In 1985, Universal Studios bigwig Sid Sheinberg decided that director Terry Gilliam's cut of Brazil wasn't going to be marketable in America. Sheinberg and a group of editors therefore attempted to make the film more commercially palatable — the fruits of their labor was the cheerier, 94-minute "Love Conquers All" cut of the film.


The only problem? Gilliam had refused to sign on for this radical rejiggering. (Indeed, he ran over the pre-agreed run time with Universal, a move that culminated in this mass chopping.)

At his wits' end, the Python took out an entire page in Variety to protest the recut of Brazil. It was only after Gilliam's cut garnered critical accolades that Brazil received its non-pared-down release. Moral of the story: buying full-page ads in Variety will solve most (if not all) of your problems.


[Via Letters of Note]