I Wrote That Acclaimed Movie And Now I Hate It


CBR
10 Acclaimed Movies Hated By The People Who Wrote Them
BY IAN GOODWILLIE
PUBLISHED AUG 20, 2021


Bette Midler in Sister Act
Bette Midler in Sister Act


Sometimes the writers behind movies end up hating the finished product, whether due to disagreements with filmmakers or regret on their own part.

The ultimate dream of any screenwriter is to see their name on movie screens. It’s their life’s work to see the characters they created and the stories they developed play out for millions of people worldwide. And it’s something that never, ever gets old. Well, unless things go wrong.

There are have been more than a few movies over the years that took a real left turn from the screenwriter’s intentions or the person who authored the original work the script was based on. Once directors, producers, editors, and actors get their hands on a project, things change really quickly, and the writers aren’t always happy with the results.

10 Paul Rudnick And Sister Act

Charlo Crossley, Whoopi, and Jenifer Lewis

A well-known playwright and novelist, Paul Rudnick, took a swing at screenwriting. He wrote a screenplay for Sister Act that would star Bette Midler in the main role. But that didn’t come to pass. Instead, Whoopi Goldberg later famously starred in the film, which was a runaway success.

The script went through many revisions, so much so that the story was nothing like what Rudnick originally wrote. He has reputedly never seen the film but was unhappy enough with the process that produced it to have his name removed from it before the film was released.

9 Gore Vidal And Caligula

Malcolm McDowell in Caligula

There are a lot of movies that are extremely famous for being bad. In the case of Caligula, it became a bomb that all other big-screen bombs are judged by. The original script was written by Gore Vidal, one of the most respected American writers of all time.

8 Stanley Kubrick And A Clockwork Orange

Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange

In 1962, Anthony Burgess published his novel A Clockwork Orange. Even though it might not be as popular a book as it once was, it has remained part of the cultural zeitgeist thanks to Stanley Kubrick’s famous 1971 film.

Anthony Burgess grew to hate both Kubrick and the film he directed. Stanley Kubrick might not have hated the movie, but he was certainly conflicted about it. It was pulled from circulation in the United Kingdom due to an alleged series of copycat crimes.

7 Andrew Kevin Walker And 8MM

Nicolas Cage in 8mm

After the immense success of Se7en, screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker was in demand in Hollywood. As such, selling his next screenplay, 8MM, was relatively easy as several producers and companies were interested.

Unfortunately, the original dark script was torn apart by director Joel Schumacher and became something completely different. Walker has not attempt to hide his dissatisfaction with the final product, something he had no control over.

6 Joe Esterhaz And Jade

Linda Fiorentino in Jade

During the 1980s and 90s, Joe Esterhaz was one of the top screenwriters Hollywood had to offer. He worked on movies like FlashdanceBasic InstinctNowhere to Run, and Showgirls.

While many of his films did well in theaters, 1995’s Jade was not one of them. Instead, it was an absolute bomb. Part of the problem might have been that the director, William Friedkin, completely rewrote the script. Esterhaz lambasted the ordeal in his autobiography.

5 Stephen King And The Shining

Jack Nicholson in The Shining

Once again, the work of Stanley Kubrick appears on this list. The Shining is considered to be one of the greatest films ever made. Based on the book by Stephen King, Kubrick wrote the script and directed the movie.

King has been quite open about his dislike of the movie, essentially believing that Kubrick’s interpretation missed the point of his story. As a result, he has easily been the movie’s biggest critic, though that hasn’t stymied its place in film history at all.

4 Ken Kesey And One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Like Stanley Kubrick, Jack Nicholson is about to pop up one more time on the list, though it’s really not his fault. And once again, it’s in one of the most celebrated movies of all time. Based on Ken Kesey’s book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest has become a seminal piece of film history.

Like King, Kesey was apparently not a fan of the film though he had never seen it. Reputedly, he hated it based on what other people had told him about it. At least King saw the movie based on his book before deciding he didn’t like it.

3 Roald Dahl And Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory

Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, and Peter Ostrum in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, and Peter Ostrum in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Without question, Roald Dahl is high up the ranks of the most respected and beloved children’s authors of all time. His work has been read by generations of kids, particularly Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, which was first adapted into a movie in 1971.

Starring Gene Wilder, the movie still has a lot of fans. Dahl was credited as one of the screenwriters of the film. But the deal he signed with Warner Bros. gave them complete control over the final product, leading to changes he was not a fan of in the least, and he subsequently spoke out against it.ADVERTISING

2 Kelly Marcel And Fifty Shades Of Grey

Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan in Fifty Shades of Grey

50 Shades of Grey became an absolute phenomenon when the book was released. Its lurid content drew in legions of readers and fans who were incredibly excited when a film version was announced. The Kelly Marcel scripted adaptation was released in 2015.

Reputedly, Marcel has never seen the film and never intends to as her script was dissected. Simply put, she doesn’t really seem to be interested in watching a version of the story that was partially her script and partially the author’s book.

1 Quentin Tarantino And Natural Born Killers

Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis in Natural Born Killers
Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis in Natural Born Killers

Quentin Tarantino has become a massive writer and director thanks to huge hits like Pulp FictionDjango UnchainedInglorious Basterdsand Kill Bill. But one movie he absolutely hates is Natural Born Killers.

He actually sold the script to get the money that funded the production of Reservoir Dogs. But the Oliver Stone-directed version of Natural Born Killers is quite different from his script, so much so that Tarantino has essentially disowned it as one of his movies.

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