OK Magazine  Sept. 2, 2003

            

GERARD BUTLER
Lara's Love Interest Cast As Phantom

 

The Phantom of the Opera is finally making its way to the big screen, but fans are furious that Michael Crawford-who was the original Phantom in London and on Broadway-has been passed over for the lead in favor of Scots actor Gerard Butler.  Butler's only real major film credit is as the love interest in the latest Lara Croft flop, although last year he raised quite a few eyebrows by claiming he's been offered the role of the next james Bond-subsequently denied by producers.  He is a surprise choice given that both John Travolta and Antonio Banderas have openly campaigned for the part.  Joel Schumacher, who'll direct it, has made no secret of the fact that he had nothing to do with the casting. "The decision not to use Michael Crawford was Andrew Lloyd Webber's alone," he says.  Which hardly sounds like a ringing endorsement.