10 Terrible Films That The Wrong Person Got Blamed For
8. George Lucas - Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
Who Else Was To Blame: Steven Spielberg.
George Lucas had a shocking first decade of the 21st Century. Previously widely revered as a great director despite only having directed three movies, his Star Wars prequels, while initially well received, suffered a major fan backlash. Things only got worse when the magnetic aliens and CGI monkeys of Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull appeared; this was another childhood-ruining turn only less severe than Star Wars only because it was one film, rather than three. The difference this time around was that unlike on Star Wars, where he did have total, undeniable, complete creative control thanks to surrounding himself with adoring yes men, on Indy 4 he was only a part of the creative process.
A bullying part of that process yes, refusing to back down from the misguided view that the natural progression from saving religious artefacts was to showdown against aliens, but a part nonetheless. As with the original Indiana Jones films, Lucas credit was for story. From on set footage you know he was more involved than that suggests, but at the end of the day someone - be it director Steven Spielberg or writer David Koepp - had the power to change what didn't work.
After all, the idea for the film might have been pretty weak, but so was Temple Of Doom and that turned out pretty damn well.