Imagining that some very famous series or films never saw the light of day may be unthinkable for some.
Although for many audiovisual authors, a reading of his script is enough to sign a multi-million dollar contract, for many others, the dream of a lifetime takes several years of rejection.
“Stranger Things”
Troubled kids, the 80s era, sci-fi, and powers seem like the perfect combination for a great show. However, that wasn’t going to be the case with ‘Stranger Things’, a series that’s been rejected over 15 times.
The journey that the Duffer brothers, directors of the series, had to go through before receiving the yes was full of negative points.
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“You went to these meetings and They are so indifferent to anything you say before you open your mouth.. That’s when you start to feel like it’s impossible. There were times when we thought, ‘We’re never going to break through, because nobody’s going to take us seriously,'” Matt Duffer told entertainment outlet ‘The Wrap’.
The couple went five years without seeing any of their work come to fruition. When They Released ‘Hidden’ (2015)his situation had not improved either, since the film had not been released in theaters, so it had little visibility.
(Also read: ‘Friends’ and Other TV Hits That Almost Didn’t Get Revealed).
That same year, they both worked hand in hand with Donald De Line and managed to release ‘Wayward Pines’ (2015), a film which opened up the world of fantasy to them and gave them the opportunity to start writing what will later become ‘Stranger Things’.
“When we were selling the series, we made a book that was designed to look like an old Stephen King novel. We also did a fake trailer, which was a little cheesy, but everyone was like, ‘You should do this,'” Matt told Vulture.
(Also read: The series and films that failed on Netflix in 2021).
But nothing was easier from there, since the idea did not seem completely sold. They themselves claim that, on several occasions, when they presented the series, they wanted it to be changed in the plot and the characters.
More than 15 producers later, The brothers managed to contact Shawn Levy, who was responsible for bringing the idea to Netflix. “Within 24 hours they had bought the whole season,” one of the brothers told ‘The Hollywood Reporter’.
This is how they changed the name of the series from ‘Montauk’ – New York County – to ‘Stranger Things’, due to the high production costs it would entail to record there during the winter.
If the ‘Stranger Things’ universe hadn’t come to Netflix, the impact on the streaming platform probably wouldn’t have been the same.
“The Squid Game”
There were people who thought it was too complex and not commercial
The drama experienced by ‘player 456’ in ‘The Squid Game’ is very similar to what series creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk had to go through when it comes to getting a production company to pay for their ambitious project.
Before this South Korean series became a global phenomenon and became Netflix’s most successful show, according to the same platform, its creator had to go through a bumpy road.
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“I had a lot of financial problems because my mother retired from the company she worked for. He was working on a movie, but we didn’t get funding. So I couldn’t work for a year. We had to take out loans: my mother, me and my grandmother,” he told ‘The Guardian’.
Based on this harsh reality, Hwang Dong-hyuk began writing the screenplay for the series in 2008, which not only inspired its own financial troubles, but also games like ‘Battle Royale’ and ‘Liar Game’.
(Also read: Take note! These are 10 miniseries you can watch in a day).
In 2009 the script was ready, now the only thing missing was who would produce it. But this task was the most difficult, because after repeatedly offering it, only red lights kept coming for the project.
“At the time, it seemed too different and violent. There were people who thought it was too complex and not commercial. I couldn’t invest enough and the casting was difficult. I thought about it for a year, but then I had to put it on hold,” the ‘Variety’ director explained.
But like all good things take time, after excelling in other projects, Netflix took an interest in his idea, Hwang Dong-hyuk signed the contract and both produced one of the streaming giant’s greatest triumphs.
In its first 17 days of release, it reached 111 million views, ranking as the most-watched series in 90 countries for over two weeks.
“Queen’s Bet”
The miniseries, which revolves around a chess player who goes from beginner to professional, is based on the book of the same name by Walter Davis. Its premiere on Netflix was so successful that, like “The Squid Game”, has become one of the most viewed series on the interface.
However, they say before glory comes suffering and that was no exception for the feature film’s director, Allan Scott.
(Read also: Chris Rock: where can we see the comedian’s films and series?).
In an interview with ‘BBC News’, the screenwriter also pointed out the extraordinary fact that it took 30 years to finally get ‘The Lady’s Gambit’ on screens.
According to his statements, although he already had a large arsenal of famous films under his belt, many studios rejected the idea because they didn’t think chess would be appealing enough want to do a series on it.
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This situation led Scott to rewrite the script nine times and abandon the idea of directing the miniseries, a role that Heath Ledger would take on. When said actor dies, he takes over the reins himself.
However, like his main character, Scott persevered until he met one of Netflix’s producers, who saw the story’s potential and decided to bring it to life.
(Also read: From peak to crisis: celebrities having hard times in life).
After spending so many years waiting for the long-awaited moment, he told ‘The Sunday Post’ that when ‘Lady’s Gambit’ first aired, he thought he was looking at one more chapter in which he was asked to help edit and not the actual product.
‘The Walking Dead’
Thank goodness we ended up at AMC. They fully understand this program
Often big projects are turned down by TV production companies and go to others who acquire them and become very famous with them.
This is the case of the most popular zombie series of these times. ‘The Walking Dead’ could have been one of HBO’s or NBC’s incredible hits, if they hadn’t rejected it because of its “high blood content”.
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According to ‘CBR,’ in 2012 director and makeup artist Greg Nicotero said NBC and HBO turned down the show when Gale Anne Hurd approached them, leading AMC to take it on.
“I remember sitting down with the president of NBC at the time and saying, ‘Do you want to put this on your network?‘ and I picked up the book and there was this picture of a zombie with blood on his face and scared ‘Rick’ holding a gun,” executive producer David Alpert said during a talk with ‘ The Daily Beast’.
(Also read: Seven stars tormented by a role they’d rather forget).
Despite the years, the story of how AMC ended up agreeing to the proposal is unclear, as some US outlets claim the channel was crushed when it read the script and others that it was because of the proposal made by the director.
what is clear is that Nicotero was very happy with the decision taken: “Thank goodness we ended up at AMC. They fully understand this program. From the beginning, they fully trusted and supported what we tried to do with this series.
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