'Horrible Bosses' Almost Once Starred Ashton Kutcher, Johnny Knoxville; Sequels Discussed

11:28 AM PDT 7/10/2011 by Pamela McClintock

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Brett Ratner

Producer Brett Ratner suggests that "Horrible Wives" and "Horrible Children" could have potential as he describes the long ordeal to get movie made.

Six years in the making, Horrible Bosses saw its share of actors come and go—including Ashton Kutcher, Ryan Reynolds, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Johnny Knoxville.

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According to Brett Ratner, who produced the R-rated comedy for New Line/Warner Bros., Kutcher was attached to star at two different points. Kutcher was to have played the role of Dale Arbus, one of three friends who plot to kill their malevolent bosses.

Throughout it all, Ratner and his partners at Rat Entertainment, John Cheng and Jay Stern, never gave up on Horrible Bosses, which they first sold to New Line in 2005.

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The payoff? Over the weekend, Horrible Bosses opened to a strong $28.1 million at the domestic box office.

In addition to Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis, the film’s other stars are Jason Bateman, Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx.

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“In this day and age, you need a lot of patience if you are in the movie business,” Ratner told The Hollywood Reporter Sunday morning.

“But I think it’s been well worth the wait. From the beginning, I knew it was a great concept,” Ratner said. “I was even toying with the idea of directing it, but then Tower Heist came together.”

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Ratner praised director Seth Gordon for making a “total audience pleaser.”

Asked whether there’s a sequel in the offing, Ratner joked that the possibilities are endless, throwing out such titles as Horrible Wives and Horrible Children. He added, however, that there is no follow-up formally in the works.