the internet

Which Movie Will the Internet Ruin Next?

Critics and moviegoers agree: Terminator Salvation is so bad that seeing it makes one wish he could travel back in time to warn his former self before spending $12 on a ticket. What went wrong? Over the weekend, CHUD’s Devin Faraci wrote a long post expounding on all the changes to the original script, including the scrapping of a much-better ending after a description leaked to the Internet last year and incited a fanboy riot (the director further discusses the the leaked ending with EW here). And since this comes just two months after Watchmen, which allegedly flopped thanks to Zack Snyder’s insistence on appeasing bloggers who demanded he adhere to Alan Moore’s original comic, it’s enough to make one wonder — which massively anticipated 2009 movie will next have its failure blamed on a director listening to people on the Internet?

Iron Man 2
When tweeting director Jon Favreau released the first boring image from the set, the Internet’s displeasure came swiftly and loudly. Days later, a new, more-exciting photo was released. Coincidence? We certainly hope so! Odds of being ruined by Internet: 8 to 1

Inglourious Basterds
When Quentin Tarantino’s long-in-the-works screenplay leaked all over the Internet last summer, much was made over its batshit insanity. Weirdly, though, the filmed version that screened at Cannes last week was derided by critics as “boring.” Did the buzz make him tone down the crazy? And since he has three more months to edit Basterds before its August release, will he further tweak it to appease the Internet? The Playlist has a list of suggestions for how he could fix his Cannes cut, all of which sound pretty good to us, but what do we know? Odds of being ruined by Internet: 7 to 1

Where the Wild Things Are
Vulture loved the script! The rest of the blogosphere loved the leaked footage! When reports of reshoots emerged, bloggers (like us) demanded that Warner Bros. leave Spike Jonze alone and let him make the dark, book-faithful adaptation they’d hired him to, even if his early cut did make a few hundred kids shit their pants at a test screening. When the official, Arcade Fire–scored trailer was finally released, the Internet was vindicated by a beautifully cut advertisement that made Wild Things seem like a film that could be enjoyed by virtually anyone with a tumblr. The problem? Warner Bros. has no idea how to market this thing to anyone else. Odds of being ruined by Internet: 5 to 1

The Expendables
As if Sylvester Stallone’s upcoming ensemble action film about an elite squad of mercenaries tasked with overthrowing a South American dictator, starring Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, and Steve Austin, didn’t already seem conceived by fanboy hivemind, Stallone actually rescinded an offer to 50 Cent to join the cast the day after the Internet freaked out about it. Also, taking Internet approval-courting to heretofore unseen levels, Sly has even hired a publicist to blog and tweet updates from the set. You can probably bet he’s reading every comment and “@” reply. Odds of being ruined by Internet: Dead even

Which Movie Will the Internet Ruin Next?