Oprah Winfrey’s Favourite Things Do Not Include ‘Doubt’ Director

There are few people in this world brave enough to rebuff an insistent, role-seeking Oprah Winfrey, but Doubt director John Patrick Shanley is one of them. He had his certainty!

As Winfrey revealed to a shocked Meryl Streep, she lobbied aggressively for the Doubt role that eventually went to Viola Davis (and is a sure lock to secure Davis an Oscar nomination). According to Winfrey, Shanley listened to her pitch, then turned her down with a flat “no.” Unsure what his word usage meant, Winfrey consulted confidante Gayle King, who instructed an intern to inform Oprah that this meant she would not be receiving the part. As a stoned, Keanu Reeves-channeling Streep says from her Skype-enabled college dorm room, “Whoa.” Indeed. [Oprah]