Movies - TV
The Greatest Misfires In Movie History
By MARTA DJORDJEVIC
Battlefield Earth
Based on a 1982 novel by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, "Battlefield Earth" is probably the most disastrous failure in sci-fi history. John Travolta, a Scientologist since 1975, spent over 15 years looking for a studio willing to adapt the book, hoping it would replicate the success of "Star Wars"; instead, it stained his acting career.
Bfast at Tiffany's
"Breakfast at Tiffany's" is a classic, but Mickey Rooney's portrayal of a Japanese man with an exaggerated Asian accent, buck teeth, and taped eyelids is a big misfire. Eventually, Paramount acknowledged the role as racist, and Rooney admitted that he would have passed on the part had he known how offensive it was.
On the Silver Globe
Despite a 10-year delay in production caused by the Polish government's withdrawal of funding, Andrzej Żuławski eventually completed "On the Silver Globe." The choppy but visually stunning film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1988 and could have been Żuławski's magnum opus if he had been able to complete it properly.
Island of Dr. Moreau
The production of "The Island of Dr. Moreau" was infamously awful, as Marlon Brando showed up to set when he pleased, Bruce Willis dropped out, Val Kilmer threw tantrums, and director Richard Stanley was replaced with John Frankenheimer. The film was eventually released in August 1996 but was an abysmal mess.
Cleopatra (1963)
20th Century Fox nearly went bankrupt, as it cost the studio $44 million, over $360 million today after inflation, to make "Cleopatra." The production was plagued with multiple issues, from a change in directors to Elizabeth Taylor's increasingly expensive demands, and the final product failed to meet the director's expectations.