Top 10 Movies Whose Legacies Were Tarnished by Scandals

MsMojo

These scandals make it hard to separate the artist from the art. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the films that are most remembered for their controversies instead of their storytelling.

Transcript

00:00It's just opening a whole wound that it's painful.

00:03Welcome to Nizmojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the films

00:08that are most remembered for their controversies instead of their storytelling.

00:14And it does look indeed like Harry's spitting on me. He didn't spit on me.

00:19Number 10. The Flash

00:20No amount of time travel can change the fact that The Flash was an unmitigated PR disaster.

00:27Oh my God! Flash!

00:31Hi.

00:31I love you.

00:32Thank you. You seem very nice also.

00:35Long before anyone even saw it, the film was struck by a never-ending

00:39storm of scandals surrounding its star, Ezra Miller.

00:43The actor really ran the gamut. We're talking accusations of harassment,

00:48disorderly conduct, inappropriate relationships, burglary, and more.

00:53Hawaii Island Police arrested actor Ezra Miller Monday at a helo bar for disorderly conduct and

00:59harassment.

01:01Miller was promptly pulled out of the film's marketing campaign,

01:04but by then, the damage was already done. Despite being attached to one of DC's most beloved heroes,

01:11neither audiences nor critics showed up to support the divisive picture.

01:15It just goes to show that not even super-powered speedsters can outrun bad press forever.

01:22You are not anything, which is good. You don't want to be a superhero.

01:26Number 9. Twilight Zone The Movie

01:29The scariest part of this horror flick is a scene that never even made it into the final cut.

01:35I can't believe it, you know. I can't.

01:37At the end of the first segment, Time Out, Vic Morrow's character is supposed to valiantly

01:43carry two children away from a helicopter explosion. However, the stunt went horribly

01:50wrong, leading to fatal results. The aftermath shook not just Twilight Zone the movie,

01:56but the entire industry to its core.

01:58That crash occurred last summer when the helicopter evidently got too close to some

02:02special effects explosions. That damaged their chopper and it plummeted to the ground,

02:07striking the three people on the ground.

02:09Guilds, studios, and even state fire marshals mandated new regulations on dangerous stunts,

02:16especially those involving child actors. While the film went on to perform modestly

02:21at the box office, it has a legacy in the entertainment space for a very different reason.

02:33Number 8. The Disaster Artist

02:36While The Room is considered one of the worst movies ever made, The Disaster Artist is anything

02:42but. Are you not a dedicated actor? I'm dedicated. I just, you know, there's like people

02:47eating and I just don't... I don't care about these people. Come on, you have to do it.

02:51Led by an inspired performance by James Franco, the Tommy Wiseau biopic seemed poised to go all

02:58the way to Oscar gold and beyond, at least until Franco weathered allegations of serious sexual

03:05misconduct. There are stories that need to get out. There are people that need to be heard.

03:12Um, I have my own side of this story.

03:18Just like that, the movie was old news. The actor tried to save face, but when Academy

03:24Award nominations dropped, The Disaster Artist came up much shorter than pundits expected.

03:30People didn't want to touch this movie with a 10-foot pole, meaning Franco's behavior single

03:37turned The Disaster Artist from an Oscar frontrunner into a cautionary tale.

03:43Greg, we have stars in the movie. We can't be first one there.

03:46You're right. You're right.

03:47Number 7. Manchester by the Sea

03:50In 2010, actor Casey Affleck fielded two separate civil lawsuits over unwanted

03:56sexual advances in the workplace. Years later, those same allegations came back to haunt him,

04:03especially as Manchester by the Sea began to pick up awards buzz.

04:09You don't have to. I wanted to see him.

04:16Maybe you don't want that image in your memory. It's up to you.

04:21Many viewers took issue supporting a movie headlined by an alleged harasser,

04:26and that sentiment turned to full-on backlash when he took home the Oscar for Best Actor.

04:32Affleck says he did not agree with everything that was being said about the situation,

04:36but he says everyone did agree to try and put the whole thing behind them and move on.

04:40The hubbub eventually forced Affleck to withdraw from presenting at the Academy Awards the

04:46following year. While he still has a gold trophy, the intense fan outcry ensured that

04:53Manchester by the Sea was a valley of Affleck's career, not a peak.

04:586. The Wizard of Oz

05:06It's a wonder this movie ever saw the light of day, even with Glinda's help.

05:22The production was a mess. If something could go wrong, it did. For example,

05:27Margaret Hamilton suffered third-degree burns during a flubbed flying scene.

05:33Oh, and the snow used in the poppy field? It was actually asbestos.

05:37But still, Judy Garland had the worst of it.

05:48Putting aside her long-documented struggles with substance use disorder,

05:52she was horribly mistreated in order to look more quote-unquote appealing for the role.

05:58These days, it's hard to accept the magic of Oz when the movie had so little of it behind the scenes.

06:145. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

06:18At a time when people couldn't get enough of the wizarding world,

06:22a few choice comments from author J.K. Rowling turned all that adoration into vitriol.

06:39Many fans were offended by Rowling's sentiment towards the transgender community,

06:44and the online debate overshadowed any goodwill towards the prequel series Fantastic Beasts.

06:52That's not even the end of the franchise's issue, either.

07:01Following a highly publicized domestic violence suit, Johnny Depp was fired as Big Bad Grindelwald

07:08and replaced for the series' third film, The Secrets of Dumbledore.

07:17But by then, fans had already checked out anyway.

07:20Clearly, it'll take more than a few spells to repair this brand's image.

07:254. American Beauty

07:28Don't let the name fool you. This movie is not pretty.

07:42Indulging in all things taboo, American Beauty followed Kevin Spacey's Lester

07:47as he fosters an inappropriate relationship with a teenage girl.

07:51What people didn't know is that Spacey was doing the same thing

07:55in real life with unassuming boys.

07:58When the allegations first hit the mainstream around 2017,

08:02the uncanny parallels between Spacey and Lester made American Beauty a lot tougher to watch.

08:09After all, viewers signed up for a fictional drama, not a tragic documentary.

08:22Much like Spacey's own reputation, American Beauty had a steep fall from grace,

08:27and at this point, it's unlikely it'll ever recover.

08:393. Breakfast at Tiffany's

08:43One of the greatest rom-coms ever made is also guilty of one of the most

08:49controversial casting decisions. While there's no denying Breakfast at Tiffany's enduring appeal,

08:56its tasteless depiction of Mr. Unioshi, especially as portrayed by white actor Mickey Rooney,

09:02hasn't aged quite as well.

09:05Modern critics have noted that he's a total racial caricature,

09:09complete with goofy prosthetics and offensive speech patterns.

09:13When you say Breakfast at Tiffany's, they go, oh yeah, it was a great film.

09:17But what they forget is the element that wasn't great, which was the yellow face

09:22character of Mr. Unioshi, played by Mickey Rooney.

09:26Even Rooney himself admitted that had he known what kind of impact his performance would have,

09:30he wouldn't have played the role at all. Sadly, the realization came far too late,

09:36as Mr. Unioshi remains a shameful blemish on an otherwise iconic movie.

09:562. Don't Worry Darling

09:58Anyone who says there's no such thing as bad press wasn't around for Don't Worry Darling.

10:13Before cameras even started rolling, male lead Shia LaBeouf was abruptly replaced by

10:19Harry Styles, who, get this, later began sleeping with the director Olivia Wilde.

10:25Add in the tensions with star Florence Pugh and some truly bizarre moments on the press tour,

10:31and you had a marketing campaign more dramatic than the movie itself.

10:41In fact, when Don't Worry Darling finally hit theaters, no one even cared anymore.

10:46They just wanted updates on all the alleged feuds.

10:49Hey, Don't Worry Darling is definitely a memorable film, just not for any of the right reasons.

11:06Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

11:1016 Candles. Its romance hasn't held up very well, and Long Duck Dong is a walking stereotype.

11:20Mulan, filming near internment camps, was not a good look for a family-friendly Disney flick.

11:37Death on the Nile. The only thing that died in this murder mystery was Armie Hammer's career.

11:50You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.

11:56If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.

12:05Separating the art from the artist can be hard, particularly when the so-called artist

12:11is accused of unwanted advances by over 80 different women.

12:19I think that's really the crux of the matter.

12:23Harvey Weinstein's gross misuse of power dates all the way back to the 1970s,

12:29and unfortunately, so does his film career.

12:32The prolific producer worked on all kinds of fantastic movies,

12:35from Oscar winners to slashes to action flicks and more.

12:44But knowing Weinstein's true colors makes it difficult to support any of them.

12:49It's impossible to shake the question of what really went on behind the scenes.

12:54It's a shame. Weinstein's actions didn't just ruin one movie or a single studio,

13:00it tainted an entire corner of Hollywood altogether.

13:10Do you still enjoy any of these movies? Let us know in the comments below.

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