Last-minute changes that saved these iconic films
It’s easy to assume that a major film production wouldn’t make any last-minute changes due to their deadlines and budgets, however, this isn’t always the case. These iconic films were saved by last-minute changes.
1. Raiders of the Lost Art, 1981
Harrison Ford created a spectacular performance in Raiders of the Lost Ark but was nearly refused the role. George Lucas co-wrote and produced the script with Steven Spielberg and when Ford’s name came up for the lead Lucas was not keen for him to feature in another one of his films. "Oh, Steven. He's been in two of my movies. I don't want him to be my Bobby De Niro,” he said. Tom Selleck was the top pick for the film when his TV pilot Magnum PI got picked up and made him unable to play Indiana Jones. The movie might have been successful with another actor but Ford has now become synonymous with the iconic character.
2. Toy Story, 1995
Toy Story was the project that put Pixar on the map but during the making of the classic animation, the storyline was focused on a mean cowboy toy that everyone hated. Jeffrey Katzenberg wanted this film to push the boundaries so he made the toy as mean as possible. When they screened the first part of the film, director John Lasseter was confused at the disaster the film was. In this original version, Woody intentionally pushes Buzz out the window and doesn’t care that it is a fatal fall. The rest of the toys then rebel against Woody and throw him out the window to his own death. Disney executives told Lasseter to fire some people on the team and continue animating under Disney supervision. Lasseter refused and fought for two extra weeks to make the film work. The Pixar team worked all hours to finish the revised Toy Story within the deadline and it ended up being a hit.
3. Terminator 2, 1991
Terminator 2 was originally planned to finish with a scene that was 30 years in the future with Sarah Connor reflecting on her days since Terminator was in her life. Judgement Day never happened and the audience sees blissful children playing on a playground. John Connor is a senator and Sarah has resorted to getting drunk regularly after saving the world. Cameron realised that this ending was out of tone with the rest of the story and it also would have stopped any sequels.
4. American Beauty, 1999
American Beauty ended up winning five Academy Awards, but the original script of the film had a much different ending. In the first draft of the script the story is consumed by the media frenzy of the trial and Lester’s daughter Jane and her boyfriend are wrongfully accused of killing him. All the trial scenes were filmed but screenwriter Alan Ball felt the end was too depressing. Although the film ends with the main character being shot, Ball felt that innocent teens shouldn’t be convicted as it was too cynical and took away from Lester’s story.
5. Shrek, 2001
The character Shrek was originally voiced by Chris Farley but unfortunately, he couldn’t finish his recordings before his death. Mike Myers was chosen to voice the character and recorded most of his lines in a Canadian accent, Myers’ own voice slightly exaggerated. After hearing John Lithgow’s upper-class English accent for Lord Farquaad, Myers’ decided Shrek needed a working-class tone. He decided that Shrek should have a Scottish accent and insisted on redoing all his lines with this new accent. By this time, nearly a third of the film was animated and the changes cost the film $4 million. Thankfully, the change paid off and Shrek’s voice become an iconic aspect of his character in the franchise.
Do you think these films would’ve been as successful without these changes? Let us know in the comments below.