When Show Biz Takes “Break A Leg” Literally
Movies are like rose-colored glasses. They allow us to perceive life, not as it truthfully is, but as we imagine we’d like it to be. However, the working conditions on set are often so far from rosy that you’d almost think it would be impossible for anyone to ever enjoy a movie. Check out how tantrums, flesh wounds, and insufferable egos have produced some of the most beloved classics ever to hit the big screen.
Allergies: The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
Lions, tigers, and aluminum allergies, oh my. Buddy Ebsen, the original Tin Man actor, became so sick from the aluminum in his makeup that partway through filming he had to leave the role and Jack Haley came in to take his place. That wasn’t the only pain experienced on set.
Burn Wounds: The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
Margaret Hamilton, who played The Wicked Witch of the West, suffered burn wounds while Bert Lahr’s Cowardly Lion costume forced him to do away with solid foods while wearing it, only being able to gain nourishment through a straw. Speaking of straw…
Disfigurement: The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
The Scarecrow, played (eventually) by Ray Bolger didn’t have an easy time of it either. Bolger was at first unhappy about being cast as The Tin Man, but even though his role eventually got switched, he got to keep more than he bargained for. The Scarecrow’s makeup permanently lined his face.
High Costs: Cleopatra (1963)
Upon release, Cleopatra’s enormous budget had ballooned to $44 million. Why, you ask? Despite the original plan being to spend $2 million tops, things got a little out of hand when $4 million was already spent before the cameras had even been turned on.
Twentieth Century, Cleopatra (1963)
Lengthy: Cleopatra (1963)
Liz Taylor was paid $1 million to star in the film, and while that may sound like a happy ending for her, the actual time spent making the film was exhausting. She became very sick, set locations were moved to the other side of the planet, and an early edit of the film clocked in at six hours. Yikes.
Twentieth Century, Cleopatra (1963)
Annoying: Dr Dolittle (1967)
Dr Dolittle is an interesting one, because, instead of annoying only those working on the project, the production team took things to the next level by annoying an entire village of innocent bystanders—specifically the Wiltshire village of Castle Combe. How did they manage that?
Twentieth Century, Dr Dolittle (1967)
No TV For You: Dr Dolittle (1967)
The production team built an enormous artificial dam in the village. The construction of such a sizable monument would have been pesky enough, but to ‘do’ just a ‘little’ more, they also insisted that several houses in the area were required to remove their TV antennas. Why not, right?
Twentieth Century, Dr Dolittle (1967)
Walnuts: American Graffiti (1973)
Brought to you by the same guy that gave us Darth Vader, George Lucas had his hands full making American Graffiti. From walnuts nearly killing cast members to head wounds inflicted by swimming pools, it is thankfully shocking that nothing truly fatal occurred on set. However, things did heat up for Lucas.
Universal, American Graffiti (1973)
Fire: American Graffiti (1973)
At one point during the shoot, someone set fire to George Lucas’ own hotel room. Happily, despite the continuous risks to physical health, Lucas and the cast were able to complete the movie. American Graffiti walked (and inflicted physical pain on those involved) so that Star Wars (which, stay tuned, was also a nightmare film set) could run.
Universal, American Graffiti (1973)
Sharkless: Jaws (1975)
Richard Dreyfuss, who played Matt Hooper in Jaws, related how things were going on set: “We started the film without a script, without a cast, and without a shark”. How do you make a monster movie without those three key ingredients?
Improvisation: Jaws (1975)
Jaws was intended to feature the mechanical shark, Bruce, more prominently on screen. However, due to extremely costly mechanical failures with said shark, the young Steven Spielberg was forced to improvise. The lack of a monster in his monster movie forced Spielberg to think outside of the boat…er, box.
Suspense: Jaws (1975)
Those around Spielberg doubted his ability to get things back on track and were even worried he would never be able to finish the movie. He proved them wrong and produced a classic masterpiece that taught filmmakers a valuable lesson. Namely, that to create suspense on screen, we don’t actually need to see anything at all.
Berated: Star Wars (1977)
The sound of a lightsaber. The awe of the Millennium Falcon. The mystery of the Jedi. Cue the Star Wars theme music. What’s bigger than Star Wars these days? Interestingly, this absolutely classic film had its fair share of nightmares on and off set…including having the script berated by its own actors.
Lucasfilm, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
A Doubtful Cast: Star Wars (1977)
Harrison Ford, who played Han Solo, said, “George, you can type this [junk], but you can’t say it!” That was the feeling that many involved had for the story. Would this just be a poorly done children’s film, with the hokiness set to stun?
Lucasfilm, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
Too Many Effects: Star Wars (1977)
To make matters worse, the special effects team struggled to churn out the hundreds of effects that Lucas required, the shooting locations fell behind schedule due to storms, and the crew had to be split into three different teams to even finish the shoot. An early edit of the film was horrendous. But, Lucas didn’t give up.
Lucasfilm, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
The Editing Room: Star Wars (1977)
The secret to the success of Star Wars wasn’t actually made on set or on location. In actuality, the story we know and love today was birthed in the editing room. The previous editor was replaced by a team composed of Paul Hirsch, Richard Chew, and Lucas’ wife Marcia. Could they make something out of what seemed to be a hodge-podge mess of random clips?
Lucasfilm, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
The Right Team: Star Wars (1977)
At first, the disconnected shots of people in silly costumes and random scenes of special effects seemed to foreshadow that this film would go nowhere. But Lucas had the right team for the job. They worked tirelessly in that editing room until the epic story of Star Wars was pieced together, and its staying power speaks for itself.
Lucasfilm, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
A Close Call: Blade Runner (1982)
“What do you mean you’ve never seen Blade Runner?”, croons Alex Turner in the Arctic Monkey’s song “Star Treatment”. And while the question is valid, what it took to make Blade Runner could’ve meant that no one would ever have seen it at all.
The Ladd Company, Blade Runner (1982)
Difficult Scott: Blade Runner (1982)
Fairly loosely based on the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick, the script endured countless rewrites before Ridley Scott was even asked to direct. The difficulties that Scott faced (and created) meant that the set of Blade Runner was anything but dreamy.
The Ladd Company, Blade Runner (1982)
I Prefer The UK: Blade Runner (1982)
Making a movie in Los Angeles was something that Scott wasn’t used to. He tended to be overly demanding of his crew, even expressing once that he much preferred working with those from the UK, rather than the team he had. This did more than rustle a few feathers.
The Ladd Company, Blade Runner (1982)
Mutiny: Blade Runner (1982)
Would his crew mutiny and throw Scott overboard? Harrison Ford was reportedly bored on set. The actors were unhappy. Scott was frustrated. The final shot (by some miracle) was captured on film just before the producers came to shut the whole project down. What the producers decided to do next was comical.
The Ladd Company, Blade Runner (1982)
Bad Narration: Blade Runner (1982)
After Blade Runner’s somewhat cool release in 1982, the producers thought that the film needed two things to make it better. First, a happier ending. Second, a poorly done narration to explain the plot to the audience as if they were children. Despite all of that, the film is something of a cult classic.
The Ladd Company, Blade Runner (1982)
Puppets Please: Gremlins (1984)
What do you get when you combine puppets, rubber, wire, and a lack of CGI? Gremlins, of course. “We were inventing the technology as we went along”, said Joe Dante about his 1984 film. His team had the challenge of creating ‘realistic’ fantasy creatures without the aid of computer graphics.
Maddening: Gremlins (1984)
“A small army of puppeteers was living beneath each set, controlling rods and levers and staring into video monitors with the picture flipped as in a mirror”, said Joe Dante. “It really did get maddening after a while”. Despite the pushback he received from the studio, his team of puppet masters continued shooting. The result?
Three Months: Gremlins (1984)
Dante has said that for three months, all the crew did was shoot the Gremlins effects shots. While the puppets did their fair share of infuriating the team during the film’s creation, those mischievous creatures were worth the effort, as the film turned out to be a classic.
Spiked Food: Titanic (1997)
What do you get when a disgruntled crew member spikes the day’s meal with a hallucinogen? James Cameron and more than 50 other people in the hospital, that’s what. Titanic set out to tell the story of 1912’s unsinkable ship of the same name. Judging by the hospital visit during the shoot, filming didn’t go all too well.
Twentieth Century, Titanic (1997)
A Battlefield: Titanic (1997)
Although the crew came to the set ready to make a movie, they didn’t realize their director was actually preparing for battle. “Filmmaking is war”, said Cameron, “A great battle between business and aesthetics”. That’s fine and all, but if you are in the trenches, why not treat your fellow soldiers well?
Twentieth Century, Titanic (1997)
The Megaphone: Titanic (1997)
From screaming at the cast and crew through a megaphone to subjecting the actors to abysmal working conditions (like keeping them in cold water), it is not surprising that the shoot’s production schedule went overboard. But hey, success at the box office means it was all worth it…right?
Twentieth Century, Titanic (1997)
Animation Station: The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
Have you ever heard of Kingdom of the Sun? That was the original title for The Emperor’s New Groove, which was Disney’s example of how things can go terribly wrong, not just in live-action movies, but also in animated features.
Walt Disney, The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
Poor Reception: The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
Much work had been done on the film, and yet, when an early edit was screened for test viewing, those who saw it were far from thrilled. Because of this, the film underwent some massive changes.
Walt Disney, The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
Bye Bye Sting: The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
Talk about a new groove…Sting had recorded songs for the film, but all of them were abandoned. The original director basically said ‘peace out’ and left the project. But when Mark Dindal took over, things improved, and fast. 
Walt Disney, The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
Hello Sting: The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
In only two weeks, whatever Kingdom of the Sun was had transformed into the truly wonderful and funny film that we know and love today. As a bonus, Sting got to contribute some new songs for The Emperor’s New Groove, though it has been said that he didn’t like the new ones as much as the old. Oh well, out with the old, in with the new groove.
Walt Disney, The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
More People: World War Z (2013)
How does one attempt to film an overwhelming sea of zombies? The efficiency-minded might suggest that the use of CGI would do the trick. Not Marc Forster. To achieve some of the striking shots in World War Z, he had up to 1,500 people on set at a time, on location, in Malta, for six weeks.
Huge Costs: World War Z (2013)
When just one sequence of the film takes 1,500 people and six weeks to shoot, it’s not surprising when the final cost of production turns out to be about $190 million. The immense cost of the film wasn’t its only problem.
A New Ending: World War Z (2013)
The script was worked, re-worked, and re-worked again, to try to keep everything within budget (a commendable attempt, at least.) Near the end of production, it was decided that they would need to shoot a new conclusion. Because of this, Damon Lindelof was hired to create a brand new ending (one that would cost something in the realm of an additional $20 million to craft). At the end of it all, World War Z was a box office hit.
A Nightmare: Apocalypse Now (1979)
If you haven’t seen the documentary Hearts of Darkness, which details the absolute madness that went into making Apocalypse Now, then you’ll be surprised to hear about what a nightmare it was to create this movie.
American Zoetrope, Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Philippines: Apocalypse Now (1979)
If it could go wrong, it did. From poor decisions made to unpredictable ‘wrong-place-wrong-time’ type events, it is fascinating to look back on where this masterpiece came from. Francis Ford Coppola wanted realism, and so he chose to shoot in the Philippines to get a Vietnam-esque feel. The shoot did not go as planned.
American Zoetrope, Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Jungle: Apocalypse Now (1979)
“We were in the jungle. We had too much money. We had too much equipment. And little by little, we went insane”, Coppola mused after the fact. Harvey Keitel was replaced by Martin Sheen in the first week of shooting. Martin Sheen then suffered a heart attack.
American Zoetrope, Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Storms: Apocalypse Now (1979)
Despite the storms, rewrites, and trouble with the cast, Apocalypse Now became a masterpiece. Coppola reached his goal of creating this chaotic, realistic, and ultimate adaptation of the book Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
