Brian Grazer suggested Eddie Murphy instead and Martin approved. The film was initially scheduled for a July 30, 1999 release, but in May 1999, Universal Studios pushed its release back to August 27, 1999. Its final release date was August 13, 1999. The film's costs amounted to US$44 million. The executives at Universal wanted to cut the freeway scene because they felt it would be too expensive; Martin replied he would not cut the funniest scene in the film. Casting Graham described Daisy in an interview with CNN's Entertainment News. "It's about these losers in Hollywood who want to make a movie, and I'm this naive, innocent girl who wants to be an actress. I'm willing to stop at nothing." Graham stated that she has a "special attachment" to the roles she chooses, and explained "I think it's kind of like you fall in love with the person, like you fall in love with the script." The character of Daisy was inspired by actress Anne Heche, whom writer Steve Martin was dating at the time. Themes The fictional organization "MindHead" has been compared by film critics to the Church of Scientology. Paul Clinton wrote in CNN online: "Bowfinger could just be viewed as an out-there, over-the-top spoof about Hollywood, films, celebrities and even the Church of Scientology. But Martin has written a sweet story about a group of outsiders with impossible dreams." Andrew O'Hehir wrote in Salon that "Too much of 'Bowfinger' involves the filmmakers' generically wacky pursuit of the increasingly paranoid Kit, who flees into the clutches of a pseudo-Scientology outfit called MindHead (their slogan: 'Truth Through Strength')." The Denver Post, the Daily Record and the San Francisco Chronicle made similar comparisons, and the Albuquerque Journal and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram called MindHead a "thinly veiled" parody of Scientology. A review in The New York Times described actor Terence Stamp's role in the film as "a cult leader for a Scientology-like organization called Mind Head", and The Dallas Morning News and the Houston Chronicle made similar statements about Stamp's character. Writer Steve Martin told the New York Daily News "I view it as a pastiche of things I've seen come and go through the years", and stated "Scientology gets a lot of credit or blame right now, because they're the hottest one." The Cincinnati Enquirer noted in its review "For the record, Mr. Martin denies MindHead is based on