10 Directors Who Didn't Understand Their Own Movies

8. Paul Feig - Ghostbusters (2016)

Paul Feig is a solid comedy director and by most accounts a lovely guy, but he proved with his 2016 all-female Ghostbusters reboot that he patently didn't appreciate the appeal of the IP, and ultimately, didn't understand his own movie either.

After the film bombed at the box office despite broadly positive reviews from critics, Feig blamed its failure on sexists, fans of the original movie and even the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.

Basically, Feig blamed anything beyond it not being a particularly well-written movie that people - be they fans of the original, general audiences with no affinity for the Ghostbusters brand or women - were interested in watching.

It's painfully obvious watching Ghostbusters 2016 that Feig overtly relied on his principal cast to enhance the flimsy shooting script with improv, resulting in awkward gags that drag on far too long, and a general sense of shapelessness to the entire movie.

Even original Ghostbuster Dan Aykroyd, who has a cameo in the film, blamed Feig for not listening to advice during shooting.

The original 1984 movie benefited from sharp character-driven humour and a devilishly unique concept, neither of which Feig can accept were absent from his film.