LET’S PRETEND : ‘Death Wish 6,’ the Musical--Can It Happen?

James L. Brooks received a lot of unwanted attention when he turned his audacious Hollywood musical “I’ll Do Anything” into a conventional seriocomic tale of an out-of-work actor struggling to come to terms with his flat-lining career, his duplicitous girlfriend and his bratty estranged daughter.

But “I’ll Do Anything” is just an extreme case on a dreary continuum in Hollywood that decrees that the ends are justified if the means involve extreme tinkering with an artist’s vision. An industry that’ll turn an inspirational screenplay about a South-Central choir teacher into a crass comedy like “Sister Act 2” really will do anything to make a picture.

In that spirit, we have combed through Hollywood records to find this list of other movies that began life as one project, and, thanks to incessant studio meddling and/or rudderless artistry, ended up something else entirely:

* Martin Scorsese had hoped to make a sequel to “Taxi Driver,” with Travis Bickle running down more street scum, befriending another victimized female and trying to kill another political candidate. Studio executives liked the idea of a sequel and the story line, but were afraid Scorsese’s visceral style wouldn’t appeal to kids. So they bounced him from the project, and turned the aimless, disaffected cabbie into an aimless, disaffected super-hero. The result: “Batman Returns.”

* Executives at 20th Century Fox wanted another “Home Alone” sequel, in which Macaulay Culkin wreaked grievous bodily harm upon everyone around him. When they saw the final project, however, they were distraught to find no laughs at all in the movie. Undaunted, they decided to package it as a thriller, which was eventually called “The Good Son.”

* After the unexpected success of “The Crying Game,” Hollywood was hot for another transvestite tale. “But, please, no politics--ick!” said one executive. “And scratch the interracial thing,” moaned another. “Can’t we do a story with no edge whatsoever, that’s all soft and mushy?” suggested a third. “But with a heart! And zany!” enthused a fourth. “Make it a one-joke premise!” added a fifth, and thus was born “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

* The placid wonder of “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” began with a concept surprisingly different from the final product. Filmmakers initially envisioned a gorefest about a ruthless vigilante bird with a tiny ponytail that pecked the eyes out of everyone who crossed it. Until James Franciscus beat out an environmentally conscious, budding action star for the voice-over of the gull, the working title was “Jonathan Livingston Seagal.”

* After “Die Hard,” a disaster picture starring Bruce Willis sounded like money in the bank; unfortunately, the producer, director and screenwriter misread the studio memo. Thinking they had been ordered to make “a disastrous Bruce Willis picture,” they churned out “Hudson Hawk.”

* Studio executives were nonplussed when a project titled “Reservoir Ducks,” about a violently disturbed, alcoholic jewelry-store robber who taught a pee-wee hockey team to cheat and maim its way to the state title, came across their desks. Still, they recognized the box-office potential in splitting up the disparate concepts, and “Reservoir Dogs” and “Mighty Ducks” were created.

* Columbia decision-makers were already envisioning a sequel until they saw a rough cut of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s last movie; then, they decided to cut their losses and retitled “Penultimate Action Hero” “Last Action Hero.”

* After the success of “Free Willy,” Disney executives wanted to remake “Moby Dick,” or at least “Orca.” But whale special effects proved to be too expensive; undeterred, they set about making a nautical yarn nonetheless. Aspiring for the same levels of quality that imbued “Orca,” they expended all their energy on “Cabin Boy.”

* “ ‘Citizen Kane’ was great, we should make a movie like that,” suggested one Disney executive. “Yeah, but the Midwest doesn’t like sophisticated urban stories,” opined another. “So let’s move it to the sticks, skew Kane younger for teen audiences, make it a comedy and add a moral!” suggested one who was promptly promoted when Pauly Shore’s “Son-in-Law” was released.

* All of Hollywood was shocked when “The Player” received immense critical acclaim. “But it didn’t make a whole lot of money,” one studio executive pointed out. “That’s because none of the characters were likable,” observed another. “Let’s make a scathing Hollywood satire with nice characters.” Then Jim Brooks intervened: “Y’know, it’d really be great if we could make it a musical. . . .”