12 Directors Who Blamed Studios For Failed Movies
11. Billy Bob Thornton - All The Pretty Horses
No man has left more of a mark on Hollywood in a bad way than Producer Harvey Weinstein. While nothing can compare to his disgusting treatment of numerous women, the loathed Producer is also responsible for breaking the heart of one Billy Bob Thornton. Weinstein monstered Thornton's second directorial feature, All The Pretty Horses, culling crucial scenes and reediting various aspects in spite of Thornton's protests.
Speaking about his own experiences of the film, lead actor Matt Damon outlined a discussion Thornton and Weinstein had about the film that examined the distress it caused the Director. The conversation saw Thornton begging for his film to remain intact, while Weinstein insisted on significant edits to the three hour runtime, and the integration of a whole new music score.
As Damon states, “Billy’s heart was f#cking breaking. [When] he relented, he said, ‘Harvey, I have a chance to do four, maybe five great things before I die. And what I’m hearing you say to me is this isn’t gonna be one of them.”
Thornton though wasn't the only one impacted by Weinstein's interference, with Matt Damon still hurting many years after the film's release. Damon revealed that the original cut of the film produced by Thornton was the proudest moment of his career, with Daniel Lanois' score making the movie, but was heartbroken with Weinstein's final product, which included the removal of Lanois complete score. A Director's Cut has so far not been possible due to Lanois' refusing to allow his score to be used.