Taymor also did Frida, an incredible film. She has won countless high-brow awards. The initial screenings have actually received really strong responses (including by two of my friends who are both serious film and beatles fans). Roth is NOT a reputable producer, as he was largely at the helm of Gigli and Revenge of the Nerds 2.... enough said?

Test screenings are the filmmaker's worst enemy. Apparently Roth screened this visually complex, 60's set love story based on Beatles songs for mall-going teenagers. Not exactly a fair fight. Julie Taymor is extremely talented. Her movies may not be slam dunks but are so visually stimulating I'm willing to donate two hours to see what she'll do next. And Roth is a notorious dickhead. Director credits include Christmas with the Kranks and Revenge of the Nerds 2. He's also Executive Producer on Little Man and Hollywood Homicide.

I guess I'm just of the opinion that it's always better to let the artist have their say. It's the right thing to do philosophically, but it makes good financial sense too. Not only will better directors be more likely to work with you in the future, but in the long run you are more likely to get your money back on an initial bomb that goes on to become a critically acclaimed masterpiece than if you re-edited crap to make it somewhat palatable and made back a little bit of money up front. It's the big problem with movie studios these days (read: in the past twenty five years): they want to eliminate risk and maximize short-term profits, two things the entertainment industry is not built for.