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
Michael Foster (agent) Foster became CEO of Evans' Ginger TV in January 1998, then left suddenly in September 1998 (receiving £1.1 million, reported by "Broadcast" as an acrimonious departure) to become a drama producer. Foster was recruited by Waheed Alli, the managing director of Carlton Productions (part of Carlton Communications), to become managing director of content in August 1999. He left Carlton in February 2001. After Evans left Virgin Radio (which Foster co-owned) in 2001, Evans founded a TV production company, UMTV with Foster and Chris Gillet. Foster also founded Artists Rights Group with Sue Latimer in May 2001, becoming the agent for