If you need further proof that corporate overlords often don’t know shit, look no further than this rather interesting and informative interview Vanity Fair did with Johnny Depp recently. He details how the now famous Jack Sparrow character wasn’t resonating with the Disney brass, and how they feared it would tank the film.
“I think it was Michael Eisner, the head of Disney at the time, who was quoted as saying, ‘He’s ruining the movie.’ Depp reveals to Smith, however, that he remained unfazed by the studio’s hysteria. “Upper-echelon Disney-ites, going, What’s wrong with him? Is he, you know, like some kind of weird simpleton? Is he drunk? By the way, is he gay?… And so I actually told this woman who was the Disney-ite… ‘But didn’t you know that all my characters are gay?’ Which really made her nervous.”
Funny, seeing as how Depp’s Sparrow catapulted the series to make over a billion dollars worldwide with more on the way from a fourth installment. Not to mention the character itself spawend a pop culture pirate phase and is frequently voted one of cinema’s best creations.
Moral of the story? What the studio wants isn’t always what the studio needs, and a number of directors and actors would be wise to put their foot down in the future if they feel particularly strong about something. Though it might get them fired, who knows.