Comingsoon.net has compiled seven of the most infamous times a filmmaker, for one reason or another, disowned their own feature-length projects. From David Lynch to David Fincher, it has happened to many a director, regardless of how much talent they may possess. Check out our gallery of seven such films below!
It is far from uncommon for filmmakers to disown their own films. For one reason or another, everything doesn’t always come together as they envisioned it would. Perhaps special effects were not up to snuff, perhaps their budget was constrained, or perhaps there was a problem with personnel. More often than not, however, the director blames the studio for interfering with their vision for their movie through edits, reshoots or some other means. There are countless examples of studios stepping in to alter a film they are funding.
Some directors see these actions as studios protecting their investment. For studios, the raison d’etre for funding a film is to make a profit. Their stepping in likely stems from their desire to ensure the film is profitable. In so doing, they may water down the director’s intended message film and make it inoffensive and perhaps bland. Some filmmakers—namely George Lucas—have been on record that they perceive studio interference as nothing more than an exercise of power. A fair criticism or not, we have compiled a handful of films that fit that bill. Here you will find seven directors who were unhappy with the final product of their films.
7 Movies Disliked by Their Own Directors
It is far from uncommon for filmmakers to disown their own films. For one reason or another, everything doesn't always come together as they envisioned it would. More often than not, however, the director blames the studio for interfering with that vision through edits and/or reshoots. Some see it as investment protecting, while others perceive it as an exercise of power. Below you'll find seven directors who were unhappy with the final product!
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'Alien 3'
With Alien 3, now-famous director David Fincher got his first taste of Hollywood. He was extremely dissatisfied with the final cut of sequel to the sequel of Ridley Scott's Alien because of studio interference. He rarely talks about the film today.
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'Dune'
David Lynch's Dune is one of the most famous instances of a filmmaker being unhappy with their finished product. Universal Studios forced him to go through a painstaking editing and reshooting process to cut his vision for the film—which clocked in at three to four hours—down to a more traditional two hours.
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'The Fantastic Four
In the wake of a chaotic production and a lackluster box officer performance, director Josh Trank and 20th Century Fox had a public spat over what went wrong with 2015's Fantastic Four. Trank publicly disavowed the version of the film that was released to audiences, while the studio made it evident Trank may have made the production difficult as well.
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'Star Wars'
The theatrical version of Star Wars was famously not to creator and director George Lucas's liking. Budgetary and technological restrictions precluded him from seeing out his true vision, which he was able to realize decades later with his various "special editions."
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'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is quite a departure from its preceding film with its a more bleak, less jaunty tone. The film reflected director Steven Spielberg's mindset after experiencing a tragedy on the set of The Twilight Zone as well as that of collaborator George Lucas, who was going through a painful divorce from editor Marcia Lucas. Spielberg has since openly stated his distaste for The Temple of Doom.
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'Thor: The Dark World'
Alan Taylor cut his teeth director episodes of prestige dramas like The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire before being called upon to helm the Thor sequel Thor: The Dark World. While he said he was given complete creative license while shooting, he had little say in the editing process and stated that he'd prefer not to work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe again.
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'Touch of Evil'
In Orson Welles's heyday—before the New Hollywood crew blew into town—studios had even more control over their pictures. Universal Studios recut Welles's Touch of Evil without his knowledge, and his own notes about how it should be cut went mostly unheeded.
