One often reads about a film director being replaced because of “creative differences”. Does this mean something specific, or is this Hollywood code for a broad range of things from “didn’t get along with the lead actor” to “went over budget” to “screwed the producer’s girlfriend”?
It’s pretty much the entertainment industry equivalent of a business executive who “resigned to pursue other interests” or a politician who wants to “spend more time with my family.”
…Or a divorcing couple citing “irreconcilable differences”.
It’s the divorce equivalent of “irreconcilable differences”. But it also can specifically mean “they wanted this in my film, and I ain’t havin’ none of that”.
Any and all of the above. It’s a face-saving way of saying “fired.”
I’ve always assumed that, as with the other examples people listed, that sometimes the situation is actually as described, and sometimes it’s just a comfortable way for everyone involved to move on.
There IS such a thing as artistic differences which necessitate such changes.
The recent foofaraw for the Han Solo movie has been detailed in various publications where exactly things went wrong, but essentially it really does effectively boil down to “creative differences” between the Directors and the Producers.