Screenwriters who were nominated for Oscars this year tell stories about the notes that studio executives and producers would leave in their scripts. Although I'm sure that they contribute good suggestions sometimes, these tidbits lead one to believe that executives and producers have to complain about something to justify their job titles. Many of the best stories are about "totally missing the point."
Theodore Melfi (“Hidden Figures”)
“Most of the notes you get are from actors. They’re bad. This one studio [Fox Searchlight] person said, ‘Do we have to have so much math?’ So I pretended to be interested but, no, it’s about math.
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Todd Black (producer of “Fences”)
“We made a Western called ‘The Magnificent Seven’ [with Sony Pictures]. And the biggest note in development and shooting it was, ‘Do they have to wear cowboy hats and have facial hair?’ And I said, ‘Do you not want them not to have horses either?’ That was a huge note on a daily basis.”
Another story revealed that the people arguing for changes turned out to really not know what changes they were arguing about. Read more of these at The Wrap. -via Boing Boing