Studio executives are often cast in a negative light. The meddling Hollywood executive is a frequently trotted-out trope, whether their interference is in the form of forcing unnecessary edits, insisting on casting particular actors or changing a movie’s entire plot.
There are many stories of movies being undermined by studio execs but despite their negative reputation, they’ve sometimes been known to make well-intentioned “suggestions” to moviemakers that have resulted in superior films. In these instances, we have the studios to thank for interfering and creating what, in the end, turned out to be great movies.
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s beloved classic The Wizard of Oz is many things: state-of-the-art CinemaScope filmmaking, the glittering jewel in Judy Garland‘s crown, a queer anthem, and an inspiration for future directors like David Lynch and John Waters.
But the Oz we know and love started life as a very different movie. In L Frank Baum’s popular 1900 children’s book on which the movie was based, Oz was a real place; that was how it was portrayed in the original script. However, with the box office success of previous fantasy movies fresh in their minds, MGM bosses decided to have the Technicolor land of Oz exist as a dream sequence. And voilà! An iconic masterpiece was born.
Alien (1979)
Without the changes foisted upon screenwriters Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusettthe sci-fi classic Alien would not be the movie we know today. O’Bannon and Shusett were shopping around their mostly completed “Star Beast” script when they were introduced to the Brandywine production company, formed by Walter Hill, David Giler and others.
Unsatisfied with the script as it was, Hill and Giler set about making changes. The biggest was the introduction of the character of Ash (Ian Holm), the synthetic that works for Weyland-Yutani, who lets the alien onboard and sells out his human shipmates. O’Bannon was unhappy with the addition, but Shusett and director Ridley Scott thought it introduced a necessary second nemesis to the movie. The character of Ash became crucial to the wider Alien universe; without him, there’d be no Weyland-Yutani conspiracy plot line and no David (Michael Fassbender) in Prometheus (2012) or Alien: Covenant (2017).
Clerks (1994)
Clerks was Kevin Smith‘s first movie and was responsible for launching his career. He wrote, directed, co-produced and starred in the low-budget buddy comedy as Silent Bob alongside his talkative sidekick, Jay (Jason Mewes).
Originally, Clerks ended with complaining convenience store worker Dante Hicks (Brian O’Halloran) being shot and killed during a robbery. When Smith approached distributors, no one was interested in picking it up so the movie’s investors suggested he change the bleak ending so that it fit better with the film’s sardonic vibe. Smith re-shot the ending and the rest, as they say, is indie film history.
Easy Rider (1969)
Dennis Hopper co-wrote, starred and made his directorial debut in the seminal counterculture road movie Easy Rider. Speaking with Interview magazine in 2010, Hopper said he’d accumulated 80 hours of footage after four-and-a-half weeks of filming which took him a year to edit. After editing, Hopper’s rough cut still ran for about three hours. Co-stars Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholsonalong with Columbia Pictures executives, stepped in and whittled the movie down to 95 minutes.
Initially bristling over the removal of large portions of his movie, Hopper was placated by winning Best First Work honors at Cannes – as well as being nominated for the prestigious Palm d’Or – and won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay along with fellow writers Fonda. and Terry Southern. The independent film had a huge influence on both the movie making industry and popular culture. It turns out the shorter, punchier version was not so bad after all.
Psycho (1960)
Alfred Hitchcock‘s filmography is impressive, but none of his movies are as famous – or infamous – as the claustrophobic thriller. Psycho. These days, Paramount likes to claim credit for the movie but at the time it was made they wanted little to do with it. Disgusted by the movie’s content, Paramount executives cut Hitchcock’s production budget to dissuade him from making the film.
Undeterred, Hitchcock financed the movie himself, forewent his director’s fee, entered into an agreement for 60% of the profits (which paid huge dividends in the long run), and cut costs by shooting in black-and-white. Stars Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins agreed to a pay cut. More than 60 years later, Psycho – the movie that studio execs did not want to be made – is still affecting viewers and is the biggest hit of Hitchcock’s career.
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Matt Damon‘s script for Good Will Hunting started as a school project for a playwriting class he was taking at Harvard University. Damon then gave the script to his bestie Ben Affleck and asked him to help him flesh out the story, which originally included a spy thriller subplot involving the National Security Agency (NSA).
When Castle Rock Entertainment bought the rights to the screenplay, its president Rob Reiner gave the writers an ultimatum: stick with the NSA storyline or the one about a math genius and his therapist, not both. The spy angle was abandoned. While the writers’ relationship with Castle Rock eventually broke down – they wanted Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role – and the film eventually went to Miramax, without Rob Reiner’s intervention the movie may not have won the Oscar for Best Screenplay.
Toy Story (1995)
Pixar’s iconic animated feature Toy Story would’ve been a very different movie had it not been for the assistance provided by Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Avengers writer Joss Whedon.
Eager to please Disney’s executives (Disney was distributing the film) director John Lasseter and his team had set about making a movie with an edge: Buzz Lightyear was written as arrogant and unlikeable and Woody was just plain mean. Disney was so unhappy with the first cut of the movie they threatened to stop production. It wasn’t until Whedon was asked to step in to refocus the script that we – and Disney – got the buddy movie that has delighted audiences since its release.
Casablanca (1942)
From the early 1930s until the late 1960s, movie makers were required to follow the Hays Code, a set of moral guidelines designed to make Hollywood movies ‘presentable’ and ‘safe’ for public consumption. The Hays Office had a lot of issues with the romantic drama Casablancamost of them to do with sexual content.
In the play on which the movie was based, the ending features Lois – renamed Ilsa in the film, played by Ingrid Bergman – sleeping with Rick (Humphrey Bogart). The censors nixed that and any suggestion that Rick and Isla slept together. In the case of Casablanca, however, it is arguable that the Hays Code actually made the movie better. Instead of Rick and Ilsa ending up together, we have the classic scene where he sends her away uttering the now-famous line, “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
The Omen (1976)
Before Richard Donner started work on The Omen – his first film – Fox studio head Alan Ladd Jr had prompted him to change the movie’s style from straight-up horror to more of a mystery-suspense film. Donner capitulated and Ladd picked up the project.
Studio interference also saw the original ending changed. In the first version, the Antichrist Damien (Harvey Stephens) was killed off along with his adopted family. Ladd wanted Damien to live so Donner re-shot the funeral scene, and audiences are now treated to an ending that includes the creepiest to-camera smile ever. And, of course, the reworked ending opened the door for the sequels that followed.
Life of Brian (1979)
Monty Python‘s irreverent take on the Jesus story, Life of Brian almost was not made. As production on the movie was about to start, the chairman of EMI Films, Bernard Delfont decided that the story was too irreligious and bailed. This left the Pythons to raise the money necessary to undertake the project.
Enter long-time Python fan and ex-Beatle, George Harrison who was known to cast member and co-writer Eric Idle. When Idle phoned Harrison to ask for financial assistance, Harrison was happy to oblige. And so, in a love letter to Monty Python, Harrison created his own movie studio, HandMade Films with the sole purpose of getting Life of Brian made. As thanks, the Pythons gave Harrison a cameo in the hit movie.
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