Apparently the Fantastic Four (2015) ending was completely redone after the studio thought the original cut was too ‘morose’.
So they hired a new director to put a more lighthearted spin on the end of the tale.
Safe to say the original director was pretty miffed.
Similarly, (as legend has it) the studio behind ‘Once upon a time in America’ thought Sergio Leone’s (the director) cut was far too long and so they made a shortened version without telling Leone.
The shortened studio version was released and dubbed one of the worst movies of the 80s.
Then in a bizarre turn of events, after Sergio Leone died, the studio released his original version and the director’s cut it is now considered one of the best gangster movies of all time.
Now I came across those stories on Wikipedia and Wikipedia’s information has known to be wrong in the past so we might have to take those two vignettes with a pinch of salt but the underlying point remains.
The studios/publishers/investors retain ultimate power.
I personally think they should trust the artists but if they get cold feet or if they believe that they’re in danger of losing a lot of money they are well within their rights to try and protect their investment.
After all they are putting up all the money and taking all the financial risk.
For the artist I’d say it’s extremely annoying.
You work so hard only for someone to pull the rug out from under you and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Your name and reputation will forever be attached to a project you are not proud of.
So what can the artist do?
Make sure to always keep their investors happy? Or take the investors out of the equation?
With Vimeo, YouTube and self-publishing that second option is looking mighty viable these days.
Now that the internet is providing a platform for audience and artist to connect there is no need for investors.
Yes your production value would suffer but you would maintain artistic integrity.
Removing the financial backer means you don’t have to tolerate any ‘wrong’ opinions.
You wouldn’t have to spend an eternity trying to convince a spoilt millionaire/billionaire that your version is the better version.
You would retain complete control and you could feck up your movie however you like!
(This post was inspired and heavily influenced by the inimitable Seth Godin)
Thomas Duggan 