There are tons of obstacles the can derail
a movie, and it can happen at any time.
Saying the wrong thing to the wrong person
can sometimes be all it takes to get shut
down.
Other productions are difficult from the get-go,
with cast and crew battling the elements,
and each other over the course of a shoot.
And even if everything goes smoothly during
production, some last minute players call
“foul” and interrupt the whole game.
These are Screen Rant’s 10 Most Controversial
Movies You Almost Didn’t Get To See.
The Wolf Of Wall Street
When Scorsese sets out to do a movie about
excess, he thinks big.
The Wolf Of Wall Street is a twisted ode to
extravagance, and crowded with morally reprehensible
conduct.
And while lots of people were blown away by
the spectacle, some audience members resented
it.
The filmmaker argues that the movie is supposed
to be upsetting.
Not sure what to be upset about?
Take your pick: sex, drugs, religion, politics,
there’s something for everyone.
The movie underwent massive cuts in order
to be deemed appropriate for showing in some
countries, while others like Malaysia, Kenya,
and Nepal have banned it outright.
Despite the controversy, the movie did well
at the box office and was nominated for a
slew of trophies come award season.
The DaVinci Code
It seems like there are some stories filmmakers
are just fundamentally not allowed to mess
with.
Ideas so sacred, they’ve been passed on
from generation to generation and form the
basis of many religions.
Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code shakes
up the story of Jesus.
And when it turned into a full-blown phenomenon
after Ron Howard brought it to the big screen,
some audiences were pissed.
They argued that the film was an attack, and
that- because of it’s popularity- it was
spreading misinformation on a massive scale.
Some countries required a disclaimer reminding
everyone that the story was a work of fiction.
While others like Egypt, Pakistan, and The
Philippines had it flat out banned on the
charge of blasphemy.
Jaws
Put simply, Jaws is a movie that came dangerously
close to not getting made.
And while the final result makes for a terrifying
movie, the real-life implications of the story
they sought to tell was the REAL nightmare.
Shot during the age of practical effects,
the entire production revolved around three
robotic sharks named Bruce that were high
maintenance to say the least.
Their internal mechanisms had to be replaced
often, thanks to the saltwater.
The Bruces also had to be repainted every
single day, and sank more often than they
worked.
The shoot was behind schedule, over-budget,
and director Steven Spielberg worried that
if he ever left the set, he might be too traumatized
to ever return.
Shooting in Martha’s Vineyard proved to
be a challenge in itself, as the community
has incredibly high aesthetic standards.
Which often left crew members scrambling to
set up and tear down all the sets fresh every
single day.
Apocalypse Now
The filming of Apocalypse Now was so out of
control that the documentary about how the
movie was made (Hearts of Darkness) is almost
more interesting than the film itself.
Francis Ford Coppola and co.
fought an uphill battle from beginning to
end.
A typhoon destroyed parts of the set, forcing
delays in the production.
When the shoot resumed after the typhoon,
Marlon Brando looked completely different
than when he left.
He didn't know any of his lines, and the movie
was stalled again while he learned them.
The original lead, Harvey Keitel, was fired
early on and replaced with Martin Sheen- who
would later suffer a heart attack while working
on the film.
Cast and crew were constantly getting sick.
And the production even got robbed.
Everyone involved suffered somehow, but the
end result is one of the greatest movies of
all time.
Marlon Brando remains less-than-impressed.
The Exorcist
Considered by many to be among the greatest
films of all time, The Exorcist has an effect
on everyone who discovers it.
For the cast and crew, that meant enduring
more than a few extreme circumstances.
The production was notoriously troubled.
At one point or another, the director had
pissed off every single actor, on top of freezing
them half to death with a sub-zero set.
Studio bigwigs were convinced the movie would
fail and were constantly threatening to pull
the plug, but somehow it survived.
When it was released in 1973, audiences had
never experienced anything like it before.
People were vomiting, fainting, and in hysterics
because of what they were seeing on screen.
Some groups felt the film was spreading pro-Satan
sentiments, and Linda Blair received more
than one death threat because of it.
Borat
You’ be hard-pressed to find a section of
society that hasn’t been offended by Sacha
Baron Cohen at one time or another.
It’s his schtick.
The performer is famous for putting his subjects
on the spot, which almost always leads to
an uncomfortable situation.
The police were called almost a hundred times
during the filming of Borat.
And after its release, the actor’s real
life got even more tense than his fake one.
The majority of the people who appeared in
the movie took legal action against him.
Some of the film’s least-liked characters
were also its most vocal opponents, and tried
to have the DVD release cancelled.
The Anti-Defamation league even got involved,
characterizing the movie as being anti-semitic.
And the higher-ups in the Kazakh government
were furious.
At one point the film was banned in multiple
countries, but it’s restriction has since
loosened everywhere except Russia.
Aladdin
Disney has been a constant in discussions
about casual racism in children's movies,
and there is a seemingly endless amount of
conspiracy theories related to every move
they make.
The studio has released some of the most successful
films of all time, and have an intensely loyal
fanbase.
That kind of following, coupled with their
wholesome kid-friendly branding, comes with
a lot of responsibility.
And according to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee, Aladdin vilified elements of their
culture.
They pointed to stereotypical lyrics and the
white-washing of Aladdin and Jasmine as evidence.
Whereas, they argued, all other citizens looked
“greedy” and “villainous”.
For the video release, Disney changed the
offensive lyrics, but the first round of soundtracks
still have them.
The Interview
Sometimes a movie makes it all the way through
production and gets shut down just before
crossing the finish line.
Directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg experienced
this exact thing with their 2014 offering,
The Interview.
The story follows a T.V. host (James Franco)
and his producer (Seth Rogen) as they travel
to North Korea.
After the C.I.A. find out the two are going
to meet Kim Jong-Un, they task the two men
with murdering the dictator.
As you can probably imagine, when the real
Kim Jong-Un caught wind of the storyline,
he was pretty ticked-off.
And threatened retaliation if the movie were
to be released- arguing that its publicity
would be an act of terrorism.
Sony databases were hacked shortly after the
incident, and hundreds of internal documents
were released to the public.
Shortly after, the F.B.I. named North Korea
as the country responsible for the leak.
The Passion of the Christ
Sometimes, no matter how the story is told,
someone is going to be mad.
Mel Gibson’s take on the last 12 hours of
Jesus’ life is no exception.
The Passion Of The Christ sparked all sorts
of controversy, despite his assertion that
he was remaining true to the gospels.
Accused of being violent to excess, critics
also claimed the depiction was anti-Semitic
and again the Anti-Defamation league got involved.
Religious leaders argue that filmmakers have
an obligation to treat the subject matter
with care given the potential influence of
their work.
In fact, there are entire rulebooks that govern
how religious likenesses should be tailored
for the big screen.
Gibson has stated that his intention in making
the film was to inspire people, but a lot
of them were insulted instead.
Deadpool
If you’re looking or an alternative to the
squeaky-clean super-folk that have come to
dominate the industry over the past few years,
Deadpool is the character for you.
He’s got a quick-wit and a filthy mouth,
and we can think of no one better to play
him than Ryan Reynolds.
There’s a good mix of sex, violence, and
curse words- and the movie crosses the line
in all categories.
While many western audiences ate it up, the
censors in China were not as impressed.
It seems the film pushed the envelope a little
too far, and was banned.
It seems he’s not alone though.
The list of movies banned in China is a pretty
long one, and Deadpool isn’t the only costumed
crusader on the list.
He joins The Dark Knight and V for Vendetta
in the doghouse.
What do you think of our list?
Did we miss any other controversial movies
that almost didn’t make it to the masses?
Tell us about them in the comments below,
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