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15 Movies and Shows That Started Out Very Differently

Life is unpredictable. You take a quick trip to the grocery store for a six pack and a bag of potato chips, and when you’re back home your car is somehow loaded with supplies for a five-course meal for eight people (and also, you didn’t own this car before). This kind of scenario is also relatable for people who make movies for a living -- they set out to film one thing, and months or years later they ship something completely different to theaters and TV networks. Think we’re exaggerating? Just take a look at these.

15

Big Trouble in Little China started as a western. Jack Burton didn't drive a truck in the original script, as it was set in 1880. The movie was drastically rewritten, as making it a western on top of everything else was too much.

Source: Den of Geek

14

Zombieland as a TV series. was created Writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick's project was too expensive for TV-SO the script was taken to Sony, and turned into a movie.

Source: Reuters

13

Good Will Hunting thriller. was written as a In Matt Damon's and Ben Affleck's script, genius Will Hunting was being constantly chased by government agencies. Rob Reiner convinced them to drop that side of the story.

Source: Boston Magazine

12

Toy Story began as a Christmas TV special. Pixar's first hit, the short Tin Toy, was to be followed by the half hour-long A Tin Toy Christmas. When the TV studio involved dropped the project, Disney picked it up and helped develop it into a full movie.

Source: The Take

11

Dr Strangelove was supposed to be a serious Cold War drama. Early into production of his movie about the nuclear arms race, Stanley Kubrick realized how farcical the whole thing was -- so he stopped trying not to play it as a comedy.

Source: Bleecker Street

10

The Sopranos was meant a movie. Creator David Chase conceived the story of Tony Soprano as a feature- film. He was eventually convinced that his pitch would make a great TV series.

Source: Written By Magazine (archived)

9

Seinfeld failed to be a comedy special. Unable to come up with 90 minutes' worth of material, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David made a half-hour pilot for a show instead. Then the show went on for nine seasons.

Source: Den of Geek

8

Pretty Woman was at first a gritty drama. Before becoming a modern-day Cinderella, Vivian was a drug addict who didn't get a happy ending- she was just thrown out of Edward's car before he drove away and credits rolled.

Source: USA Today

7

Night of the Living, Dead began a horror as comedy about aliens. The movie that kickstarted the zombie genre was at first going to be about the wacky goings-on of a bunch of rowdy alien teenagers, and the bumbling cops who tried to stop them.

Source: Night of the Living Dead: Behind the Scenes of the Most Terrifying Zombie Movie Ever, by Joe Kane

6

The Golden Child was a straight dark fantasy movie. Dennis Feldman has described his script The Rose of Tibet asa Raymond Chandler movie with supernatural elements. Then Eddie Murphy got on board, and it was turned into a comedy.

Source: Starlog Magazine

5

Gargoyles meant to be Gummi Bears. was like Creator Greg Weisman's original pitch was for a fun comedy-adventure show, with cute gargoyles. The premise was reworked into action drama after Disney passed on it.

Source: Comic Book

4

The Emperor's New Groove a traditional Disney movie. was At first titled Empire of the Sun, it was supposed to be a standard Disney-brand musical romance/ comedy. Then the director left after clashing with Disney, and the movie was completely overhauled.

Source: The Hollywood News

3

After Earth originally a crash. was about car The idea was for a father and son to be involved in a crash in a remote location. Then Will Smith said, Let's set it 1,000 years in the future.

Source: Variety

2

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea started as a documentary short. Walt Disney commissioned artist Harper Goff to storyboard a documentary about underwater life-but Goff's imagination got wild with Jules Verne. Disney liked Goff's sketches, and produced an entire feature film.

Source: The Walt Disney Family Museum

1

24 was about a wedding. Creator Joel Surnow's first idea for his show in real time was to make it about the 24 hours before a wedding. This was soon scrapped.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

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