10 iconic Hollywood movies that were almost never made: In pictures
As the saying goes, nothing worth having comes easy – and that couldn't be more true for some of the greatest movies ever created.
Every Hollywood blockbuster has a backstory, but some were so intense that they almost caused the film to be scrapped completely.
From studio doubts to budget disasters and casting chaos, a few were on the verge of cancellation before the world ever got to see them.
But like every Hollywood story, there was usually a happy ending and against all odds they made it to the big screen.
For your viewing pleasure, here's a list of 10 of the most iconic movies that almost never got made and some of the unusual reasons why...
10. Titanic
Even decades after its 1997 release, Titanic remains to be one of the most beloved movies of all time.
But there's a chance the world might never have seen Jack and Rose's love story play out, due to its behemoth budget, studio scepticism and casting chaos.
The film's initial budget went from $100m (AUD$158m) to $200m (AUD$317m), making it the most expensive film ever made at that time.
Director James Cameron was begged to cut the length of the 3h 14m movie but he refused, and even gave up his $8m (AUD$12.7m) salary to keep the movie on track.
Disaster also struck when Kate Winslet filming the sinking finale, with her coat getting caught on a gate in the water. "I had to sort of shimmy out of the coat to get free," she told The Times.
"I had no breath left. I thought I'd burst. And Jim just said, 'OK, let's go again.' That was his attitude. I didn't want to be a wimp so I didn't complain."
In an absolutely shocking twist, dozens of the film's cast and crew were drugged with PCP-spiked chowder. PCP (also known as phencyclidine or angel dust) is a mind-altering drug that can lead to hallucinations and psychosis.
"This is a 100 per cent true story," director James Cameron told Power in an interview about the 25th anniversary of Titanic.
"Some people were laughing, some people were crying, some people were throwing up," Paxton told Entertainment Weeklyin 1996. "One minute I felt OK, the next minute I felt so goddamn anxious I wanted to breathe in a paper bag. Cameron was feeling the same way."
80 people – including James Cameron and Bill Paxton – got sick, but to this day no one knows who did it.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet weren't on set that day, so they didn't eat the chowder.
Despite some huge challenges, Titanic became one of the highest grossing movies of all time and won a whopping 11 Oscars.
9. Toy Story 2
Back in 1998, Pixar was getting ready to release Toy Story 2 after the mammoth success of the first.
But as final edits were being made, the unthinkable happened. Someone hit the wrong button, and the movie's files began to disappear. In moments around 90 per cent of the movie was lost, and almost two years of hard work deleted.
But one woman was there to save the day. Technical director Galyn Susman was on maternity leave and gave birth about six months before the catastrophic deletion.
She'd been working from home, and had a copy of Toy Story 2's database. Her computer was wrapped in blankets and brought in to restore what had been lost.
But despite celebrations, there was another twist – after all the efforts, the original version ended up being remade anyway because bosses didn't think the movie was good enough.
Despite everything, it went on to be a mammoth success... and a constant reminder to everyone to always. Back up. Your files.
8. Pulp Fiction
It's hard to imagine a world without Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, but that was almost the case.
The story is set in the realm of underworld, with a series of incidents intertwining the lives of two Los Angeles mobsters, a gangster's wife, a boxer and two small-time criminals.
Major studios weren't convinced that the movie would succeed, and Tarantino and producer Lawrence Bender had to hustle to secure funding.
Tristar Pictures originally agreed to finance the movie, but they later dropped it as the script was deemed "too demented" and even described as "the worst thing ever written".
Many studios passed on it, until Miramax came onboard.
The film recently celebrate its 30-year anniversary and goes down as one of Tarantino's biggest success stories.
7. The Lord of the Rings
Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy was almost never made – well, at least in the way we all know and love today.
Initially, the movie was pitched to Miramax but they wanted the story condensed into one film. Jackson pushed for two, but they hesitated due to budget concerns.
Eventually he was told it was one movie or nothing, so he walked away.
Jackson then had weeks to find a new studio – and if they failed, the movie would be shelved and no other studio could pick it up.
Thankfully, New Line Cinema came to the rescue. They agreed on two movies, before New Line's head Bob Shaye said, "Why not make three?"
And so, the trilogy was born. Of course there were many more challenges, particularly filming in New Zealand with risky weather conditions.
But despite the near failures, the movie became one of the most beloved trilogies of all time. Thank goodness!
6. The Wizard of Oz
While it's largely dubbed as one of the greatest movies ever made, creating the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz was no easy feat.
Of course, the special effects were difficult do produce in the era and production companies feared it would never make the $2.8million (AU$4.4million) budget back.
There were also numerous cast injuries. The Tin Man, Buddy Ebsen, suffered a severe allergic reaction to the aluminum-based makeup and had to be replaced by Jack Haley.
Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West, suffered second and third-degree burns on her face and hands when flames ignited too soon during a scene involving a trap door and fire.
The movie also cycled through four different directors, and the studio also thought Over the Rainbow slowed the movie down and almost cut it – thankfully, they didn't.
Despite the many, many challenges The Wizard of Oz is now one of the most beloved movies of all time.
5. Back to the Future
Back to the Future faced many, many production problems when it was made in 1985.
The movie was rejected over 40 times before Universal finally decided to go for it, but the film's budget of $14 million (AUD$22 million) meant it was risky.
Michael J Fox was always the first choice for Marty McFly, but he had other commitments and couldn't take the role. It then went to Eric Stolz, who was undeniably talented but producers felt something was missing...so they recast Fox, which cost millions and forced many reshoots.
Despite the challenges, Back to the Future was a mammoth hit and still is to this day.
4. Jaws
DUH DUH. DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN... OK, you get the picture.
It's a miracle that Steven Spielberg's 1975 hit Jaws was completed, due to technical disasters and a chaotic production schedule.
"Making Jaws – still looking back, 30 years ago – was the toughest filmmaking production experience I've ever encountered," Spielberg said in the 2007 documentary The Shark Is Still Working. "We must have been complete idiots."
It was one of Spielberg's earliest movies, and it was the first film to be shot in the actual ocean – which of course came with many challenges. The animatronic shark could only be shot in waters 30 feet deep, and there were no breaking waves.
"We picked the worst place in the world to shoot," the director added.
Cast and crew would often fall in the water or become seasick, and at once stage the speedboat pulling the mechanics went to fast and the boat sank.
Despite the chaos, Jaws eventually finished filming as is one of the most iconic movies to date.
3. The Godfather
Another iconic movie on the list, The Godfather was a mammoth task that could have easily been pulled.
Firstly, the studio weren't keen on Marlon Brando due to his reputation on-set and recent box-office decline.
Director Francis Ford Coppola, however, was a strong advocate for Brando, believing he was the perfect choice for the role.
In his memoir Sonny Boy, Al Pacino also revealed the studio didn't want him to play Michael Corleone. "They wanted Jack Nicholson. They wanted Robert Redford. They wanted Warren Beatty or Ryan O'Neal," he wrote.
Again, Coppola was forced to argue that he was the right fit and he eventually landed the part.
Coppola himself was in constant fear of being fired every day, particularly after demanding more money for the project to be made.
The real mafia weren't happy with fans seeing their 'business' exposed in a movie and it's said the studio considered cancelling the movie altogether.
Thankfully, despite the many challenges The Godfather was released and remains to be popular to this day.
2. Star Wars
Imagine a world without Star Wars.
The movie almost didn't happen because many studios deemed the sci-fi adventure too risky and unlikely to resonate with audiences, leading it to be rejected by many companies before 20th Century Fox eventually took on the project.
But George Lucas' script was a mess, with early versions being dubbed as almost unreadable and confusing.
After multiple rewrites the project went forward, but then Lucas hired an effects company to work on the movie with disastrous consequences; after months of work everything was almost unusable, and the team had to start over.
The first cut of the movie received harsh critique, and huge parts had to be reshot.
But eventually, it became the hit everyone knows and loves, and thus changing cinema forever.
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