
6 Hollywood Vanity Projects That Ended In Total Disaster
There are certain code words that everyone in Hollywood knows.
“Dehydration” is code for “nervous breakdown.” “The actor had a scheduling conflict” means “The actor harbored utter contempt for everyone involved with the movie.” “This movie is my passion project” is code for “This movie is my vanity project and it will probably tank your entire studio.” In the world of the rich and famous, it’s uncouth to openly admit that you want your face plastered across international billboards. Thus, you must hide your vanity within a passion project. That said, famous people are infallible beings, and just because a studio can trust them with multimillion dollar productions, doesn’t mean that audiences should. Here are some of the worst cases of “passion projects” that went hilariously off the rails.
1. Battlefield Earth (2000)

Whenever I think of John Travolta and Scientology, I think of the anecdote I once heard about Travolta and Tom Cruise caressing each others’ legs in public and then telling everyone that they had been “healing” each other with their Scientology powers. That’s irrelevant to Battlefield Earth, but I still wanted to tell you that. The point I’m arriving at is that Travolta is a Scientologist who once paid homage to his religion by producing and starring in a “sci-fi epic” based on a novel by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. When Travolta talked about this movie, he acted like it would singlehandedly bring about world peace. Then it bombed at the box office and won eight Razzies. Oops!
2. Gigli (2003)

Remember Bennifer? No, not Bennifer: The Rebirth, which was the most recent Bennifer. I mean the original Bennifer that had tabloids in a chokehold in the early 2000s. I’m talking about when Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, deeply in love with each other and themselves, transferred their love to the big screen by starring in a rom-com called Gigli. Unfortunately, the pair went together like water and kerosene when they were on-screen together, and Gigli tanked with both audiences and critics.
3. The Postman (1997)

There’s this annoying thing that A-List actors sometimes do where they think that they’re the Messiah. After a mega-successful movie or two wins them the affection of Hollywood, they suddenly believe that their talent – nay, their presence alone – is a gift that has been bestowed upon us all. That’s what happened with Kevin Costner after his success with Dances with Wolves. Newly untouchable, Costner decided to direct, produce, and star in a movie that incidentally featured him as the savior of humanity. Unfortunately, the three-hour-long dud lost millions of dollars and nearly ruined Costner’s career.
4. Jack and Jill (2011)

Look, we all secretly want a job where we can get paid to just goof around with our friends all day. But not all of us are Adam Sandler, who was literally able to do that. It might be easy to write off Jack and Jill as an example of a jaded actor phoning it in for a paycheck, but Jack and Jill was also meant to unabashedly show off Adam Sandler himself. He played both of the main characters. As writer and producer, he was also able to pad the movie with product placements and celebrity cameos that secured him a massive paycheck. Ultimately, Jack and Jill became the first movie in history to win in every category at the Razzies.
5. After Earth (2013)

Call it Battlefield Earth 2.0. In After Earth, Will Smith hoped to adapt Scientology myths for the silver screen while introducing his son to the world in a starring role. Most parents show off their kids by bragging about them on Facebook. Will just happened to go one step further. However, Jaden couldn’t handle the pressure and couldn’t enliven the leaden script. The movie bombed hard. Jaden eventually grew up and wore a house on his head.
6. The Room (2003)

This is perhaps the most legendary vanity project of all time. Tommy Wiseau, an enigmatic greasy-haired possible-vampire of unknown origin, wrote and directed (and produced and starred in) this nonsensical melodrama that has become an absolute classic of bad cinema. Thanks to Wiseau’s delusional self-indulgence, The Room became a cavalcade of wooden performances, stilted dialogue, and Lisa tearing everyone apart. It’s one of the best ironic-watches in cinematic history.