Despite being the man behind the camera on such disparate, well-known, and widely popular titles as Beverly Hills Cop, Midnight Run, Scent of a Woman, and Meet Joe Black, director Martin Brest hasn’t helmed a feature in 20 years. Why? Because the irredeemably awful Gigli effectively ruined his career.
The horrendous crime comedy that arrived at the height of Bennifer V1.0’s cultural zenith was savaged by critics and instantly dubbed one of the worst features cinema had ever bore witness to, earning a shade over $7 million at the box office on a $75 million budget before scooping seven Razzie awards.
In an interview with Variety, Brest held his hands up and admitted the infamous disaster was complete and utter drivel, so much so that he can’t even mention it by name.
“I don’t even know what that movie looks like, frankly, because of the manner in which it took shape. Even the name… I refer to it as ‘the G movie.’ Probably the less said about it the better.”
Not only that, but he dived into the behind the scenes interference that put him in an unwinnable position, with the end result conspiring to be so bad it tanked his entire reputation and industry livelihood.
“Extensive disagreements between the studio and myself got to the point where post-production was shut down for eight months while we battled it out. In the end I was left with two choices: quit or be complicit in the mangling of the movie. To my eternal regret I didn’t quit, so I bear responsibility for a ghastly cadaver of a movie.”
He’s not even overselling it, either, because Gigli really is that bad. One abominable flick doesn’t make a career, but in Brest’s case, it certainly has the ability to break one.