Speaking at a British Film Institute event in London on Tuesday night, John Travolta revealed that the lead character in the script for Flight (which Denzel Washington starred in) was written for him, but he turned down the part eventually, after he read the script, saying that he didn’t approve of certain scenes, calling them silly.

“The funny thing was it was written for me. But it was not written well enough yet — the plane stuff, not the character… I loved that he was an alcoholic and I loved his journey a lot. But the plane stuff was silly, from my perspective. Flying upside down — it’s a bit much. I just wanted those bits to get redone. I asked the writer, ‘Did you not ask a professional or someone who knew something?’ And he said, ‘I didn’t want any interference — I just wanted the screenplay done. To hell with that stuff!'”

By the way, Travolta is a professional pilot, so I suppose he would have a bit more insight into the technicals. 

But it is the movies, right – suspension of disbelief and all that.

Although I doubt Denzel Washington is losing any sleep over that, since he received an Academy Award Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of the character, and several other honors.