What if Denzel Washington had been in "Seven" instead of Brad Pitt? And what if he played the title character in "Michael Clayton" instead of George Clooney? If Washington could go back in time, he would reverse his past decisions to pass up those plum roles, citing them as his two biggest career regrets in a recent interview with GQ. "With 'Clayton,' it was the best material I had read in a long time, but I was nervous about a first-time director, and I was wrong. It happens," Washington admitted. We can't help but think how incredibly different those two movies would have been had Washington starred in them. In terms of casting 1995's "Seven," would Gwyneth Paltrow have played Washington's young wife? Would Morgan Freeman still have been the sage detective helping David Mills (played by Pitt) along? Washington said he initially passed it up because it was too dark and evil, but later kicked himself when he saw the David Fincher film in theaters. (Shockingly, Sylvester Stallone has said he also turned down a role in "Seven." *Whoa!*) While it's true that "Clayton" was Tony Gilroy's directorial debut, Clooney had enough faith to take the leap that Washington didn't. The film garnered (coincidentally) seven Oscar nominations -- including Best Director for Gilroy -- and one win for Tilda Swinton in the Best Supporting Actress category. Clooney was also nominated in the Best Actor category, proving that Washington did, in fact, seriously miss out. Washington also told GQ that he really wanted to be in two of the '80s most lauded military flicks -- "Platoon" and "Full Metal Jacket." But he said the producers of "Jacket" wouldn't allow him to see the screenplay in advance. "They were like, 'Well, [Kubrick] doesn't send out his scripts.' I was like, 'Well, then what do you want me to do?' 'Platoon,' I wanted to play the part Willem Dafoe played," Washington revealed.Still, it doesn't seem like these missed opportunities are keeping Washington up at night. And to be fair, he has also benefited greatly from taking on roles that other actors passed on first. Here are memorable Washington roles -- one for which he won an Oscar -- that other actors reportedly turned down: "Crimson Tide" -- turned down by Val Kilmer, "Training Day" -- turned down by Samuel L. Jackson, and "Man on Fire" -- turned down by Robert De Niro. (Washington told GQ that De Niro and Al Pacino were still on his list of actors he wants to work with: "Anybody whose last name ends in an o.")Washington next appears in the upcoming drama "Flight," in theaters November 2. He plays a commercial airline pilot who safely lands his plane after a mid-air catastrophe, miraculously saving almost every person on board. Afterward, he is revered as a hero, but once the crash is further examined, more questions arise as to who was really at fault and what really happened. John Goodman, Brian Geraghty and Don Cheadle also star.

PARK CITY - "I won't be able to rap forever," 50 Cent, aka Curtis Jackson said during a press conference on Saturday. "And I won't be able to box forever," added Floyd Mayweather. I'm sure there's innumerable other reasons why the two professional entertainers have decided to go into the movie business, but at least Fif has figured out how to get the financials in order for a great second act. Mayweather and 50 Cent's Cheetah Vision Films -- co-founded with partner Randall Emmett -- will be collaborating together on a new film "Tomorrow Today," scheduled to begin shooting in Grand Rapids, Mich., in August. It's part of Cheetah Vision's $200 million deal with Lionsgate In an interview with HitFix, 50 Cent expanded on how this film will mark his second time directing (the first helming a feature-length film). "There was no budget [before]," the "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" star said. "I already picked out the DP for this action project. I kinda keep the same crews... in this action situation I can use my juice card." Juice card. That must be a bonus with a $200 million deal. While the pair were mum on details of the film, they were able to expand on their feelings about their particular specialties and how they are portrayed in Hollywood. "I think it's fair. It's not the entire hip-hop culture," Fif said, then somehow switching the topic to hip-hop artists who have successfully crossed over into acting, like Will Smith, Queen Latifah, Mark Wahlberg and LL Cool J. "They've done it in a way they develop a cache around their brands and the material they create." "Boxing could be more real in films," Mayweather said. It makes sense, then, that they'd like to work with Sylvester Stallone in the future - even though 50 Cent thought that Christian Bale did a pretty good job in "The Fighter"

In a seismic shift in the boxing business landscape, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum closed a deal with Showtime and sister network CBS to handle the pay-per-view fight between pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley — instead of HBO — multiple sources told ESPN.com on Friday.

Pacquiao, boxing’s biggest star, defends his welterweight title against former champ Mosley on May 7 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) and Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) have never fought with Showtime’s involvement and both have fought all of their numerous significant fights on HBO or HBO PPV.

While HBO spokesman Ray Stallone said he was unaware who was doing Pacquiao-Mosley, he acknowledged that Arum had informed the network that it would not be involved.

“It’s a business decision. We move on,” Stallone said.

Arum would not confirm that Showtime and CBS were handling the fight.

“Top Rank has no comment at this time,” Arum told ESPN.com through spokesman Lee Samuels.

Showtime spokesman Chris DeBlasio also said the network also had no comment.

Arum, however, has been enamored with the possibility of CBS’ involvement in the bout because of its massive reach.

According to sources, part of the deal will include CBS promoting the fight by running commercial spots advertising the pay-per-view during prime time programming. Also in the works is a series of preview shows that would run on CBS, or possibly Showtime, which would be similar to HBO’s hit reality series “24/7,” which it uses to stoke interest with weekly episodes during the month leading up to major pay-per-view fights. Pacquiao and Mosley have both had fights featured on “24/7.”

Perhaps it’s only a coincidence, but Arum recently struck a deal with Showtime to handle the production and distribution of the March 12 pay-per-view fight he is promoting between junior middleweight titlist Miguel Cotto and former titleholder Ricardo Mayorga.

Arum turned to Showtime to get involved with Cotto-Mayorga because he is angry at HBO for turning down a live network fight between Cotto, long a network staple, and 2004 U.S. Olympian Vanes Martirosyan, especially because Cotto’s fight against Yuri Foreman last summer generated the network’s highest boxing rating of the year.

Arum met with HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg for dinner earlier this week to discuss HBO’s possible involvement in Pacquiao-Mosley while he was in New York for Wednesday’s kickoff news conference to announce Cotto-Mayorga. Within the next couple of days, he closed the deal with Showtime/CBS.

At one time, Showtime was a major player in the pay-per-view boxing business. It produced and distributed several cards headlined by Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez. For many years, it held the record for the best-selling pay-per-view, nearly 2 million for the Evander Holyfield-Tyson ear bite rematch in 1997. However, Showtime has drastically cut back in recent years, doing only the occasional pay-per-view.

Despite Arum going to Showtime/CBS with Pacquiao-Mosley, he and HBO are still doing business together.



Now that Arnold Schwarzenegger time as Governor has come to close (how’d that novelty work out for you, California?), he is considering a return to acting.  TheArnoldFans.com reports that he is looking at three scripts right now, including a World War II drama called With Wings as Eagles.  The film is based on a true story about a German officer who helped American POWs escape.  Here’s what Schwarzenegger said about the script:

“One topic/script, which I considered a long time ago before governor, is delighting me particularly. In it I would play an older soldier, who gets the order at the ending of the war to kill a bunch of kids. But he doesn’t do it and get them to safety at the risk of his life and it has all kind of adventure. This script is based on a true story!”

Hit the jump for more on how Schwarzenegger is looking at his acting career as the 63-year-old plans his move from the Governor’s mansion to his regular mansion.

Schwarzenegger says he is looking at Clint Eastwood for inspiration on going from physically-demanding action-movie roles to more dramatic fare:

“In the future I have to adapt my roles to my age. Clint Eastwood also has done it in the same way. Extreme fighting or shooting is not possible anymore. I want to be more encouraged as an actor and I believe that I can manage this challenge. I am like a sponge, which is absorbing all the knowledge and always be willing to learn all new things.”

So is Arnold really out of the action game?  Sylvester Stallone is 64 and no one is telling him he can’t do another Rambo or make a sequel to The Expendables.  The question is whether or not Schwarzenegger can do heavy drama like Eastwood.  Both actors are iconic and that makes it difficult for them to disappear into characters.  However, Eastwood’s filmography has plenty of dramatic work, while Schwarzenegger has always been an action, comedy, or action-comedy guy.  But perhaps being off the big screen for ten years will provide Schwarzenegger with the freedom to re-invent himself.