Directors hold their films in high regard. Every shot and every scene have to be perfect. For many greats behind the camera, it’s the glory of producing a great film that can make or break a career. For some, it’s a bit of both and, even after all is said and done, there’s more explaining to do and more fires to put out.
When there is an unexpected conflict and a director has to make a public proclamation defending the film, there are ruffled feathers on all sides. The production is wrapped, and the tickets are sold, so there’s nothing like careening into a caravan of controversy to make even the most level-headed director feel under-the-gun. Sometimes, the explanations go well. Other times, they don’t. Either way, the best defense may be a good offense, and this is a listing of the movie chiefs who did just that.
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7 The Lone Ranger
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The Lone Ranger was tapped to be the next big Hollywood thing. It was a thing, alright. After it was all said and done, the movie was considered a universal bomb. Unable to break free from negative press and overtake the juggernaut that was Despicable Me 2, The Lone Ranger took in nearly $50 million less than its overall budget.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
Still, don’t tell that to director Jerry Bruckheimer. The man behind The Lone Ranger camera not only defended his film, but claimed the poor reviews would one day be on the wrong side of history. During the TV Critics Association press tour (via IndieWire), Bruckheimer explained his position by referencing a negative review he received early in his career. “It reminds me of a critic who called ‘Flashdance‘ a ‘toxic dump,’”, he explained. “Ten years later (the critic) said, ‘This is really a good movie. I missed it.’ I think (Lone Ranger) is going to be looked back on as a brave, wonderful film.”
6 Emancipation
Apple Studios
When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in the face during the Oscars earlier this year, director Antoine Fuqua immediately worried his movie, Emancipation, would never see the light of day. The attack, just prior to Smith’s win for King Richard, was one of the most shocking in TV history. The controversy that arose from this on-air assault caused chatter among Hollywood, and none of it was the good kind.
Watching the incident play out on television was surreal for Fuqua. The decision to release the film amid the still-raw response was a tough one. In the end, however, it was the right one as Fuqua defended to Deadline: “Will and Chris are good people, they are. People make mistakes and we are quick to judge now. My feeling is that, we have to move on at some point. He’s a great artist. Hollywood has seen some really nasty things in our business over the years. We have to find some compassion, some forgiveness in our hearts, for each other,”
5 One Upon A Time In Hollywood
Sony Pictures Releasing
Quentin Tarantino’s directing of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood earned some unique criticism as his portrayal of Bruce Lee seemed less than respectful. Lee, an icon in American culture, was presented as arrogant and hard to work with. It was a major contrast from the other ways in which he had been shown on film. The role even earned a rebuke from Bruce’s daughter who said that perhaps Tarantino should “shut up” and not try to guess what her father was actually like based on second-hand stories.
Still, though, Tarantino stood by his choice. In an interview with Variety, he said, ““Bruce had nothing but disrespect for stuntmen. He was always hitting them with his feet, he was always tagging — it’s called tagging when you hit a stuntman for real. And he was always tagging them with his feet, he was always tagging them with his fist, and it got to be the point where, ‘I refuse to work with him.’ And he had nothing but disrespect for American stuntmen.”
4 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Paramount Pictures
The fourth Indiana Jones movie, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, wasn’t universally loved. In fact, many decisions about storyline and character direction were met with pushback. The film, a joint effort from some famous Hollywood names, had many issues that long-time fans couldn’t get past. The biggest of them all? Aliens. It’s always aliens.
Director Steven Spielberg sidestepped the blame a bit by saying that those ideas came from Star Wars creator George Lucas. While he might not agree with every decision, it was his job to present them. So, as he explained, that’s what he, as a director, did (via NME). “I’ve always told George’s (Lucas’s) stories,” Spielberg explained. “George wrote all four stories for all four movies. I’ll fight for things I don’t believe, but ultimately, if George wants to bring interdimensional beings into Crystal Skull, I will do the best job I possibly can to acquit George’s ideas and make him proud.”
3 The Whale
A24
Hollywood has come a long way with representation on-screen. Long gone are the days of white actors portraying other ethnicities à la Short Circuit. However, there are still a number of character roles that can feel a bit miscast. Brendan Fraser’s part in The Whale was met with that backlash. Not only is Fraser not gay, like the lead character in the film, but he’s also not 600 pounds. Having a straight actor, forced to wear prosthetics to play the character, seemed like a stretch.
It was a stretch, however, that director Darren Aronofsky defended in an interview with Out Magazine: “We wanted to create a fully worked-out character who has bad parts about him and good parts about him; Charlie is very selfish, but he’s also full of love and is seeking forgiveness. So [the controversy] makes no sense to me. Brendan Fraser is the right actor to play this role, and the film is an exercise in empathy.”
2 Halloween Ends
Galaxy Releasing
There was a general, uh, dislike for Halloween Ends. For many viewers, it felt like a huge miss in the franchise, and one so bad that it made them appreciate past poorly-received incarnations of the film series. The biggest sin of this installment was Michael Myers.
Actually, it wasn’t Michael Myers. It was the fact that the lead role spent most of the time off-screen. It was a complaint that director David Gordon Green heard and responded to when speaking with Collider, “t’s still a controversy today. I just watched the movie outside of a technical format, meaning in a sound mix or a color correction, for the first time two days ago. We really just finished this movie… And I think there’s obvious challenges and things that you would bring to discussion with editors, with producers and say, ‘This is what feels right,’ and at a point we all just looked at each other and said, ‘We’re taking a big risk here, but it does feel right and we know we’re getting into. Let’s go for it.’”
1 House of Gucci
Scott Free Productions
Set to be a massive hit, House of Gucci had all the elements. Lady Gaga, Adam Brody, and Al Pacino all came together to create a pretty stellar cast. Everyone seemed OK with it, except the family themselves. In a statement, they made their elite opinions known: “The production of the film did not bother to consult the heirs before describing Aldo Gucci — president of the company for 30 years — and the members of the Gucci family as thugs, ignorant and insensitive to the world around them, attributing to the protagonists, events, a tone and an attitude that never belonged to them… This is extremely painful from a human point of view and an insult to the legacy on which the brand is built today.”
How did director Ridley Scott respond? Did he apologize? Did he change the movie? No, much like others in his position, he stood by his art in the bluntest way possible. As reported by BuzzFeed News, Scott said, “The people that were writing from the family to us at the onset were alarmingly insulting, saying that Al Pacino did not represent physically Aldo Gucci in any shape or form. […] And yet, frankly, how could they be better represented than by Al Pacino? Excuse me! You probably have the best actors in the world, you should be so f**king lucky.”
