Washington DC, September 1
Filmmaker Chris Columbus, who is known for films such as 'Home Alone', 'Mrs. Doubtfire' and the first two Harry Potter films, shared that in 1995, he penned an early script for 2005's 'Fantastic Four'. However, he was allegedly fired from the project for having "too much of an opinion," reported People.
Recently, he appeared on the 'Fade to Black' podcast, where he talked about being associated with the popular film series and why he asked to leave it.
'Fantastic Four' is a 2005 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It was directed by Tim Story and written by Mark Frost and Michael France. The film stars Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, and Kerry Washington.
Columbus described the project as a "weird situation," explaining that while he had worked on a version of the script and was set to produce the film, many other writers were also involved, as reported by People.
The ace filmmaker recalled meeting the director of the film and sharing his creative inputs with him, saying, "Some of this conceptual art should feel more like Jack Kirby, who was the artist of the Fantastic Four (comics), and feel more like the Silver Age of Marvel," as per the outlet.
However, his ideas were not well recieved by the makers and thus he couldn't remain associated with the project.
His ideas, however, weren't well-received - ultimately leading to his dismissal from the project.
On the drive home from the meeting, he allegedly received a call from the head of 20th Century Fox, who told him, "You're fired. You had too much of an opinion."
Though Columbus was still credited as an executive producer on the final 2005 film, he made it clear he "had nothing to do with it."
This experience prompted him to stay away from the franchise, "I think getting fired on the Fantastic Four films probably soured me a little bit," he said.
"I realised I don't have a desire to make those movies anymore because people are doing them better than I could ever imagine at this point in my career," he added.
He is busy promoting his new Netflix feature, 'Thursday Murder Club', based on Richard Osman's bestselling 2020 British novel.
"You have to fall in love with the material," the director said, adding, "I fell in love with the Harry Potter books and I fell in love with the Thursday Murder Club," reported People.
- ANI
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