1. Dons Plum (R. D. Robb)
The Film: Director R. D. Robb collaborated with a handful of different writers for his low-budget black and white film Dons Plum, the name of the Los Angeles diner that the movie takes place in. Dons Plum is a regular haunt for teenagers Derek (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Ian (Tobey Maguire) who meet their friends there on a regular basis to discuss life, drink coffee, smoke cigarettes, eat French fries and be assholes to anyone who dares enter their little bubble. What starts out as an angst-ridden teen movie soon turns into something far more unpleasant, however, with the characters eager to offend with any chance they get. Its tedious at its best, and cringe-worthy at its worst.
Why It Was Scrapped: According to DiCaprio and Maguire neither were aware that a feature film was actually being made, both insisting that they were simply taking part in a short movie as a favour to the director so that he and the other actors could get some exposure on the festival circuit. A subsequent law-suit stopped the film from ever being released in North America, though whether or not both actors would have objected to the release so vigorously had the film turned out to be any good is another question. Despite the legal action taken against him, producer John Schindler maintains he should have been allowed to release the film:
"The story that Don's Plum was never intended to be made public is just that - a story. Although they (DiCaprio and Maguire) first heard of the project when it was conceived of as a short, I personally explained to both Leo and Tobey and the rest of the cast and crew before the first shoot that my intention was for this to be a real commercial film."
Which other movies never made it to release? Share any we missed down in the comments.