Hollywood has had its fair share of historically troubled productions. Whether it was casting changes, actor deaths, fired directors, in-production rewrites, constant delays, budget cuts or studio edits, these films had every intention to be a blockbuster, but were beset with unforeseen disasters. Sometimes huge hits, sometimes box office bombs.
In this episode, we take a look at director Darren Aronofsky's 2006 film, THE FOUNTAIN, starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. What was originally set with a much bigger budget and a lead cast of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, turned into a domino effect of production delays, budget cuts and finally a cancelation that saw set pieces being auctioned off. After turning the script into a DC/Vertigo comic, Aronofsky eventually got his footing back for the film, this time with a new cast and a smaller budget. Released in 2006 with barely a whimper and critical dismissal, THE FOUNTAIN has since found its way into cult status, like many of Aronofsky's films, and begs the question; WTF happened to this movie?
