Fincher intended to make '' The Game '' before '' Seven '' , but when Brad Pitt became available for '' Seven '' , that project took priority . The success of '' Seven '' helped the producers of '' The Game '' get the larger budget that they wanted . Then , they approached Michael Douglas to star in the film . He was hesitant at first because of concerns that PolyGram was not a big enough company to distribute the film . However , once on board , Douglas ' presence helped get the film into production . At the 1996 Cannes Film Festival , PolyGram announced that Jodie Foster would be starring in the film with Douglas . However , Fincher was uncomfortable with putting an actor and movie star of her stature in a supporting part . After talking to her , he considered rewriting the character of Conrad as Nicholas ' daughter so that Foster could play that role . However , Douglas did n't like the idea and requested it to change the character to his sister , which Foster found peculiar as Douglas is almost 20 years her senior and also appeared with her in '' Napoleon and Samantha '' , when Foster was 9 years old while Douglas was 28 . Due to differences in opinions and also scheduling conflicts with Robert Zemeckis 's '' Contact '' , Foster could not appear in the film . Once she left , the role of Conrad was offered to Jeff Bridges but he declined and Sean Penn was cast instead . Later , Foster alleged that she and PolyGram had orally agreed that she would appear in the film and when this did not transpire , she took out a $ 54.5 million lawsuit against the company . Deborah Kara Unger 's audition for the role of Christine was a test reel consisting of a two-minute sex scene from David Cronenberg 's '' Crash '' . Douglas thought it was a joke but when he and Fincher met her in person , they were impressed by her acting
1996 Cannes Film Festival
1996 Cannes Film Festival
The Game (1997 film)