10 Great Movies Almost Ruined By Meddling Hollywood Executives

5. "Take Out The Gremlins" - Gremlins (1984)

gremlins A lot of the entries on this list are both shocking and surprising, but perhaps none are so baffling as the notion of Hollywood executives trying to take the very Gremlins out of Gremlins - literally. Not convinced that the little transforming monsters were very good, Warner Bros. requested that most of their scenes be removed and the film instead focus on the more human aspects of the screenplay. Luckily for director Joe Dante, producer Steven Spielberg was on hand and ready to deploy some thoughts of his own in full-on ass-kicking mode. He met with Warner Bros. and asked them why they didn't just take out all the scenes with the Gremlins in them and retitled the film People. Presumably stunned and confused (likely at their own request), Warner Bros. backed down and Gizmo and co. were rightfully granted permission to stay.
 
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