15 Incredibly Rude, Crude, Stupid Notes From Movie & TV Execs

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15 Incredibly Rude, Crude, Stupid Notes From Movie & TV Execs

Universal Pictures

Ah, Hollywood. It’s a place where dreams come true, and where execs can make or break a project with the stroke of a pen. It’s a place where creativity is celebrated, but also where ideas are sometimes met with resistance. It’s a place where the phrase "studio notes" can send shivers down the spine of any filmmaker, and the phrase "executive feedback" can make a grown man cry. 

It’s a place where a Ryan Murphy can persevere and make history with a show like Glee, where a Frank Darabont can express his "boiling rage" through emails, and where a Foxtel CEO can learn the hard way not to call a Khaleesi "short and dumpy." It’s a place where, in short, execs can look at the dream you’ve been trying to realize and give you feedback on it that makes you question your sanity and theirs. Here are just a few examples of that.

Mel Brooks: 1, Warner Bros.: 0.

Notes From Execs BLAZING SADDLES Mel Brooks was shocked by the censorship he faced while making the movie. Не got notes like, Lose the fart scene, Cut out any racial and ethnic jokes, and Edit scenes where a horse and an old lady get punched. CRACKED

Warner Bros.

/Film

They tried.

CRACKED Notes From Execs THEY LIVE The studio wanted to change the anti- consumerism message, offering notes like, Why don't you make them cannibals from outer space? John Carpenter ignored them and made the movie his way.

Universal Pictures

Variety

Goyer: ’Krypton’s already gone, guys.’

CRACKED Notes From Execs MAN OF STEEL The studio asked writer David Goyer to change the ending because they worried how Superman would get back to Krypton. Goyer had to remind them that Krypton is already gone.

Warner Bros. Pictures

CBR

Disney’s not bear-ing any risks.

CRACKED Notes From Execs GRAVITY FALLS Kids and adults love the show for its dark humor, but Disney's rules held it back. Even a line about Soos dressing as a giant teddy bear was reviewed, as it may call to mind the people who dress up as stuffed animals as a furry fetish.

Disney Television

/Film

Let’s simplify: no more wild, wild subtleties.

Notes From Execs WILD WILD WEST Director Barry Sonnenfeld said studio execs wanted to lower the budget if the characters were too complex, and asked to remove the subtleties (such as they are). Actual quote: Could you take out the nuances? CRACKED

Warner Bros. Pictures

HuffPost

Drum roll, please... Cut!

CRACKED Notes From Execs WHIPLASH Damien Chazelle wrote and directed Whiplash, which ended with a long drum solo, and he got a note to cut it. The note said, verbatim, He's good at drumming. We get it. But the solo was the whole point of making the movie, says Chazelle.

Sony PIctures Classics

Screen Rant

Jazzed up about the criticism.

Notes From Execs LA LA LAND Director Damien Chazelle was criticized by a script reader, who asked, Does it have to be about jazz? CRACKED

Lions Gate

Deadline

Keep writing, even when they say it’s not scary, if you’re John Carpenter.

Notes From Execs HALLOWEEN John Carpenter had lots of feedback on his scripts, like the time someone said about Halloween, This isn't scary. Не learned to just keep going no matter what. CRACKED

Universal Pictures

We Got This Covered

Ryan Murphy persevered, and ‘Glee’ made history.

Notes From Execs GLEE Ryan Murphy faced pushback when trying to get Glee made, with one exec calling it the f*g show. But it succeeded, paving the way for more LGBTQ+ representation on TV. CRACKED

20th Television

Pride

Columbia thought ‘E.T.’ was too Disney-fied.

Notes From Execs Е.Т. Columbia Pictures was bummed about E.T. - they thought it was too much like a Disney flick, and they'd spent 10 mil on it. Their exact words were that it was a wimpy Walt Disney movie. CRACKED

Universal Pictures

The Playlist

Frank Darabont’s emails: hot and bothered.

Notes From Execs THE WALKING DEAD AMC filed emails from fired executive producer Frank Darabont, showing his boiling rage at the show. A quote: I just kept Denise on the phone for 20 minutes making her listen to me scream. CRACKED

AMC Networks

Variety

‘Blade Runner,’ ahead of its time, and its execs.

Notes From Execs BLADE RUNNER Blade Runner was revolutionary, but execs thought it was deadly dull till Zhora died. CRACKED

Warner Bros.

Mental Floss

Sidney’s ’Space Man’ left them scratching their heads.

Notes From Execs BACK TO THE FUTURE Studio exec Sidney Sheinberg wanted to rename the movie as Space Man From Pluto, which made no sense. It left the filmmakers confused, but now, in retrospect, it's pretty funny. CRACKED

Universal Pictures

Screen Rant

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