MOVIES - March 26, 1993

Role Rewritten: The already acknowledged dearth of leading actress roles was accentuated this week with news that the big-budget film “Dead Reckoning,” originally designed for a female lead, was rewritten for male action hero Steven Seagal. The film, about a public defender caught up in a Washington assassination conspiracy, had been offered to Jodie Foster and Geena Davis, who was reportedly interested, but was rewritten at Seagal’s request. Producer Arnold Kopelson told Daily Variety, “We are not saying Geena Davis can’t open a movie. She most definitely can. It’s just the revised role and script for this budget means that Seagal is right for the project.”