Amid calls for his cut of the 2016 DC antihero movieSuicide Squadto be released, directorDavid Ayershot down a report saying that his version of the film didn’t actually perform better with test audiences. This comes in response toAyer’s recent statementabout having a “fully mature edit” of the film ready, and producerCharles Roven’s comments toTHRabout how the studio, Warner Bros., tested two versions of the film, with neither outperforming the other.
On Sunday, Ayer in response to a GameStop headline that read, “Suicide Squad’s ‘Ayer Cut’ didn’t actually test better with audiences than DC’s cut,” wrote in a tweet, “No wrong. Stop. The cuts tested were the studio cut and my version of the studio cut. This was literally the bat cut (sic).”
Roven told THR that “a tremendous amount of different feelings” bubbled between Ayer and Warner Bros. back then, and that him and co-producerRichard Suckleintroduced Ayer to editorLee Smithat a time when the studio was contemplating having original editorJohn Gilroyremoved. Ayer,in a lengthy Twitter statementeffectively disowning the theatrical cut, had previously said that his version of the film had “traditional character arcs, amazing performances, a solid third-act resolution,” and that it had been edited by Smith, known for his long creative collaboration with filmmakerChristopher Nolan.
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Roven revealed that Ayer’s version “was not” edited by Smith. “It was somebody else that came in. The studio version was also different editors as well. We tested both versions. They tested exactly the same,” he said. And because both cuts tested the same, it was decided that the theatrical version would be a melding together of the clashing visions.
Roven went into more detail about the process, and said:
“That testing process, or what we call bake-off, that is not an unusual process. That happens, more than you might think. But most of the time, there is a clear winner. And usually, everybody agrees, ‘Well if we are going to do the bake-off, we should really go with the clear winner. Let the audience decide.’ In this case, there wasn’t a clear winner. It literally came to the exact same place. They just liked different parts of the movie. Different audiences commented on different parts of the movie they liked better or not. That doesn’t always work to create the best movie, to be honest, it’s an imprecise process…”
Ayer didn’t return to direct another DC film, andSuicide Squadwas given a soft-reboot by directorJames Gunn. His film, titledThe Suicide Squad,received better reviews, buthasn’t exactly been setting the box office on fire. Check out Ayer’s tweet below.
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