Brian DePalma

The Lives of Brian

An excerpt from an interview with Brian DePalma...

Entertainment Weekly #898

September 22, 2006

By Chris Nashawaty

Based on Stephen King's debut novel, Carrie was De Palma's first hit, thanks to a lot of pig's blood and its famous hand-from-the-grave ending. But the cast, which included Sissy Spacek, Amy Irving, and John Travolta, almost landed in a Galaxy Far, Far Away.

''George Lucas and I were both looking for young actors at the same time, so we held our casting sessions together. We both really wanted Amy Irving — he wanted her for Princess Leia. I don't know where I got the idea for the ending of Carrie. In the original script, the big climax was Carrie giving her mother a heart attack. I remember saying to the producer, 'This is the big scene?! Carrie looks at her mother and she clutches her chest?! I don't think so!' You know, it's actually Sissy's hand that reaches out from the grave. They put her in a box under the ground. I planned on using someone else. I mean, who would know if it was her hand? But she wanted to do it.''