Again, this was 1991, so this massive studio didn't know that 1) Comic books can make for GREAT movies, 2) They'll eventually make for ALL movies by 2019, and 3) They'd be bought out and absorbed by Disney. But Raimi was probably pretty used to letdowns like that. He'd only made Darkman in the first place because he couldn't get the rights to the 1930s pulp hero the Shadow. And apparently he made a bid to replace Tim Burton on the Batman films before Joel Schumacher burst through the wall with his McDonald's sponsorship. But in the end, it would all work out. Raimi would go on to direct two awesome Spider-Man films and one that people write "Is it ACTUALLY good?" thinkpieces about. It's every director's dream!
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Steven Spielberg Only Made Schindler's List After He Traded Films With Martin Scorsese
In 1994, Steven Spielberg was having perhaps the best year in the life of any filmmaker ever. He swept the Oscars with Schindler's List, earning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Art Direction. Sucks about the other awards, though ... PSYCH! HE WON THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS FOR JURASSIC PARK (Best Sound, Best Sound Effect Editing, Best Visual Effects). That said, he probably wouldn't have completed his Oscar Infinity Gauntlet if he'd gone with his first choice, Cape Fear.
Cape Fear, about a psychopath who stalks his former public defender because he believes that he didn't represent him properly, doesn't really seem like it would be of much interest to Spielberg in his, um, Hook period. But he was set on making it and turning it into one of his typical Amblin productions, because everyone watched E.T. and thought "Ooh, do serial killers next!" Meanwhile, little-known artist Martin Scorsese was trying to figure out how to do Schindler's List and not piss everyone off about the violence in the film like he'd done with Last Temptation Of Christ and Goodfellas.
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