10 iconic Hollywood movies no one believed in success
'25.04.2021'
Source: Culturology
Per aspera ad astra or through thorns to the stars, said the ancient Roman philosopher Lucius Anney Seneca the Younger once. Maybe, of course, he didn’t say, but he is very actively attributed to this saying. The film directors, which will be discussed later, felt the whole meaning of this expression, as they say, in their own skin. Ten films that have gathered crazy box office, which have become one of the most sold out on a variety of information media ... But no one believed in them. Studios refused to rent, and investors refused to invest, writes "Culturology".
When we watch a film, a talented director can help us make a truly exciting journey in space and time. Immerse us in a completely different world, a different dimension. But it requires tremendous effort, sweat and tears. Hollywood is a gigantic money making machine that has ruined more than one brilliant project. But we know for sure that not all brilliant films necessarily bring profit. And vice versa, far from always a garbage picture is a failure.
Since it is always interesting to take a look at how megapopular films that we know and love were created, we’ll try to get behind the curtains. All these films, which they did not believe in, nevertheless saw the light of day, thanks to the incredible willpower of their creators, and sometimes due to commonplace accident.
1. Psycho (1960)
The plot of the film "Psycho" was based on the 1959 novel of the same name. Alfred Hitchcock anonymously bought the rights to this Robert Bloch book for just $ 9000. Then the director bought as many copies of the novel as he could to keep the ending secret.
A contract was signed between Paramount Studio and the ingenious director, which suggested that Hitchcock's next film would be shot at this studio. But the leadership of the studio giant was against the shooting of Psycho. They found the book "too disgusting" and "impossible for the movie." Hitchcock's budget was denied. The studio even agreed to give Alfred most of the future box office, as the leaders were convinced that the film would fail. The director sincerely believed in his project, invested his own funds in it.
Due to financial savings, the film was shot in black and white. Most of the crew was from the Hitchcock team, who worked with him at Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Today Psycho is one of Hitchcock's finest films. It is highly acclaimed by film critics and is a canon in its genre. One of the greatest films of all time.
2. Star Wars (1977)
The three main studios, United Artists, Universal, Disney, were broadcasting the Star Wars script to each other. None of them wanted to shoot this space saga. Fox Studios finally agreed to fund the film. The management hoped to get a young promising director (whose last film was nominated for an Oscar as the best picture) under his wing. The studio gave George Lucas a budget of $ 8 million, and he flew to Tunisia to begin filming.
However, even the Star Wars actors were not convinced of the film's success. Harrison Ford's words, "George, of course you can print this, you don't have to tell this nonsense," largely characterize the attitude of the actors and crew members towards the film before its release. Another words spoken about Star Wars by Alec Guinness: “Every day they bring me a new dialogue on some pink pieces of paper - and nothing written makes my perception of this rubbish more clear or bearable. I just think about my salary and only this makes me continue this until next April. "
Before the film's release, George Lucas showed a rough draft of the tape to his friends. One of them called it "the worst movie of all time." Lucas was firmly convinced of the failure of the film. In order not to observe his fiasco, he did not even go to the premiere. Instead, he went to rest.
3. Titanic (1997)
The filming of "Titanic" was so intense that no one had any doubt that the film would be a complete failure. James Cameron while working on the tape earned a reputation as "the worst man in Hollywood."
Firstly, the filming dragged on for two whole months. Secondly, many members of the crew, including Kate Winslet, fell ill. Some have a cold, some have a flu or a kidney infection. All this because of the long hours spent in cold water. Three stuntmen broke their bones. Some members of the crew just ran away.
Kate Winslet recalls how she begged James Cameron to give her the role of Rose. After finishing work on the Titanic, she is not sure that she will ever want to work with him again.
On the set, another blatant incident happened. Someone (it is still not known for certain who) poured a narcotic substance into the soup. People just went crazy. With severe poisoning, 50 people were hospitalized.
Naturally, after such a difficult job, when James Cameron heard that the studio executives wanted to cut the film because it was “too long,” he just lost his temper. “Do you want to cut my film? You have to fire me! Do you want to fire me? You will have to kill me then! ” - Cameron shouted so that the walls trembled.
Dare Cameron did not dare. “Titanic” the way the director wanted to see him. Maybe the tape is not a cinematic masterpiece, but the infinitely beautiful tragic love story set out in the film will not leave anyone indifferent.
On the subject: 20 years later: Celine Dion explained why Jack from the Titanic died
4. Back to the Future (1985)
Back to the Future is a sci-fi comedy directed by Robert Zemeckis. The film became the highest grossing film in 1985. However, in 1981, Back to the Future was rejected over 40 times by all film studios.
When the script was proposed by Disney Studios, its leaders were shocked by “a mother in love with her own son” and said that they would never invest in such filth. In the end, Universal Pictures made the film. This happened after they witnessed the success of another Robert Zemeckis film “Novel with a Stone”.
5. Toy Story (1995)
John Lasseter, now a former Disney animator, set about trying to create a fully-animated cartoon. He offered it to his bosses. However, the studio was not interested in the proposal. John left Disney and became one of the founders of Pixar. The first Tin Toy short film he created with computer animation won the Academy Award. This made Disney very bitterly regret their decision.
Disney ordered Pixar to create another such film, but a full-length one. The script was approved, production began. Every two weeks, Lasseter submitted a progress report. At each presentation, the leaders smashed all the work to pieces. As a result of numerous changes and transcriptions, Woody was deprived of "almost all of his charm." Tom Hanks, who voiced this character, even called Woody a moron.
Work on the tape was stopped after one of the Disney executives said that this is complete nonsense. John Lasseter managed to persuade the studio to give him another chance. They wrote a new script, filming resumed. The picture was enthusiastically received by both critics and spectators.
6. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
This timeless work had to endure so many troubles that it seems miraculous that it hit the screens. The film went through four different producers and three directors.
The first director of the film, Richard Thorpe, was fired. This happened after Buddy Epsen became ill from the makeup of the Iron Lumberjack. The actor was replaced, and George Cukor became the director. He later left the film to work on Gone With the Wind. After that, Victor Fleming took his place, but not for long. Rumor has it that Clark Gable learned that Kukor is gay. He was fired and he returned to The Wizard of Oz.
Speaking of work nightmares, not only Buddy Epsen was poisoned by his makeup. Scarecrow costume left actor Ray Bolger serious scars. Margaret Hamilton (Wicked Western Witch) was badly burned. Judy Garland became addicted to drugs. For the filming, the girl had to be small and slender. In order for Judy to do so, she was given various drugs. To which she is addicted. Which was, ultimately, the cause of her death in 1969. She died of an overdose.
7. Blade Runner (1982)
Filming immediately started with problems. After working in the UK, Ridley found it very difficult to get used to other manufacturing methods in Los Angeles. To make matters worse, the comments given by the director to a British newspaper - he was more interested in working with British actors, which he told the journalist. The director said that the British respond to every request with "Yes, boss" (Yes gov'nor). Ridley Scott probably didn't even realize the depth of the hurt he inflicted. Later, when he came to the set, he found that the entire film crew was wearing T-shirts with the words “Yes gov'nor my ass!” (this is an allusion to the phrase “kiss my ass”, where instead of “kiss” they put “yes, boss”). Ridley responded by appearing some time later wearing a Xenophobia Sucks T-shirt.
In addition, the filming was very long. Scott far exceeded the initial budget, and the script was copied many times by different people before, after, and during filming. The studio also did not like the original ending of Blade Runner and the director was forced to change it to a happy ending.
The most famous conflict related to Blade Runner was voiceover. When Harrison Ford signed the contract, he asked for some additional scenes to be shot so that there was no voice-over. But before the film was released, the studio decided that voice-overs were needed to explain obscure scenes and insisted that Ford do the voice acting.
Although at first the film did not provoke violent enthusiasm, but over time it was able to win an audience. Today he is considered one of the best science fiction films.
On the subject: Why TV shows have become more popular than movies
8. Pulp Fiction (1994)
“This is the worst thing ever written. This makes no sense. Someone is dead, and then suddenly alive. It's too long, cruel and incomprehensible. " It all spoke of the cult classic of the genre, Pulp Fiction, when co-writers Roger Avary and Quentin Tarantino submitted the script to TriStar. The script was called, without hesitation, delusional. The studio executives really disliked this ragged style of storytelling, but that's what ultimately made the film so memorable.
If not for the intervention of the infamous Harvey Weinstein and the help of his brother Bob from Miramax, Pulp Fiction would never have seen the light of day. Tarantino was given complete freedom in everything he does. And they were not mistaken.
9. Dumb and Dumber (1994)
Not a single Hollywood studio wanted to take on the film. The script was endlessly wrapped up; no one wanted to be associated with that name. At first, the story written by the Farrelli brothers was renamed so that the studio leaders at least read it at all.
Mike De Luca from the New Line film studio liked the script and he agreed to film it. Bob Shane, the CEO, was not thrilled, but after much deliberation, he also agreed. It was only necessary to observe one condition: the directors must provide two leading actors from the list provided by the studio. All 25 actors from the studio list refused one by one.
Then one of the producers of the film invited Jim Carrey, a promising new comedian, to read the script. Kerry liked the script; filmmakers liked Kerry. The film was a crazy success. Jim became the first actor to star in the three most popular films of the year at the same time: Ace Ventura: Pet Tracing, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber. Studio managers who abandoned the film, one hundred percent, now feel exactly like in the name of the film.
10. Apocalypse today (1979)
Francis Ford Coppola, director of Apocalypse Today, once said of the film: “We were in the jungle. We had too much money. We had too much equipment. And little by little we went crazy. ”
There were a lot of troubles that prevented filming. Filming incredibly long. The film crew suffered from various tropical diseases. Martin Sheen had a heart attack. Francis Ford Coppola during the filming had several nervous breakdowns. Among other things, Martin Sheen was an alcoholic, he had mental problems, he was completely not sure that he would be able to finish work on the film.
The legendary Marlon Brando, who was invited to appear, did not see the script in his eyes. Moreover, a brave soldier should not have been as fat as Marlon at that time. While Brando was losing weight, all the work stood.
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