Werner Herzog Was Offered a Chance to Direct
When the film was still in the direction of being a dark drama, Richard Gere was already signed on, and Diane Lane was really close to playing Vivian, getting as far as doing the costume fittings. It was during this time that legendary director of films that aren’t romantic comedies, Werner Herzog, was asked to direct the film.
Photo by Herbie Knott/Shutterstock
But Herzog declined, he said in an interview from 2009. It wasn’t the producers who asked the director to come on board, but Gere himself. To this day, Gere says Herzog is both a friend and an inspiration. It explains Runaway Bride’s underlying dark themes of loss and the quest to find meaning in a world of chaos.