Top 10 Movie Pitches That Were Originally REJECTED

1990 was the ideal time for a live-action “Ninja Turtles” movie. The cartoon had been going strong for three years, Tim Burton’s “Batman” came out a year earlier, and toys were selling like Turtle Pies. Yet, virtually every major studio, from Disney, to Warner Bros., to Universal, rejected the film, which was independently financed for $13.5 million. It wasn’t until halfway into production that a small distributor called New Line Cinema saw its potential. Becoming the most profitable indie film for nearly a decade, “Ninja Turtles” helped put New Line on the map as a Hollywood powerhouse. It also demonstrated TMNT’s staying power with the franchise eventually being picked up by Viacom. Ironically, Viacom now owns Paramount, another studio that rejected the 1990 film.

“Get Out” proved to be an eye-opening cinematic experience with its mix of horror, satire, and real-world commentary. Before QC Entertainment introduced the project to Blumhouse and Universal, writer/director Jordan Peele faced a fair deal of rejection from studios that just didn’t get “Get Out.” Hearing the word “no” is part of the business, but some of the feedback ranged from brutally honest to straight-up “rude,” as Peele put it. He didn’t reveal who, but Peele received a letter from somebody who called the idea “stupid.” Considering that the film made back its budget more than a thousand times over and won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, it’s safe to say that somebody was acting stupid… and it wasn’t Peele.

This most unusual thriller owes much of its success to Christopher McQuarrie’s screenplay, which had twists on top of twists with the biggest bombshell saved for last. Yet, McQuarrie’s Oscar-winning script also made the film a tough sell, as many potential backers found the nonlinear story confusing. The project wasn’t attracting big stars either with the eventual cast being comprised of then-lesser known character actors. According to director Bryan Singer, he “sent the script to over fifty studios and potential funders, all of whom rejected it.” McQuarrie claims “every studio, major and minor, rejected it.” Looking beyond Hollywood, the project found financing from Europe. Although that deal didn’t pan out, it kept “The Usual Suspects” alive long enough for PolyGram Filmed Entertainment to step in.

During the production of his directorial debut, “THX 1138,” George Lucas began scripting a coming-of-age story at the request of his buddy Francis Ford Coppola. The result would be arguably Lucas’ most personal film, “American Graffiti.” While United Artists was attached early on, the studio found the script too different and too costly due to the music Lucas wanted to license. Producer Gary Kurtz recalls, “Almost every studio in town turned down the first draft screenplay.” Universal finally agreed to finance the film without interference as long as it didn’t blow its budget, which increased after Coppola became a producer. “American Graffiti” was a lucrative investment, although even then, Universal was among the many studios that turned down Lucas’ next film: “Star Wars.”

Before becoming an international superstar, Sylvester Stallone couldn’t even get cast as an extra in “The Godfather’s” wedding scene. After being told he “wasn’t Italian enough,” Stallone wrote a role for himself, “The Italian Stallion.” Although the script showed great promise, receiving offers as high as $265,000, studios refused to get on board with the condition that Stallone play Rocky Balboa. Despite being deemed “unmarketable,” Stallone was ready to abandon the project if he couldn’t be the lead. Even after production company Winkler-Chartoff agreed to these terms, distributor United Artists wanted a big name like Robert Redford or Ryan O’Neal. Stallone and his agents held firm with the outcome being the ultimate underdog story - both on screen and off.

Coming off “Reservoir Dogs,” Quentin Tarantino was a director to watch, although few anticipated how much his sophomore film would change cinema. This included Columbia TriStar chief Mike Medavoy, who deemed the script “too demented.” There were other points of contention, including Medavoy wanting Johnny Depp to play “Pumpkin,” a role Tarantino wrote for Tim Roth. “Pulp Fiction” migrated to Miramax, which Disney had recently acquired. While Miramax distributed “Reservoir Dogs,” they gave “Pulp Fiction” the full financial treatment. This solidified Tarantino’s longstanding professional relationship with Harvey Weinstein until the notorious producer’s years of abuse came to light. This prompted Tarantino to bring “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” to Sony, which just so happens to be TriStar’s parent company.

“Back to the Future” is one of the most cherished films ever, making it all the more jarring that the project was met with roughly forty rejections. Time travel movies weren’t igniting the box office and Robert Zemeckis had yet to produce a financial success. The main sticking point seemed to be that the studios wanted a raunchy comedy in the spirit of “Animal House.” Disney had the opposite concern, fearing Marty’s cringey dynamic with his mother wouldn’t mesh with their family-friendly brand. Following “Romancing the Stone,” Zemeckis gained the goodwill to make “Back to the Future.” Rather than crawl back to the studios that turned him down, Zemeckis teamed with Steven Spielberg, who always had faith in the project and an in at Universal.

Before “Back to the Future,” Spielberg, Zemeckis, and Bob Gale dropped a dud with “1941.” This gave studios pause when George Lucas insisted that Spielberg direct “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Lucas was also adamant that the film be given a $20 million budget with the sequel and merchandising rights remaining under his control. Although the project generated plenty of interest, “practically every studio in town” shot down Lucas’ demands. Lucas ultimately struck a deal with Michael Eisner of Paramount under the strict conditions that Spielberg couldn’t go over budget. Thankfully, it was an enriching venture for all parties involved. Maybe if Columbia waited to see the box office totals for “Raiders,” they would’ve thought twice when they rejected “E.T.”

Whatever remained of the Hays Code seemed to get slashed away with Marion Crane. Where “North by Northwest” had been Alfred Hitchcock’s most commercial film yet, “Psycho” would be the opposite. Paramount previously rejected the idea of adapting Robert Bloch’s chilling novel. Despite having a contract with Hitchcock, the studio wasn’t eager to finance such a graphic film. Hitchcock laid out ways to cut costs, including shooting in black and white with his TV show’s crew, but it was still a no. Paramount didn’t give the go-ahead until Hitchcock proposed funding the film himself while retaining 60% of the negative ownership. Although Paramount distributed “Psycho,” much of the shooting took place at Universal, which later acquired the rights to Hitchcock’s most iconic film.

For decades, J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels were deemed unfilmable. Of course, animated adaptations showed it could be done, especially with advancing technology. Even so, Peter Jackson struggled to find a studio that would commit to a trilogy. When Jackson was at Miramax, Harvey Weinstein was open to producing a two-part “Lord of the Rings” adaptation at most. This was reduced to a single two-hour movie when Miramax couldn’t get the necessary funds from Disney. In time, Jackson was permitted to shop the project to studios like Sony and Fox, all of which said no. New Line CEO Robert Shaye was also hesitant at first, but after seeing Jackson’s behind-the-scenes video, he was keen on making not one, not two, but three epic films!

Can you think of any classic movies that surprisingly weren’t super easy to pitch? Leave a comment, it’s barely an inconvenience.