8 Times Hollywood Got It Wrong (And It Made Films Better)

7. Ed Wood

In Tim Burton's version of Ed Wood, the b-movie director is the epitome of spunk. It's an all-out tribute to a terrible director (and frankly, an equally terrible person at times) that is one of Burton's most optimistic films. Some would argue that this is a peculiar subject to give the idolizing treatment, considering that Ed Wood's real life "adventures" aren't as sanitized as they are on the big screen. His rampant alcoholism, sexism, and myriad of other self-destructive tendencies are toned down to make the happy-go-lucky dreamer we see in Burton's film. His portrayal of Wood isn't necessarily wrong, but it's been spit-shined and edited down to half of a portrait. Thank...God. Because if Burton had chosen to depict Wood's descent into misogynistic sleaze--writing and directing his own soft-core bondage movies so that he could star in them and get a few kicks with his paycheck, turning into a raging boozehound in the process--then it would have taken on a drastically different tone or, at the very least, those sections of the movie would have felt incredibly out of place. This was a giddy little motion picture that's all about weird charm and maverick spirit, not grotesque displays of human indecency and sadness. And bizarre as it was, it was much better for it. Johnny Depp made Ed Wood better than Ed Wood.