A persistent piece of Hollywood lore claims that High Road to China was effectively handed to Tom Selleck as a consolation prize after he had to pass on Raiders of the Lost Ark because of his commitment to Magnum, P.I. Selleck had indeed been considered for Indiana Jones, but his television contract made the scheduling impossible, and Harrison Ford ultimately took the role that turned him into an international star. The story fits the mythology of 1980s Hollywood: the television actor allegedly loses the blockbuster, then receives a similar globe-trotting adventure in compensation. High Road to China was released in 1983 and was marketed as an aerial romantic adventure, while critics immediately compared it unfavorably with Raiders. However, the claim that the film was specifically “given” to Selleck as a consolation prize is reported as rumor rather than documented studio history. The project had existed through several earlier incarnations, including plans involving Roger Moore, Jacqueline Bisset, John Huston, and later Bo Derek, so its development was considerably more complicated than a simple studio reward. Selleck himself later defended the picture and its unusual attempt to balance a television series with a feature-film career, but no firm evidence establishes the consolation-prize story as fact.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1980s
Was High Road to China Tom Selleck's Consolation Prize for Losing Indiana Jones?
Tom Selleck and High Road to China / 1980s
A persistent piece of Hollywood lore claims that High Road to China was effectively handed to Tom Selleck as a consolation prize after he had to pass on Raiders of the Lost Ark because of his commitment to Magnum, P.I. Selleck had indeed been considered for Indiana Jones, but his television contract made the scheduling impossible, and Harrison Ford ultimately took the role that turned him into an international star. The story fits the mythology of 1980s Hollywood: the television actor allegedly loses the blockbuster, then receives a similar globe-trotting adventure in compensation. High Road to China was released in 1983 and was marketed as an aerial romantic adventure, while critics immediately compared it unfavorably with Raiders. However, the claim that the film was specifically “given” to Selleck as a consolation prize is reported as rumor rather than documented studio history. The project had existed through several earlier incarnations, including plans involving Roger Moore, Jacqueline Bisset, John Huston, and later Bo Derek, so its development was considerably more complicated than a simple studio reward. Selleck himself later defended the picture and its unusual attempt to balance a television series with a feature-film career, but no firm evidence establishes the consolation-prize story as fact.
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