 According to Shaun Considine, the author of "Mad As Hell: The Life  and Work of Paddy Chayefsky", George C. Scott was offered the role  of Howard Beale but declined without reading the script, apparently  due to his having once been offended by director Sidney Lumet.  Whatever happened, exactly, the hatchet must have been buried at  some time, as George C. Scott made his final feature film appearance  in the Lumet