by Jox on 19 Oct 2017, 19:28
One thing I'd like to nuance that I didn't get to say in the I MUST BREAK THIS PODCAST episode about his attachment and Dolph's casting, is that despite what Goddard is often saying, he started work on the film long before Dolph was even cast in ROCKY IV.
I don't know if there was any contract signed but Goddard started prep in about 1984, working on the script revisions with David Odell and hiring the legendary artist John De Cuir (CLEOPATRA, THE KING AND I, GHOSTBUSTERS) and Claudio Mazzoli to do concept arts.
But the actual producer who people forget, not Golan but Ed Pressman (CONAN THE BARBARIAN, THE CROW etc), was still looking for financing and a studio who would put more than $15 million, so the project stalled. Dolph wasn't cast until late 1985 / early 1986, so a month or two after ROCKY IV came out.
My understanding is that indeed Goddard didn't have a say in the casting of He-Man and his attachment as a director became official when the project was finally greenlit, but his involvement goes way back...
No disrespect to Goddard, but comparing to some of my research and other claims, he seems to be sometimes mixing things up or making shortcuts in telling version of the story...