- 6 hours ago
The feedback loop is alive and well in this list of films changed due to feedback from the fans.
- -
For more awesome content, check out →https://whatculture.com
Follow us on Facebook at →https://www.facebook.com/whatculture
Find us on Twitter → https://twitter.com/whatculture
- -
For more awesome content, check out →https://whatculture.com
Follow us on Facebook at →https://www.facebook.com/whatculture
Find us on Twitter → https://twitter.com/whatculture
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00The use of studio test audiences can be really, really helpful when it comes to fine-tuning
00:05your movie. You can find out what your audiences want to see, what they don't want to see,
00:08and hopefully, in the end, put out a film that will be better reviewed, better enjoyed,
00:12and make more money. I'm sure there will be plenty of films out there that we don't
00:15even know looked totally different before the test audiences got their eyes on them.
00:19But here I have to present to you 10 films that, for better or worse, were definitely
00:23influenced by the audience's feedback. I'm Amy from WhatCulture, and here are 10 movie
00:28changes influenced by the fans' feedback.
00:3110. The Genie, Aladdin
00:32The early reactions for the teaser trailer for Aladdin were, to say the least, not flattering.
00:38Whilst Will Smith seemed as good a choice as any to take over the role made famous by Robin
00:42Williams, for someone that's meant to have blue skin, people said that he was too blue.
00:46And for some reason, because nobody has any perception of what bodies are actually meant
00:49to look like these days, people also said that he looked overweight and fat. And they
00:53really didn't like that.
00:54The negative reactions to the look of the Genie had a twofold effect, with changes made
00:58to both the marketing for the film and the aesthetics of the Genie himself. Subsequent
01:03trailers placed a greater emphasis on moments in the film when the Genie resembled Will Smith's
01:07normal human form, hoping that you'd focus more on the Genie's character traits than
01:11his look.
01:12There was also some definite tweaking of the look, though. The CGI fine-tuning made him
01:15actually look a little less blue, and whilst he still looked like a very much out-of-this-world
01:20character, the more human look they gave him was less of an eyesore. The end result was
01:24a product that was much better received than what was expected, and the box office returns
01:28managed to top the $1 billion mark. The film was also a great reminder to Hollywood execs
01:33that, given the right role, Will Smith is still one of the world's biggest and best drawcards
01:37going around.
01:399. Suicide Squad
01:41Snappier editing
01:42The first of two entries featuring Margot Robbie's interpretation of Harley Quinn, this is one
01:46example where the influence of the fans' feedback was not used for the greater good. In fact,
01:51in this case, it was the filmmakers' attempts to utilise the positive trailer reactions that
01:55proved to be the film's fatal flaw.
01:57The first two trailers for the film were snappily edited, highly stylised and energetic, and
02:02it served as an excellent advertisement for the upcoming feature. But that's exactly the
02:06problem. It's an advertisement.
02:08The choice was made by the creative team to make the final product feel like one big, long
02:13trailer. And, unsurprisingly to any of us that have more than two brain cells to rub together,
02:18this proved to be an unmitigated disaster.
02:2010. Suicide Squad
02:21Rather than keeping audiences engaged throughout the film, the final product proved to be extremely
02:25choppy, with far too many characters and a distinct lack of heart. No heart in advertising?
02:30Who would have seen that one coming?
02:3210. Suicide Squad
02:33It was impossible to find any genuine connection with any of the characters, which is really a shame
02:37because a lot of the performances were solid. Will Smith and Margot Robbie were particularly
02:40strong as Deadshot and Harley. But there's so little backstory and character development due
02:45to the chaotic pacing that those performances were largely wasted. At the end of the day,
02:49the test audiences aren't really to blame for this, but I hope that Hollywood learned a very
02:53valuable lesson. An advert is an advert, and it's short and snappy for a reason. If you
02:57hadn't figured it out already, no one wants to watch a 90-minute advert.
03:028. Toning down the violence
03:04Slender Man
03:05The feedback that caused alterations for this film hit a little closer to home than usual,
03:09with the main critic being an outraged father of a child involved in a hideous crime.
03:14The real-life stabbing of a 12-year-old girl linked to the Slender Man legend left a dark
03:18stain on the character, and this meant that any future products addressing the character
03:22were always going to be controversial. While members of the press and the general public
03:26voiced their concerns, it was the criticism levelled by the father of one of the perpetrators
03:30of the stabbing that really made the impact. Bill Ware, whose daughter Anissa, was sentenced
03:35to 25 years to life in various institutions for her involvement in the stabbing crime,
03:39described the film as distasteful and campaigned for local theatres not to show it. The filmmakers'
03:45reaction to these comments was to tone down the violence and gore, so much so that the final product
03:49came out with a PG-13 rating. The film was critically panned, but managed to make a small profit.
03:55It's hard to make a final judgement as to how Sony Pictures would judge the effectiveness of the
03:59changes, but at least they were made in the interest of good taste.
04:027. Digital Re-Asianing
04:05Ghost in the Shell
04:07Oh, Hollywood, when will you ever learn?
04:09The choice to have the whitest of American actors, MCU poster girl Scarlett Johansson,
04:14play the role of Major Motoko Kusanagi was the kind of mind-bogglingly stupid and
04:19insensitive decision that only Hollywood producers could make. Considering the wealth of amazing
04:24Asian American actors that were literally at their fingertips, choosing Johansson was incredibly lazy
04:29and just beyond insane. With accusations of whitewashing flooding in from the very fans of
04:34the anime the producers were targeting, the decision was made to, and I s*** you not, make
04:38Scarlett Johansson look more Asian. Yes, that is correct, the producers chose to address the issue
04:44of whitewashing by making a white woman look slightly less white, instead of, you know, hiring an Asian actress.
04:51Unsurprisingly, the changes did nothing to quell the concerns of the fans of the anime,
04:55the final product proving particularly mediocre. Considering the film had strong visuals and great
05:00source material to fall back on, one could only ponder if the choice of a young, talented Japanese
05:05actress in the lead role could have allowed for a better film product. Actually, you know what,
05:09not much pondering is necessary, we all know the answer.
05:136. Patching the Cats
05:15Cats
05:17There isn't a lot more that can be said about the catastrophic disaster that was this 2019 bomb.
05:22The idea of translating the unfilmable stage musical to the big screen was in itself a significant
05:28misjudgment, and the horrifying visual design for the titular Cats was just a final nail in the coffin.
05:34Director Tom Hooper and his creative team made the poor decision to largely ignore the torrid
05:38audience feedback to begin with, maintaining the overall hybrid half-cat, half-human look that we
05:44were all having nightmares about for months. Hooper did, however, pick up on the criticisms of the patchy
05:49CGI for the Cats, most notably the human hands popping out from the feline's bodies.
05:54In a sign of just how rushed the final product was, freshly edited final products were rushed to
05:59cinemas with added fur. The problem was that the new changes were added ridiculously late,
06:04and meant that audiences viewed different products depending on where they were and when they watched
06:08the film. In hindsight, the Cats producers needed to either take on board the initial negative
06:12feedback and make adjustments, or just ignore it completely. Trying to make last-second changes
06:17felt like reorganising the chairs on the Titanic after the boat had already sunk.
06:225. Changing Elita's Appearance
06:25Elita Battle Angel
06:26The key to being a learned critic is to be able to have a good eye for picking up on things,
06:30and when the trailer for this James Cameron passion project was released,
06:34many viewers had a significant issue with one aspect of Elita's looks, her eyes. The common
06:39theme among viewer criticism was that the eyes were just too big. But, as was noted by the visual
06:44effects supervisor for the film, Eric Saindon, the issue wasn't that the eyes were too big at all.
06:49If anything, they were too small. As Saindon explained in an article for The Insider,
06:53after consulting with his creative team, including Cameron, the decision was made to enlarge the eyes
06:58iris. The idea of making the eyes bigger was strongly considered, but the changes to the overall look
07:02of the eyes did the trick. There were subtle lighting changes that also added to the effect,
07:06but it was the changed size of the iris that proved the most effective. The final product
07:10was definitely enhanced from this modification, and whilst it was slightly more subtle than the
07:14changes made for the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, not having the audience consumed by the lead
07:18character's weird eyes proved a major benefit. 4. Making the Movie
07:24Deadpool
07:25It's hard to fathom now, but the idea of an R-rated Deadpool movie didn't exactly have Hollywood excited
07:30when the idea was first brought up. R-rated movies regularly struggled to become box office
07:34successes, whilst the idea of having Ryan Reynolds resuming his role after the mediocre X-Men Origins
07:40Wolverine seemed a poor one. That was all turned on its head when prospective director Tim Miller
07:44secretly released test footage for a possible Reynolds starring Deadpool. The three-minute scene
07:49was a massive smash, viewed by millions and universally loved. In fact, it was loved in particular by fans
07:54still reeling from the character's woeful previous interpretation. The positive fan feedback for this
07:59mini-scene not only led to the film being made, but many doubts about producing a high-budget R-rated
08:04film were largely quashed. To say the film was a success would be a massive understatement, with
08:09the original film and sequel taking in over $750 million each. The film has also left a significant
08:15legacy, with its fourth-wall-breaking style and R-rated violence being replicated in many a future
08:20blockbuster. Yeah, and that's all thanks to one cheeky director who leaked some footage, and the fans
08:25who let him know that they liked what they saw. Three, bringing the horror. When movie historians
08:30reflect back on the early 21st century cinema, The New Mutants will no doubt top the list for most
08:36troubled productions. The film is one of the most unlucky in history, with an abundance of issues
08:41unrelated to the product itself causing no end of problems. What makes it all the more frustrating
08:46for those involved was that the trailers were actually well-received. People were quite excited about
08:50the horror aspect of the film, which was something new. In fact, it was the audience excitement at the
08:55trailer and also their dislike of the apocalypse movie that caused the filmmakers to make some
08:59changes. Reshoots for the new film were made that eliminated any references to the 80s or the wider
09:04X-Men universe, whilst also amping up the horror aspects that were received so well. Of course,
09:09just how effective these changes were is up for debate, but at least it's nice to know that we were
09:14listened to. Two, a change in title. Harley Quinn, Birds of Prey. This entry is a little bit different
09:21because it actually refers to something that's not materially in the film. Despite the film being
09:25well-received by critics and having a rising star in Margot Robbie promote the film, there was a lot
09:30of confusion as to what the film was actually about, an issue largely caused by its very convoluted title.
09:36Initially called Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, the small paragraph
09:42of a title caused more confusion than anything else. Whilst meant to be a clever reference to the comics,
09:47the title instead made the film look like it was too far up its own arse. The title was also in
09:51contrast to the advertising, which had all but promoted the film as a Harley Quinn solo act.
09:55Realising that the title was holding back the film's hopes of success, the producers made a
09:59belated but sensible decision to change its name. The film was rebranded with the far more
10:04comprehensible name of Birds of Prey. It was unfortunately a case of too little too late,
10:09because the box office wasn't great. But I think we can all agree that Harley Quinn,
10:13Birds of Prey was clearly a much better choice for a title than what it had at the start.
10:181. Changing the Lines
10:20Snakes on a Plane
10:22Never has a fan's feedback been so well utilised as it was for this 2006 action caper. The choice
10:27by Samuel L. Jackson to sign up to the film caught everyone by surprise, including the film's director
10:33Ronnie Yu, and it ended up proving to be the film's biggest strength. The hype for the movie hit a
10:37crescendo when a blog entry from screenwriter Josh Friedman was released with the details of the plot.
10:42Bloggers around the world followed up by creating parodies, original artworks,
10:46songs and a variety of fan fiction related to the film's premise. And in response to this insane
10:51hype, the production even scheduled in five additional days of filming to make sure they
10:55got everything in. Reshoots were made to add more gore and gruesome deaths, whilst also adding
11:00some memorably uncouth dialogue. The addition of the line that is now synonymous with the film
11:05was the best example of the film embracing its campy fun.
11:08I've had enough of these mother f***ing snakes on this mother f***ing plane. Now we all know it's
11:13not exactly Shakespeare but my god it's pretty f***ing quotable. In addition to more gruesome
11:18deaths and more profanities, they also decided to revert back to the name Snakes on a Plane because,
11:23you know, that's what everyone wants to see. At one point the proposed title was Pacific Air Flight
11:28123. So really, everyone came out of this better. And with that we've reached the end of this list of
11:3410 movie changes influenced by fans' feedback. If you know of any more, let us know in the comments
11:39down below. And remember to check out WhatCulture.com for more lists and articles like this every single
11:43day. As always, I've been Amy from WhatCulture and I'll catch you next time.
Be the first to comment