10 Worst Defences Directors Had For Bad Movie Moments
4. "I Changed Godzilla's Design In An Attempt To Get Fired" - Godzilla (1998)
1998's Godzilla was torn asunder by fans for many reasons, most of all that the titular creature's design was given a drastic overhaul, retooled into a leaner, more dinosaur-esque monster which lacked the heft and personality of the classic Toho design.
Hilariously, though, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter last year, director Roland Emmerich admitted that he didn't actually want to make Godzilla at all, and effectively only suggested the design changes as a joke that was intended to get him fired from the gig:
"I didn't want to do Godzilla. But they made me a deal, which was unheard of. I said, 'OK, let's go about this really radically. I'm not doing big-belly Godzilla. I'm doing him as a lizard.' That was supposed to tell everybody I can't do this movie. [Toho] said, 'Oh, we'll call this the new Godzilla, the Hollywood Godzilla. Then, we can still do our fat Godzilla.' I said, 'S***!'"
And like that, skinny Godzilla was unleashed upon the world. Thanks, Roland.