9 Last-Minute Changes That Ruined Movies
1. Hancock - Making The Protagonist More Heroic
Hancock is a bog standard superhero-comedy, but it was almost much more than that. The original screenplay written by Vincent Ngo back in the '90s was a dark deconstruction of the superhero genre, with a protagonist who was all-out anti-hero.
Elements from this draft survived the rewrites and the version director Peter Berg initially delivered was much darker than the cinematic cut which eventually landed in theatres. Will Smith's protagonist was deeper, more complex and less likable.
Hancock, in its R-rated form, would have been a deeper examination of the genre, but the studio wanted something more family-friendly and bankable. They ordered Berg to return to the drawing board to make the film more of a generic superhero romp.
So, there you have it. A movie which ended up forgettable and lukewarmly received was almost a bold, subversive addition to its genre, thanks to studio interference.