Hannibal (film) realized that Zaillian was "exorcising the 600 pages of the book. He was distilling through discussion what he was gonna finally do ... Frankly I could have just made it." It was unclear if Jodie Foster (Clarice Starling) and Anthony Hopkins (Hannibal Lecter) would reprise their respective roles for which they won Academy Awards in "The Silence of the Lambs" (best actress/actor). It became apparent that the producers and the studio could do without one of the original "stars" and would go on to find a replacement. The withdrawal of both Foster and Hopkins could possibly have been terminal for
Idioglossia (play) first covered by the New York Times when it was shown at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey. In 1987 the play was performed in Washington, D.C., at the New Playwrights Theatre. The play was produced in Los Angeles by the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble in 1989. In 1994 the play was adapted into the film "Nell" starring Jodie Foster and Liam Neeson. Foster had heard of the play and purchased the rights as a vehicle for herself. Her friend and producer Renee Missel saw the Los Angeles production in 1989 and the two contacted Handley. The film