History CreatorBreakdown / Film

* Creator/MartinScorsese came to the decision to make ''Film/RagingBull'' at the behest of actor and close friend Creator/RobertDeNiro when Scorsese had a life-threatening cocaine addiction. The tone of this movie with its themes of sin, punishment, and redemption is largely inspired by the director's struggles to get his life back in order. Scorsese has described his experience making ''Film/RagingBull'' as "kamikaze filmmaking". The reason he had to be persuaded to make it was because he had intended to quit filmmaking altogether. Even after being persuaded to make it, his attitude was that if it was successful, he would keep making films, and if it wasn't, he would never make another film, but at least he went out with a bang. The screenwriter was Paul Schrader, who had fairly serious emotional problems and drug issues as well, not to mention his struggles with his Calvinist upbringing.

* Almost every possible form of musical-related CreatorBreakdown (as listed on the 'CreatorBreakdown/{{Music}}' subpage) is parodied in ''Film/WalkHardTheDeweyCoxStory'', in which almost every song Dewey Cox writes is a direct (and blatantly obvious) reflection of his current problems and emotional state at the time, from his complicated relationship with his father to how much he wants to sleep with his back-up singer to a Music/BrianWilson-writing-''Music/{{Smile|TheBeachBoys}}'' style emotional collapse. It all culminates in his final song, "Beautiful Ride", which is an epic summing up of everything he has done and learned in his life to that point. [[spoiler:He dies literally three minutes after performing it.]]

* Creator/WoodyAllen's ''Film/StardustMemories'' is pretty much a feature-length rant by Allen about how his fans have rejected his attempts to make more mature and intelligent comedies and want him to go back to the style of his "early, funny ones." He does acknowledge via several of his characters that his earlier, funnier movies still made the world a better place by giving people something to laugh at, even if they weren't serious works of art.
** There's a great deal of discussion about this relating to ''Film/DeconstructingHarry''. It generally comes down to whether you take the eponymous character to be even more of an AuthorAvatar than Allen's characters in his previous films (something which is quite a debate anyway) or a fictional version of someone else (many claim he based the character on writers Philip Roth or Norman Mailer). Of course, the film takes a great deal from an Creator/IngmarBergman film (''Film/WildStrawberries'') and Freudian psychoanalysis, both of which are common Allen themes. In general, it is difficult to not consider the very dark, nasty tone of ''Deconstructing Harry'', as well as preceding films ''Film/HusbandsAndWives'' and ''{{Film/Celebrity}}'', to be influenced by his then-recent, very ugly, very public breakup with longtime partner Creator/MiaFarrow.

* This very nearly happened to Creator/PeterJackson on the set of ''Film/TheHobbit''. After he came on board to the director's chair in 2009 to fill in for friend and previously slated director Creator/GuillermoDelToro, he asked to be given more time to plan ahead since this meant they'd have to redo almost the entire film and that the release date should be moved to a more convenient time. [[ScrewedByTheNetwork Warner Bros. refused]], and instead gave him only six months of pre-production. This was especially bad because his previous big-budget outings (''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' and ''Film/KingKong2005'') had over two to three years of pre-production. Plus, he had to deal with a labor dispute when New Zealand unions charged the production with essentially using scab workers. Once production actually got rolling, Jackson then had to, in his own words, "wing it". He frequently gave the cast and crew long breaks because he had ''no idea'' what he was going to be shooting on any given day and was frantically coming up with dialogue and action sequences mere moments before cameras rolled. This, combined with [[ExecutiveMeddling near-constant studio interference]] [[TroubledProduction and the unforeseen consequences with turning two movies to three]] came to a head when it came time to shoot the Erebor sequences during pickups in 2012 and to plan out the battle of five armies and [[TheWoobie nearly caused him to have an on-set breakdown where he finally asked for more time to plan and sort everything out]], to which he was finally granted. Makes you realize it's a miracle the trilogy even got made at all.

* Creator/JohnCarpenter experienced this with the initial reception for ''Film/TheThing1982''. While he is very proud of the film, citing it as arguably his favorite from his entire filmography, and very pleased that [[VindicatedByHistory it now gets the respect it deserves]], the visceral hatred it received at the time, [[DisownedAdaptation including from the director and star]] of [[Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld the original film]] that influenced his career so much, nearly destroyed his career and basically tanked his confidence as a filmmaker. He refused to even talk about it for another few years due to the personal impact its reception had on him.

* The film ''Film/AllThatJazz'' (a fictionalized version of the life of Creator/BobFosse) is pretty much dedicated to this trope. The main character even has duets with [[TheGrimReaper Death]], and [[spoiler:he dies at the end]].

** There's a great deal of discussion about this relating to ''Film/DeconstructingHarry''. It generally comes down to whether you take the eponymous character to be even more of an AuthorAvatar than Allen's characters in his previous films (something which is quite a debate anyway) or a fictional version of someone else (many claim he based the character on writers Philip Roth or Norman Mailer). Of course, the film takes a great deal from an Creator/IngmarBergman film (''Film/WildStrawberries'') and Freudian psychoanalysis, both of which are common Allen themes. In general, it is difficult to not consider the very dark, nasty tone of ''Deconstructing Harry'', as well as preceding films ''Husbands and Wives'' and ''Celebrity'', to be influenced by his then-recent, very ugly, very public breakup with longtime partner Mia Farrow.

* There's a great deal of discussion about this relating to ''Film/DeconstructingHarry''. It generally comes down to whether you take the eponymous character to be even more of an AuthorAvatar than Allen's characters in his previous films (something which is quite a debate anyway) or a fictional version of someone else (many claim he based the character on writers Philip Roth or Norman Mailer). Of course, the film takes a great deal from an Creator/IngmarBergman film (''Film/WildStrawberries'') and Freudian psychoanalysis, both of which are common Allen themes. In general, it is difficult to not consider the very dark, nasty tone of ''Deconstructing Harry'', as well as preceding films ''Husbands and Wives'' and ''Celebrity'', to be influenced by his then-recent, very ugly, very public breakup with longtime partner Mia Farrow.

* Creator/GeorgeLucas' divorce from Marcia (her work in editing being a major factor in the original trilogy's success) after the completion of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' is sometimes thought to have contributed to his long hiatus from working on ''Franchise/StarWars'' until the late nineties, his constant re-edits of the films, and eventually selling ''Franchise/StarWars'' to Creator/{{Disney}} in 2012. Before that, the TroubledProduction of ''Film/ANewHope'' - where Lucas was even hospitalized in stress\shock - made Lucas give up on directing the sequels, and only take the helm again 22 years later with ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''.

* Creator/RomanPolanski's version of ''Film/{{Macbeth|1971}}'' is more bloody than other versions (and with a way darker ending than the play -- and the play doesn't exactly end cheerfully itself, let us note) because it was made after his pregnant wife Creator/SharonTate was murdered by the [[UsefulNotes/CharlesManson Manson Family]]. [[spoiler:The end of the film is mostly shot from the perspective of ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'s head on a pike''.]] A few years later, he was asked to direct ''Film/{{Chinatown}}''. In an understandably dark place, he insisted upon changing screenwriter Creator/RobertTowne's ending from a somewhat optimistic one to an almost nightmarishly bleak one. Towne later acknowledged that the change was for the better.

* ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'' exists as a result of grief shared by both of Creator/TheWachowskis. While the two had spent years refusing to direct any future films of''Franchise/TheMatrix'' following ''[[Film/TheMatrixRevolutions Revolutions]]'', the death of their parents and close friend inspired Lana to return, creating a story of Neo and Trinity -- [[https://screencrush.com/reason-why-neo-and-trinity-are-alive-matrix-4/ which to her were "arguably the two most important characters in [her] life"]] -- [[BackFromTheDead having come back to life]] as a means of overcoming that grief. However, Lilly chose to opt out [[https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/12/22/matrix-4-lilly-wachowski-lana/ specifically because it was too personal and uncomfortable for her]], leaving Lana the sole director this time around.

* ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'' exists as a result of grief shared by both of Creator/TheWachowskis. While the two had spent years refusing to direct any future films of''Franchise/TheMatrix'' following ''[[Film/TheMatrixRevolutions Revolutions]]'', the death of their parents and close friend inspired Lana to return, creating a story of Neo and Trinity -- [[https://screencrush.com/reason-why-neo-and-trinity-are-alive-matrix-4/ which to her were "arguably the two most important characters in [her] life"]] -- [[BackFromTheDead having come back to life]] as a means of overcoming that grief. However, Lilly chose to opt out [[https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/12/22/matrix-4-lilly-wachowski-lana/ specifically because it was too personal and uncomfortable for her]], leading Lana the sole director this time around.

* Almost every possible form of musical-related CreatorBreakdown (as listed on the 'CreatorBreakdown/{{Music}}' subpage) is parodied in ''Film/WalkHardTheDeweyCoxStory'', in which almost every song Dewey Cox writes is a direct (and blatantly obvious) reflection of his current problems and emotional state at the time, from his complicated relationship with his father to how much he wants to sleep with his back-up singer to a Music/BrianWilson-writing-''Music/{{Smile}}'' style emotional collapse. It all culminates in his final song, "Beautiful Ride", which is an epic summing up of everything he has done and learned in his life to that point. [[spoiler:He dies literally three minutes after performing it.]]

* Following the failure of his Kickstarter for the movie ''Rampage 3'', Creator/UweBoll [[https://youtu.be/VT1J65KHX8E uploaded a couple of]] [[https://youtu.be/qQJwEAqzFs4 rant videos]] giving a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to those who didn't back his Kickstarter and Hollywood in general. [[Film/AloneInTheDark2005 Considering his]] [[Film/HouseOfTheDead track record]], though, it doesn't really come as much surprise as to why no one chose to. ('''Warning: Videos NSFW''')
* During the filming of ''Film/WaynesWorld'', Creator/MikeMyers arrived on set one day to discover that the snack table only had butter and not margarine for his bagel. Myers reportedly became enraged, flipped the table over, stormed off the set, and did not come out of his trailer for hours. According to director Penelope Spheeris, incidents like this were very common with Myers. Although ''Wayne's World'' was a massive hit, Spheeris turned down the chance to direct ''Wayne's World 2'' because she'd had enough of Myers' moody attitude.
* Derek Savage, creator of the infamous ''Film/CoolCatSavesTheKids'', originally took the criticism of his (somewhat cheesy) movie in stride, and even changed some parts of ''Cool Cat'' after the movie came up on ''Your Movie Sucks''. Later, however, Savage suddenly filed copyright claims on many reviews of ''Cool Cat'' that criticized the film, leading up to a feud with Alex of ''WebVideo/IHateEverything''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzXSQ5f08sA It all came to a head]] when Alex tricked Savage into revealing that he had made phony cease-and-desist letters from non-existent law firms representing the directors of previously reviewed film ''Attack of the Jurassic Shark'', which was soon followed by Savage uploading a video wherein he called Alex such things as "a lying punk troll" and urged his fans to direct their vitriol at Alex and ''I Hate Everything''. (Which ironically got him labeled as [[TheBully the very type of person]] [[BrokenAesop he condemned]] in ''Cool Cat''.) [[StreisandEffect This failed to work]], and the whole incident led him to be labeled as a SmallNameBigEgo who CantTakeCriticism.

* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'' was produced while Creator/GeorgeLucas was going through a divorce, as well as Creator/StevenSpielberg's then-recent breakup with Creator/AmyIrving. Lucas has admitted that this may partly be why the film was made so much DarkerAndEdgier in tone than its predecessor, although it was also partly an attempt to replicate the success of ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', which was ''also'' darker in tone than the [[Film/ANewHope movie]] it preceded to great success (and owed to a minor version of this, as the first writer Lucas hired [[AuthorExistenceFailure died]] after delivering her first script and Lucas' next draft made changes such as Darth Vader being Luke's father and Han Solo being frozen).

* Creator/DavidORussell fell out with Creator/LilyTomlin on the set of ''Film/IHeartHuckabees''. [[http://youtu.be/7SG43wa7Alo?t=1m6s Footage of that]] leaked onto youtube which created quite some fuzz at the time.

* Creator/OliverStone wrote the screenplay for ''Film/{{Scarface 1983}}'' while trying to kick his cocaine habit.
* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'' was produced while Creator/GeorgeLucas was going through a divorce, as well as Creator/StevenSpielberg's then-recent breakup with Amy Irving. Lucas has admitted that this may partly be why the film was made so much DarkerAndEdgier in tone than its predecessor, although it was also partly an attempt to replicate the success of ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', which was ''also'' darker in tone than the [[Film/ANewHope movie]] it preceded to great success (and owed to a minor version of this, as the first writer Lucas hired [[AuthorExistenceFailure died]] after delivering her first script and Lucas' next draft made changes such as Darth Vader being Luke's father and Han Solo being frozen).

* The majority interpretation of ''Film/{{Antichrist}}'' is that true art is offensive, but there have been arguments that the director's admitted depression was deeper than anybody quite realized. [[FanDisservice Much]], much deeper. [[http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1913200,00.html#ixzz1AkjSOntU Here]] is a link to an interview with Antichrist's director, Creator/LarsVonTrier.
* ''Film/{{Adaptation}}'' is a textbook example of this trope. Suffering from serious writer's block over being asked to write a screenplay about a book about flowers (in which nothing much happens), Charlie Kaufman writes himself and an imaginary twin brother into the story. While he becomes increasingly frustrated with his inability to write, his brother takes a three-day course and almost overnight starts turning out instant hit scripts of more conventional Hollywood fare. It's not until [[spoiler:the author and "star" of the book have killed Charlie's brother that his writer's block is broken]].

* One of the many, many theories concerning ''{{Film/Eraserhead}}'' is that it's David Lynch coming to terms with marriage and fatherhood. Even the baby's inhuman state can be defined as a massive exaggeration of real-life - Jennifer Lynch was born with a clubfoot. Lynch has admitted in interviews that moving from his quiet suburban hometown to Philadelphia in the late '60s was...ugly. The most specific Lynch has gotten is that "bad things happened".

* Alan Parker, the director of ''Music/PinkFloyd Music/TheWall'', reportedly had many breakdowns, and often describes the filming as a complete and total nightmare. From the exceptionally dark and unpleasant subject matter nearly driving him crazy, to nearly every scene presenting some kind of unimaginable catastrophe for Parker to struggle through, it's been noted by others working on the film that there was an untold number of times that Alan Parker just wanted to quit. Especially involving one very particularly ugly story, in which the REAL Neo-Nazi Skinheads that were hired to play the part of FICTIONAL Neo-Nazi skinheads continued their savage lynchings and attempted rapes during their "riot scenes" a little too convincingly long after Alan had yelled "Cut"...

* Creator/GeorgeStevens, before World War II, made rousing adventure films like ''Film/GungaDin'' and light comedies such as ''Film/SwingTime''. Then he joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps and filmed both D-Day and the liberation of Dachau. When he came back, his work took a darker, serious tone, including what many critics think of as his masterpiece, ''Film/{{Shane}}''.
* Creator/JohnFord had a major alcohol-fueled one on the set of ''Film/MisterRoberts''. He had major conflicts with his cast and crew, including a physical confrontation with the film's star, Creator/HenryFonda. (Fonda and Ford never forgave one another.) Eventually, Ford had a gall-bladder attack and left the production for good, but his behavior nearly destroyed his career. About a year later, he got a chance to go off into Monument Valley with his old friend John Wayne and make a movie with minimal studio interference. The result was ''Film/TheSearchers'', widely considered one of his masterpieces.

* This very nearly happened to Creator/PeterJackson on the set of ''Film/TheHobbit''. After he came on board to the director's chair in 2009 to fill in for friend and previously slated director Creator/GuillermoDelToro, he asked to be given more time to plan ahead since this meant they'd have to redo almost the entire film and that the release date should be moved to a more convenient time. [[ScrewedByTheNetwork Warner Bros. refused]], and instead gave him only six months of pre-production. This was especially bad because his previous big-budget outings (''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' and ''Film/KingKong2005'') had over two to three years of pre-production. Plus, he had to deal with a labor dispute when New Zealand unions charged the production with essentially using scab workers. Once production actually got rolling, Jackson then had to, in his own words, "wing it". He frequently gave the cast and crew long breaks because he had ''no idea'' what he was going to be shooting on any given day and was frantically coming up with dialogue and action sequences mere moments before cameras rolled. This, combined with [[Main/ExecutiveMeddling near-constant studio interference]] [[Main/TroubledProduction and the unforeseen consequences with turning two movies to three]] came to a head when it came time to shoot the Erebor sequences during pickups in 2012 and to plan out the battle of five armies and [[Main/TheWoobie nearly caused him to have an on-set breakdown where he finally asked for more time to plan and sort everything out]], to which he was finally granted. Makes you realize it's a miracle the trilogy even got made at all.

* The scene in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film adaptation of ''Bollywood/{{Devdas}}'' where Paro's mother is ridiculed in the middle of a party was based on a recurring nightmare of his about seeing his mother humiliated.

-->''"I just couldn't believe the ending that Bundy (screenwriter Andrew Solt) and I had written... Romances don't have to end that way. '''Marriages don't have to end that way, they don't have to end in violence.'''"''

* Creator/GeorgeLucas' divorce from Marcia (her work in editing being a major factor in the original trilogy's success) after the completion of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' is sometimes thought to have contributed to his long hiatus from working on ''Franchise/StarWars'' until the late nineties, his constant reedits of the films, and eventually selling ''Franchise/StarWars'' to Creator/{{Disney}} in 2012. Before that, the TroubledProduction of ''Film/ANewHope'' - where Lucas was even hospitalized in stress\shock - made Lucas give up on directing the sequels, and only take the helm again 22 years later with ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''.

* Creator/RomanPolanski's version of ''Film/{{Macbeth|1971}}'' is more bloody than other versions (and with a way darker ending than the play--and the play doesn't exactly end cheerfully itself, let us note) because it was made after his pregnant wife Sharon Tate was murdered by the [[UsefulNotes/CharlesManson Manson Family]]. [[spoiler:The end of the film is mostly shot from the perspective of ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'s head on a pike''.]] A few years later, he was asked to direct ''Film/{{Chinatown}}''. In an understandably dark place, he insisted upon changing screenwriter Creator/RobertTowne's ending from a somewhat optimistic one to an almost nightmarishly bleak one. Towne later acknowledged that the change was for the better.

* ''Film/EightAndAHalf'', where the movie is about the director, Creator/FedericoFellini. Fellini's life at this point was at a low point, having a creative block while working on a movie, becoming disillusioned by directing in general and going through the end of his marriage. All this is mirrored by the main character in the movie, also a director, who eventually has an ImagineSpot suicide before quitting his work on the movie he was directing and trashing the props, which had already cost a fortune to make. In the end, however, he finally feels a sense of relief for the first time in ages.
* About halfway through ''Film/LaDolceVita'', this defines Fellini's career. For example, even Fellini's ''wife'' (and often lead actress) thought ''Film/JulietOfTheSpirits'' was about his struggles with his homosexuality, so much so that there were bitter, bitter fights about it between them as the movie was shooting.

** His productions towards the end of TheFifties were increasingly messy. ''Bitter Victory'' and ''Wind Across the Everglades'' was taken away from him and finished by other directors. Likewise ''King of Kings''. ''Film/FiftyFiveDaysAtPeking'' was the straw that broke the came's back. Faced with a TroubledProduction going drastically over-budget, feuding stars and constant script re-writes, Ray had a heart attack on the set and filming was completed by two other directors. [[CreatorKiller He never directed another]] Hollywood film. The only thing he worked on after that was an experimental film he made with his students in the late 70s, which was unfinished (but eventually completed in 2013) called ''We Can't Go Home Again''.

* This very nearly happened to Creator/PeterJackson on the set of ''Film/TheHobbit''. After he came on board to the director's chair in 2009 to fill in for friend and previously slated director Creator/GuillermoDelToro, he asked to be given more time to plan ahead since this meant they'd have to redo almost the entire film and that the release date should be moved to a more convenient time. [[Main/{{Jerkass}} Warner Bros. refused,]] and instead gave him only six months of pre-production. This was especially bad because his previous big-budget outings (''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' and ''Film/KingKong2005'') had over two to three years of pre-production. Plus, he had to deal with a labor dispute when New Zealand unions charged the production with essentially using scab workers. Once production actually got rolling, Jackson then had to, in his own words, "wing it". He frequently gave the cast and crew long breaks because he had ''no idea'' what he was going to be shooting on any given day and was frantically coming up with dialogue and action sequences mere moments before cameras rolled. This, combined with [[Main/ExecutiveMeddling near-constant studio interference]] [[Main/TroubledProduction and the unforeseen consequences with turning two movies to three]] came to a head when it came time to shoot the Erebor sequences during pickups in 2012 and to plan out the battle of five armies and [[Main/TheWoobie nearly caused him to have an on-set breakdown where he finally asked for more time to plan and sort everything out]], to which he was finally granted. Makes you realize it's a miracle the trilogy even got made at all.

* Discussed in ''Film/MusicAndLyrics'', where the characters are writing a pop song; one of them makes the case that it's better to channel your personal issues and pain into creative endeavors that you can get paid for and see success as a result of, rather than sitting around moping, "being a little bit self-indulgent and creatively bloody moribund." [[spoiler:He puts this into practice when his writing partner, who he's fallen in love with, leaves him and he writes the first good song he's ever written solo to try and get her to come back.]]

* Creator/JoshTrank's erratic behavior during the TroubledProduction of 2015's ''Film/{{Fantastic Four|2015}}'' (add a chaotic environment, ExecutiveMeddling, and Trank intoxicating himself for relief, and it wasn't pretty) became so infamous that it ended up [[CreatorKiller destroying his career]] just as it was starting.
* After Creator/ZackSnyder's daughter tragically committed suicide during post-production of ''Film/JusticeLeague2017'', he continued working on the film for about a month, but when reshoots were scheduled in England, he decided to step away from the project. Creator/JossWhedon was already helping with the scripting of the reshoots, and with Snyder's approval took over as director for those sequences and getting the film completed.

* Creator/JoshTrank's erratic behavior during the TroubledProduction of 2015's ''Film/{{Fantastic Four|2015}}'' (add a chaotic environment, ExecutiveMeddling, and Trank intoxicating himself for relief, and it wasn't pretty) became infamous that it ended up [[CreatorKiller destroying his career]] just as it was starting.

* Creator/RomanPolanski's version of ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' is more bloody than other versions (and with a way darker ending than the play--and the play doesn't exactly end cheerfully itself, let us note) because it was made after his pregnant wife Sharon Tate was murdered by the [[UsefulNotes/CharlesManson Manson Family]]. [[spoiler:The end of the film is mostly shot from the perspective of ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'s head on a pike''.]] A few years later, he was asked to direct ''Film/{{Chinatown}}''. In an understandably dark place, he insisted upon changing screenwriter Creator/RobertTowne's ending from a somewhat optimistic one to an almost nightmarishly bleak one. Towne later acknowledged that the change was for the better.

* Creator/JohnCarpenter experienced this with the initial reception for ''Film/TheThing1982''. While he is very proud of the film, citing it as arguably his favorite from his entire filmography, and very pleased that [[VindicatedByHistory it now gets the respect it deserves]], the visceral hatred it received at the time, including from the director and star of [[Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld the original film]] that influenced his career so much, nearly destroyed his career and basically tanked his confidence as a filmmaker. He refused to even talk about it for another few years due to the personal impact its reception had on him.

* Creator/JohnCarpenter experienced this with the initial reception for ''Film/TheThing1982''. While he is very proud of the film, citing it as arguably his favorite of his films, and very pleased that [[VindicatedByHistory it now gets the respect it deserves]], the visceral hatred it received at the time, including from the director and star of [[Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld the original film]] that influenced his career so much, nearly destroyed Carpenter's career and basically tanked his confidence as a filmmaker. He refused to even talk about it for another few years due to the personal impact its reception had on him.

* Creator/JohnCarpenter experienced this with the initial reception for ''Film/TheThing1982''. While he is very proud of the film, citing it as arguably his favorite of his films, and very pleased that it finally gets the respect it deserves, the visceral hatred it received at the time, including from the director and star of [[Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld the original film]] that influenced his career so much, nearly destroyed Carpenter's career and basically tanked his confidence as a filmmaker. He refused to even talk about it for another few years due to the personal impact its reception had on him.

* After going through an emotionally painful divorce and the resulting custody battle over his daughter, Creator/DavidCronenberg made ''Film/TheBrood'', where experimental psychiatry enables the AuthorAvatar protagonist's psychotic wife Nola to [[TheHeartless manifest her mental trauma physically]] as [[CreepyChild deformed mutant children]] who abduct the AuthorAvatar's daughter and kill anyone whom Nola views as personal enemies. DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything

* After Creator/ZackSnyder's daughter tragically committed suicide during post-production of ''Film/JusticeLeague'', he continued working on the film for about a month, but when reshoots were scheduled in England, he decided to step away from the project. Creator/JossWhedon was already helping with the scripting of the reshoots, and with Snyder's approval took over as director for those sequences and getting the film completed.

* After Creator/ZackSnyder's daughter tragically committed suicide during post production of ''Film/JusticeLeague'', he continued working on the film for about a month, but when reshoots were scheduled in England, he decided to step away from the project. Creator/JossWhedon was already helping with the scripting of the reshoots, and with Snyder's approval took over as director for those sequences and getting the film completed.

* Creator/MartinScorsese came to the decision to make ''Film/RagingBull'' at the behest of actor and close friend Creator/RobertDeNiro when Scorsese had a life-threatening cocaine addiction. The tone of this movie with its themes of sin, punishment and redemption is largely inspired by the director's struggles to get his life back in order. Scorsese has described his experience making ''Film/RagingBull'' as "kamikaze filmmaking". The reason he had to be persuaded to make it was because he had intended to quit filmmaking altogether. Even after being persuaded to make it, his attitude was that if it was successful, he would keep making films, and if it wasn't, he would never make another film, but at least he went out with a bang. The screenwriter was Paul Schrader, who had fairly serious emotional problems and drug issues as well, not to mention his struggles with his Calvinist upbringing.

* There's a great deal of discussion about this relating to ''Film/DeconstructingHarry''. It generally comes down to whether you take the eponymous character to be even more of an AuthorAvatar than Allen's characters in his previous films (something which is quite a debate anyway) or a fictional version of someone else (many claim he based the character on writers Philip Roth or Norman Mailer). Of course, the film takes a great deal from an Creator/IngmarBergman film (''Film/WildStrawberries'') and Freudian psychoanalysis, both of which are common Allen themes. In general it is difficult to not consider the very dark, nasty tone of ''Deconstructing Harry'', as well as preceeding films ''Husbands and Wives'' and ''Celebrity'', to be influenced by his then-recent, very ugly, very public breakup with longtime partner Mia Farrow.
* One of the many, many theories concerning ''{{Film/Eraserhead}}'' is that it's David Lynch coming to terms with marriage and fatherhood. Even the baby's inhuman state can be defined as a massive exaggeration of real life - Jennifer Lynch was born with a clubfoot. Lynch has admitted in interviews that moving from his quiet suburban hometown to Philadelphia in the late '60s was...ugly. The most specific Lynch has gotten is that "bad things happened".
* Discussed in ''Film/MusicAndLyrics'', where the characters are writing a pop song; one of them makes the case that it's better to channel your personal issues and pain into creative endeavours that you can get paid for and see success as a result of, rather than sitting around moping, "being a little bit self-indulgent and creatively bloody moribund." [[spoiler:He puts this into practice when his writing partner, who he's fallen in love with, leaves him and he writes the first good song he's ever written solo to try and get her to come back.]]

* Alan Parker, the director of ''Music/PinkFloyd Music/TheWall'', reportedly had many breakdowns, and often describes the filming as a complete and total nightmare. From the exceptionally dark and unpleasant subject matter nearly driving him crazy, to nearly every scene presenting some kind of unimaginable catastrophe for Parker to struggle through, it's been noted by others working on the film that there were an untold number of times that Alan Parker just wanted to quit. Especially involving one very particularly ugly story, in which the REAL Neo-Nazi Skinheads that were hired to play the part of FICTIONAL Neo-Nazi skinheads continued their savage lynchings and attempted rapes during their "riot scenes" a little too convincingly long after Alan had yelled "Cut"...

* ''Film/EightAndAHalf'', where the movie is about the director, Creator/FedericoFellini. Fellini's life at this point was at a low point, having a creative block while working on a movie, becoming disillusioned by directing in general, and going through the end of his marriage. All this is mirrored by the main character in the movie, also a director, who eventually has an ImagineSpot suicide before quitting his work on the movie he was directing and trashing the props, which had already cost a fortune to make. In the end, however, he finally feels a sense of relief for the first time in ages.

* Creator/GeorgeStevens, before World War II, made rousing adventure films like ''Film/GungaDin'' and light comedies such as ''Film/SwingTime''. Then he joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and filmed both D-Day and the liberation of Dachau. When he came back, his work took a darker, serious tone, including what many critics think of as his masterpiece, ''Film/{{Shane}}''.

* Website/{{Cracked}} had [[http://www.cracked.com/article_20769_5-hilariously-awkward-meltdowns-hidden-dvd-commentaries.html an article]] on DVD commentaries where the speakers break into meltdown. Two are straight examples of this: Trey Parker saying he did ''Film/CannibalTheMusical'' to mock an ex (the same he later named [[WesternAnimation/SouthPark Cartman's]] [[ReallyGetsAround slutty mom]] [[TakeThat after]]) and going on lengthy tirades about her; and Creator/MickeyRooney being a GrumpyOldMan on the guy who's trying to interview him about an episode of ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' he did.

** His marriage to Creator/GloriaGrahame was already in trouble when he decided to cast her into his film with Creator/HumphreyBogart, ''Film/InALonelyPlace''. Various stipulations in Grahame's contract could be considered spousal abuse if done now. They would undergo separation during the filming, further causing tension in part because of a fear that one of them would be replaced by the studio because of the incident. However, despite this, the film was considered the first that propelled Ray into an unsung hero in film, and the ending was altered to be ''somewhat'' lighter than the book it was based on. He alluded to his marriage when he explained his reasoning for the change:
--> ''"I just couldn't believe the ending that Bundy (screenwriter Andrew Solt) and I had written... Romances don't have to end that way. '''Marriages don't have to end that way, they don't have to end in violence.'''"''

* Derek Savage, creator of the infamous ''Film/CoolCatSavesTheKids'', originally took the criticism of his (somewhat cheesy) movie in stride, and even changed some parts of ''Cool Cat'' after the movie came up on ''Your Movie Sucks''. Later, however, Savage suddenly filed copyright claims on many reviews of ''Cool Cat'' that criticized the film, leading up to a feud with Alex of ''WebVideo/IHateEverything''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzXSQ5f08sA It all came to a head]] when Alex tricked Savage into revealing that he had made phony cease-and-desist letters from non-existent law firms representing the directors of previously reviewed film ''Attack of the Jurassic Shark'', which was soon followed by Savage uploading a video wherein he called Alex such things as "a lying punk troll" and urged his fans to direct their vitriol at Alex and ''I Hate Everything''. (Which ironically got him labeled as [[TheBully the very type of person]] [[BrokenAesop he condemned]] in ''Cool Cat''.) [[StreisandEffect This failed to work]], and the whole incident lead him to be labeled as a SmallNameBigEgo who CantTakeCriticism.

* ''Film/AGunForGeorge'', where the violent crime novels the protagonist writes about a VigilanteMan called "The Reprisaliser" are clearly an outlet for the protagonist's own simmering and barely controlled anger issues [[spoiler:following the murder of his twin brother]]. Once people stop buying his books, publishers refuse to reprint them and libraries / bookstores refuse to stock them, it's suggested that there's nowhere else for his anger to be directed except at the world around him...
* The French movie ''The Magnifique'', starring Creator/JeanPaulBelmondo. The main character is a shy writer of a successful series of spy novels centered on an over-the-top Franchise/JamesBond {{Expy}}. Near the end of the movie, he finally rebels against his overbearing boss, and completes his last novel by having the main character get run over by an ambulance, becoming impotent, and [[HoYay making out]] with the BigBad.

* Played for laughs in ''Hamlet 2''; the Shakespearean sequel is very clearly a thinly-veiled representation of protagonist Dana Marschz's various hang-ups and neuroses, most particularly his [[WellDoneSonGuy difficult relationship with his (unseen) father]]. He sorts himself out by completely mangling the original ''{{Hamlet}}'' (which is oddly appropriate, in a warped way, given how relationships with fathers and father figures are a central subtext of the original) and casting himself as [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic Jesus]] in the process.

* Creator/JamesCameron came up with the idea of ''Film/TheTerminator'' while sick in the hospital in Italy during the TroubledProduction of ''Film/PiranhaPartTwoTheSpawning'', when he had a nightmare that a robot hitman from the future was coming to kill him.