The comedy Fanboys, starring Kristen Bell, Chris Marquette (Just Friends), Jay Baruchel (Knocked Up), Sam Huntington ("Cavemen"), and Dan Fogler (Balls of Fury), has been pushed back several times. The story is about a group of Star Wars fanatics who go all the way to the Skywalker Ranch to steal an early copy of Episode I: The Phantom Menace so their friend, who has cancer, can see it before he dies. Apparently, cancer isn't funny--no shit--and it was a hard-sell to test-audiences even with the addition of cult-fave Kristen Bell. So they re-edited it so that there's no mention of cancer and it's all about a geeky obsession. Chances are--even with this new turn of events--the film will have a limited release and get barely any love.
I remember during the second season of "Project Greenlight," the drama The Battle of Shaker Heights had to be refocused into a comedy. And when I saw the finally product, it barely made any sense. The character played by Shia LaBeouf had a drug addict for a father, which hit home for LaBeouf since his father was one too. When the character's dad was admitted into rehab, it was supposed to be a very emotional moment, but instead it was cut short. The behind-the-scenes access that "Project Greenlight" granted showed that the emotional scene took a toll on LaBeouf and had him shook. Imagine going through all that trouble and then discovering that it was cut.
I guess the question I'm asking is: Would you view a film differently if you knew that its genre was changed so it would sell better?
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