10 Movies Where The Director Hated The Source Material

4. Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban

Of the four filmmakers who collectively tackled the eight Harry Potter movies, there's one name which just doesn't vibe with the rest, and that's Alfonso Cuarón.

Fresh off his hit erotic drama Y Tu Mamá También, Warner Bros. approached Cuarón to direct the third Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which baffled the director even more than it bemused audiences.

Cuarón admitted in a recent interview that he initially "made fun" of the idea, and had no interest in adapting a property which he also had no desire to read.

It was only when his filmmaker pal Guillermo del Toro called him an "arrogant f**kin' bastard" that he agreed to read the first three Potter books and realised his initial dismissal of the fantasy franchise was misguided.

Nevertheless, Cuarón worked extensively with author J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. to ensure that his dark vision for the movie wouldn't be restrained by commercial concerns, and the result was a successful tonal shift for the franchise.

And if directing one of the most-acclaimed Potter movies wasn't enough of a reward, Cuarón went on to call it "the two sweetest years of [his] life." D'aww.

We're still not forgetting about that cringe-worthy final shot, though.