop out because the production took too long to get going. MELANIE GRIFFITH was later offered the part of Thelma.
RICHARD GRIECO... of "21 Jump Street" fame... COULD have been the star of "Speed"... but he thought the script SUCKED.
Speaking of lucky breaks for KEANU REEVES... WILL SMITH turned down "The Matrix". LEONARDO DICAPRIO was also offered "The Matrix".
JAMIE FOXX reportedly got TWO of his big roles after DENZEL WASHINGTON turned them down: Those would be Curtis in "Dreamgirls" and RAY CHARLES in "Ray".
TOM CRUISE could have been the star of "Footloose".
JOHN TRAVOLTA had first dibs on "Forrest Gump".
And TOM HANKS turned down "Field of Dreams", "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Jerry Maguire".
CUCUMBER-FLAVORED PEPSI... SERIOUSLY
This week, a cucumber-flavored soda will debut in stores all across Japan.
The soda, called Pepsi Ice Cucumber, will go on sale as a limited edition flavor... but you'll only be able to be able to buy it in Japan, and only this summer.
Aya Takemoto's the spokeswoman for Pepsi's Japanese distributor. She says, quote, "We wanted a flavor that makes people think of keeping cool in the summer heat. We thought the cucumber was just perfect."
GREETING CARDS MADE JUST FOR INMATES
There's a website that's in the business of making greeting cards specifically for people whose relatives are serving time in the clink.
The site is called ThreeSquareGreetings.com... and they have cards for all types of occasions.
For example, if your baby daddy is in the can on Valentine's Day, you can send him a card that says: "If it weren't for those walls, I'd give you lots of hugs and kisses."
Or maybe your juvenile delinquent of a son is locked up on his birthday. You could send him a card that says: "Hopefully, one year older will really mean one year wiser for you."
Or... how 'bout a Christmas message for your incarcerated loved one: "You had the choice to be naughty or nice. And you chose... Oh well, now you have to do your time."
