The Hollywood Reporter has a fascinating piece up on how Deadpool managed to get a greenlight and the many behind the scenes issues it faced over the years (in fact, they even mention that Fox were at one point considering replacing the entire creative team and Ryan Reynolds in order to develop a PG-13 version). However, the most interesting thing about it is the fact that they seemed to have uncovered who was responsible for leaking the test footage which took the internet by storm not too long ago. Was it Ryan Reynolds? A Fox exec? Hugh freaking Jackman? None of the above.
"I am now prepared to say with near (but not total) certainty that it was either the film's director, Tim Miller, or someone close to him. And while Miller hasn’t publicly said he was behind the leak, numerous sources point to him or one of his colleagues at Blur. I have no smoking-gun proof other than my typically very reliable sources on such matters. But if so, it was a bold move from a filmmaker who had nothing to lose and everything to gain. This was a guy pushing 50, trying to get his first movie made. What was going to happen to him? Be banned from directing movies?"
That all makes sense, but it seems as if Miller's role in leaking the footage isn't 100% certain, as the trade seems to have heard conflicting reports about who was responsible for the surprising leak.
"One insider insists Miller did not do it, painting him as the kind of person who would come out and say so if he did. This person posits the leak could have originated from emails that were sent to garner the director more work, with links to the footage as a showcase of his talent. Still, another insider believes the leak was an inside job since, as opposed to years earlier when a Deadpool script leaked online and was regarded as happenstance, this leak had a specific goal of moving the project forward.
'A sentiment for years among the Deadpool team was ‘If only people could see this,' says the source. 'There was a wish of 'what if we stepped away from our computers and it somehow leaked?' If Miller is behind the leak, it would make sense to another person close to the project: 'I’ve never come across anyone so determined to make something happen,' says this insider of Miller. 'He should get a lot, if not the most, credit, for getting this done.'"
It all makes for extremely interesting reading, and it's now clear that it was Miller or someone extremely close to him who was responsible for that incredible five minutes or so of a CGI Deadpool kicking ass and taking names finding its way online. Either way, the fact that something like that helped a movie studio execs wanted nothing to do with actually get made (and break box office records) is damn impressive to say the least. More insight can be found by clicking on the link below.
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