I'll point out that, besides Mel, the only other "first choice" actor that actually wound up in the film was my friend and former schoolmate Alice Cunningham (who played Mary).

1. BEN CHAPLIN AS TREVOR. (Role played by Corin Nemec) I really insisted on having a British actor play this role (and I wound up with an American). Ben starred in The Truth About Cats and Dogs with Uma Thurman and Janeane Garofalo. As I had some obscure connection to the makers of that film, I thought I might have a chance of reaching Ben. I didn't. His agent stood in the way and insisted that Ben was too busy and too expensive. A note on agents: unlike managers, most agents' only goal is to make fast money off their clients, and so will usually ignore good roles in small films to focus on high-paying movies that may not be any good for their clients' careers.

2. DAVID THEWLIS AS IAN. (Role played by Steve Valentine) Speaking of agents, here's a guy who should fire his. After winning worldwide acclaim for his incendiery performance in Mike Leigh's Naked, David soon went on to bad co-starring roles in some of Hollywood's biggest recent turkeys: Dragonheart, The Island of Dr. Moreau and Seven Years in Tibet. I'd hoped he'd be tired of these overblown disasters and would long for another intimate, Mike Leigh-style film. The agent disagreed.

3. MATT ROSS AS JONAS. (Role played by Wil Wheaton) "Who?" The star of the indie hit Ed's Next Move and bit player in films like 12 Monkeys and Face/Off. Ironically, an actor not nearly as well-known as the one who wound up with the role, Wil. In Matt's case, we couldn't even find his agent.

4. STEVE ZAHN AS JONAS. Another "who?" Steve has starred in films such as Reality Bites, Suburbia and That Thing You Do! His agent said he was too expensive. Remember: though the actor you seek may not be a household name, if he's busy working in Hollywood movies, you can forget it.

5. MIRJANA JOKOVIC AS MIRA. (Role played by Yelena Danova) Here's a BIG "who?" Mirjana starred in the Cannes award-winning film Underground, truly a great movie, and was my first choice simply because she was the only Yugoslavian actress I could name offhand. But she could not be located at all. Apparently she has done an American indie film.

6. JUDY DAVIS AS RACHEL. (Role played by Blaire Baron) Nobody was really serious about even bothering to look up this multiple-Oscar nominee, but Jamie Tost, the executive producer of this film, suggested that a "Judy Davis type" would be a good match for the role.

7. STELLAN SKARSGARD AS NILS. (Role played by Douglas Coler) Now well-known for his role as Matt Damon's math professor in Good Will Hunting as well as Breaking the Waves, Stellan seemed a good choice as he is authentically Scandinavian. I even managed to contact his agent in Stockholm, but it all fizzled out somewhere along the line.

8. JOE PESCI AS MAN IN BOOKSTORE. (Role played by Richard Moll) This is not a joke! Our casting director Cynthia Ellis knew Joe, and thought it would be a fun cameo. But there was no response in time for the movie so we moved on. Would have been something, though. The credits would have read "Joe Pesci starring in Foreign Correspondents" - for a 90-second scene.

9. KATE WINSLET AS CHRISTINA. (Role played by Lisa Lo Cicero) Okay, this was something of a joke. But I admit, the thought of casting Mel's old Heavenly Creatures costar as her best friend Christina did cross my mind. Who knows? She might have done it. But then it would have been "Kate Winslet starring in Foreign Correspondents" which would have also been inappropriate.