5. John G. Alvidsen Was Fired For Trying To Make The Movie More Like Rocky - Saturday Night Fever
John G. Alvidsen won an Oscar for Best Director a year before he found himself getting fired during the pre-production process for the now classic movie
Saturday Night Fever, and all because he wanted to try and make the far more cynical and darker movie more like
Rocky (which was the movie he just won an Oscar for, by the way). Instead of trying to discuss this or come to a compromise, though, producer Robert Sigwood just decided it would be a better idea eject Alvidsen from the project entirely - he was fired three weeks before shooting story. John Travolta later explained that Alvidsen wanted the main character, Tony, to be a nicer guy. Like Rocky.