SCREENWRITER MICHAEL CRISTOFER: "IN A NEST OF VIPERS, THE LEAST POISONOUS IS YOUR SYMPATHETIC CHARACTER"
Here's the TCM description of the episode:
Episode 2: Reaching for the Stars – and Paying the Price
Tom Hanks signs on to play amoral stockbroker Sherman McCoy, and he’s so beloved that nobody recognizes how wrong he is for the part. There's immediate pushback against Bruce Willis as the other male lead, since his role was written as British. But the hardest decision comes when the director insists that a Jewish judge be played by a Black actor, to soften the film’s racial tensions.
Leading up to today's release of the second episode, TCM had a night of Brian De Palma films last night, which kicked off with The Bonfire Of The Vanities. Podcast hosts Ben Mankiewicz and Julie Salamon discussed Brian De Palma's career before and after the first three films (Bonfire, Obsession, and Sisters). Here are a couple of image captures from those discussions: