David Ayer's Hollywood career has been nothing short of remarkable. From penning the screenplay for Denzel Washington's Training Day to helming the hard-hitting war epic Fury, Ayer stands tall among a select group that has managed to stay relevant in the turbulent film industry. That being said, his path has been far from smooth, particularly when it came to DC's Suicide Squad.
During an episode of the Real Ones podcast with actor Jon Bernthal, Ayer opened up about his heartbreaking experience directing Suicide Squad - which has recently been at the center of a fan campaign to have re-cut and rereleased - saying: Hollywood — I tell people — is like watching someone you love get fked by someone you hate. The big one is 'Suicide Squad.' That sh*t broke me. That handed me my ass. Anyone who follows Ayer on Twitter is well aware of his consistent assertions regarding the responsibility Warner Bros. Pictures bears for the film's outcome. After the unfavorable reception of Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Warner Bros. Pictures chose to alter Ayer's original vision for Suicide Squad. Come right off Fury, right? I had the town in my hand, could've done anything, and I did do anything, and [I] go on this journey with [Suicide Squad]. And the same thing — authentic, truthful, let's do all the rehearsal, let's really get in each other's souls. Let's create this amazing, collaborative thing, right? And then Deadpool opened… and they never tested Batman v Superman so they were expecting a different result, and then they got hammered by all the critics. Then it's like, 'Okay, we're going to turn David Ayer's dark, soulful movie into a fking comedy now.' We can understand Ayer's sentiments given how the aforementioned events unfolded. Back in February 2016, Deadpool made its premiere to great acclaim, earning an incredible $782 million despite its modest $58 million production budget.