The Hitcher/Trivia

• What Could Have Been: The original script ran the film equivalent of three hours and was filled with Gorn. Moments that ended up not being filmed include: Ryder slaughtering an entire family, an eyeball appearing in a hamburger (this was replaced in a finger in a plate of French fries) and a character being decapitated. The film underwent several rewrites which removed the gorier moments. Also, Fox was to have distributed the film before Tri-Star Pictures took over.
  • Ryder was written with Keith Richards in mind. The director's personal choice for Ryder was Terence Stamp while Sam Elliott had the best audition and almost got the part (a salary dispute led him not to be cast). David Bowie and Sting were also considered