10 Film Directors Who Totally Tricked The Studio
9. John McTiernan Added The "Deforestation" Scene Because The Studio Asked For More Shootouts - Predator
During production of Predator, director John McTiernan received word from Fox that they wanted the suspense thriller to include more scenes of guns being fired.
But McTiernan, having little interest in making a generic shoot 'em up action flick, decided to comply with Fox's demand in the most hilariously passive-aggressive way possible.
To "satisfy" the studio while not turning his movie into overcooked action schlock, McTiernan came up with the iconic sequence where the soldiers fire blindly into the forest in a vain attempt to kill the Predator, but end up hitting nothing.
On the film's DVD commentary, the director added, "What I was really doing was to quietly ridicule the desire to see pictures of guns firing...The whole point was the impotence of all the guns. Which was the exact opposite of what I believe I was being hired to sell."
Even though it was conceived out of malicious compliance on McTiernan's part, the scene is nevertheless one of the most memorable and badass moments in the entire movie.