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Post by hi224 on Aug 12, 2018 14:39:24 GMT
I know Preminger could be a monster so could Ford as well. Lang made Lorre do a take several times where he gets very injured some dubious stuff which you read as well.
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Post by snsurone on Dec 2, 2018 0:31:17 GMT
Michael Curtiz.
Although he directed such classic films as THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, YANKEE DOODLE DANDY, CASABLANCA, and MILDRED PIERCE, he was heartily despised by the actors under his rule.
His most famous line is probably, "Bring on the empty horses!"
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2018 0:39:55 GMT
James Cameron is an absolute monster on set by all accounts, and a pretty horrible person in everyday life, too. But people keep wanting to work with him because he gets fantastic results.
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Post by politicidal on Dec 2, 2018 0:42:39 GMT
If you were a blonde bombshell I'm sure Hitchcock was an ass.
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Post by marianne48 on Dec 2, 2018 1:13:55 GMT
Chaplin was a notorious perfectionist and often berated his actors. For a scene in Limelight, he lashed out at Claire Bloom in order to get an effective crying performance out of her. On the set of his last film, A Countess From Hong Kong, he reportedly berated his son in front of the crew and the rest of the cast, and clashed often with star Marlon Brando,
as Chaplin was exasperated by his method acting and demanded that he just do as he was told. Conversely, he sneered at co-star Virginia Cherrill in City Lights for being "an amateur," even though he was well aware that she had no acting experience
when he hired her for the film. The movie took more than two years to make, with more than half a year just to shoot it. One scene in which Cherrill's flower seller character offers Chaplin's Tramp character a flower and says one line took over 300 takes to shoot, apparently as Chaplin kept finding fault with the way she held the flower, etc., etc. etc. It must have been upsetting for her and the crew as well. (The filming of this scene is included in the excellent documentary Forgotten Chaplin).
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Dec 2, 2018 1:21:49 GMT
Vincent Price said when making a film with Curtiz he told a production assistant to get him a Coca-Cola and it when it didn't come Curtiz hollered: "Next time I want some dumb sonofabitch to get me a Coca-Cola I'll go myself!"
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Post by bravomailer on Dec 2, 2018 1:25:07 GMT
Stanley Kubrick was said to make actors do repeated takes, often to the point of despair. I always wonder how he got along with Jack Nicholson on the set of The Shining, where Jack seems to be playing for laughs.
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Post by wmcclain on Dec 2, 2018 1:29:45 GMT
The wikipedia on Suddenly, Last Summer:
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Post by teleadm on Dec 2, 2018 1:50:45 GMT
What is most important?
What well-payed actors like?
Or what we the paying audicence like?
Not defending actual jerks of directors.
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Post by petrolino on Dec 2, 2018 1:59:46 GMT
Sometimes I think these directors are being tough to keep others in line. They often have a sizeable cast and crew to keep focused on a busy schedule and they're playing with other peoples' money (often huge budgets). It's a stressful business.
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Post by claudius on Dec 2, 2018 5:05:30 GMT
"The movie took more than two years to make, with more than half a year just to shoot it. One scene in which Cherrill's flower seller character offers Chaplin's Tramp character a flower and says one line took over 300 takes to shoot, apparently as Chaplin kept finding fault with the way she held the flower, etc., etc. etc. It must have been upsetting for her and the crew as well. (The filming of this scene is included in the excellent documentary Forgotten Chaplin)"
The 300 takes had nothing to do with any fault with Cherrill (although he did have problems with her). The problem was Chaplin couldn't find a convincing way for the blind girl to be convinced the Tramp was a millionaire. Eventually, he found the solution to have the Tramp go in-and-out of a limousine, the sound of the door convincing the girl that the owner is coming out.
And it is called UNKNOWN CHAPLIN, 35th Anniversary last January.
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Post by bravomailer on Dec 2, 2018 14:37:20 GMT
"Before filming the scene where he had to carry Patrick Magee's wheelchair up the stairs, professional bodybuilder David Prowse went up to Stanley Kubrick and asked if he could make sure that (due to the difficulty of the task) he got the scene in as few takes as possible, saying, "You're not exactly known as 'one-take-Kubrick', are you?" The rest of the crew was horrified at such a famous director being talked to like this, but Kubrick just laughed and promised to do his best. The scene was filmed in only six takes, an incredibly small amount for a perfectionist like Kubrick. Even so, Prowse was near exhaustion after the repeated takes of him carrying Frank and his wheelchair down the stairs."
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Dec 2, 2018 19:13:56 GMT
"Before filming the scene where he had to carry Patrick Magee's wheelchair up the stairs, professional bodybuilder David Prowse went up to Stanley Kubrick and asked if he could make sure that (due to the difficulty of the task) he got the scene in as few takes as possible, saying, "You're not exactly known as 'one-take-Kubrick', are you?" The rest of the crew was horrified at such a famous director being talked to like this, but Kubrick just laughed and promised to do his best. The scene was filmed in only six takes, an incredibly small amount for a perfectionist like Kubrick. Even so, Prowse was near exhaustion after the repeated takes of him carrying Frank and his wheelchair down the stairs."
Who can say no to Darth Vader?
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Dec 2, 2018 22:18:19 GMT
Sometimes I think these directors are being tough to keep others in line. They often have a sizeable cast and crew to keep focused on a busy schedule and they're playing with other peoples' money (often huge budgets). It's a stressful business. I had a boss like this once. She became a tyrant so no one would think she was a pushover, but at great expense to her personal life. |
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Post by marianne48 on Dec 3, 2018 0:16:13 GMT
"The movie took more than two years to make, with more than half a year just to shoot it. One scene in which Cherrill's flower seller character offers Chaplin's Tramp character a flower and says one line took over 300 takes to shoot, apparently as Chaplin kept finding fault with the way she held the flower, etc., etc. etc. It must have been upsetting for her and the crew as well. (The filming of this scene is included in the excellent documentary Forgotten Chaplin)"The 300 takes had nothing to do with any fault with Cherrill (although he did have problems with her). The problem was Chaplin couldn't find a convincing way for the blind girl to be convinced the Tramp was a millionaire. Eventually, he found the solution to have the Tramp go in-and-out of a limousine, the sound of the door convincing the girl that the owner is coming out. And it is called UNKNOWN CHAPLIN, 35th Anniversary last January. Thanks for providing the correct title of the documentary. I'd forgotten that it wasn't "Forgotten" (but then how could I possibly remember, when the DVD of the documentary has only been sitting in plain view on my bookshelf for the past decade or so?) Too bad Chaplin apparently never heard of storyboarding, relying instead on doing the same scene over and over with cast and crew while he worked it out as he went along. Would it have been too much to rely on a small team of writers to help him with story ideas? He could've just taken the credit for their bright ideas and everyone could have continued to see him as a genius; that worked for Walt Disney. After reading this thread, I looked for lists of the "Most difficult" directors, and I have to admit that Chaplin was small potatoes compared to some of these jerks. |
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Post by mattgarth on Dec 3, 2018 1:49:14 GMT
During the making of Otto Preminger's ANGEL FACE in 1953, a scene called for Robert Mitchum to snap Jean Simmons out of her hysteria by slapping her face.
Otto was not satisfied with the gentlemanly Mitchum's holding back on the force of the blow and kept insisting on another take in which he was instructed to slap her even harder.
In take after take the director would shout instructions to slap her harder- harder-HARDER! Poor Jean had tears coming from her eyes as her cheek got redder and redder.
Finally Mitchum could take it no longer, and approached the director to get further instructions.
"Otto, I just don't get it -- do you want me to slap her like this?" -- then hauled off and smacked Preminger full across the face, then stormed off the set.
An outraged Otto shouted out to the departing actor that he was fired and would never work in the industry again! (although they did collaborate on RIVER OF NO RETURN the following year).
Mitchum went to the nearest florist and ordered two dozen roses to be sent to Simmons, with a note of apology.
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Post by hi224 on Dec 3, 2018 2:34:26 GMT
During the making of Otto Preminger's ANGEL FACE in 1953, a scene called for Robert Mitchum to snap Jean Simmons out of her hysteria by slapping her face.
Otto was not satisfied with the gentlemanly Mitchum's holding back on the force of the blow and kept insisting on another take in which he was instructed to slap her even harder.
In take after take the director would shout instructions to slap her harder- harder-HARDER! Poor Jean had tears coming from her eyes as her cheek got redder and redder.
Finally Mitchum could take it no longer, and approached the director to get further instructions.
"Otto, I just don't get it -- do you want me to slap her like this?" -- then hauled off and smacked Preminger full across the face, then stormed off the set.
An outraged Otto shouted out to the departing actor that he was fired and would never work in the industry again! (although they did collaborate on RIVER OF NO RETURN the following year).
Mitchum went to the nearest florist and ordered two dozen roses to be sent to Simmons, with a note of apology. wow. |
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Post by london777 on Dec 3, 2018 2:52:57 GMT
What is most important? What well-paid actors like? Or what we the paying audience like? Actors are just immature grown-ups who like to show off in public. Vain, pampered, insecure layabouts, the lot of them. They are lucky to have jobs and are easily replaceable. I bet for every role there are a thousand actors available and eager to accept it, of whom at least ten would be more than adequate (maybe after a bit of kicking). Hopefully advances in CGI and other technologies will mean we can make films without their services in the near future. |
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Post by petrolino on Dec 3, 2018 18:41:03 GMT
During the making of Otto Preminger's ANGEL FACE in 1953, a scene called for Robert Mitchum to snap Jean Simmons out of her hysteria by slapping her face.
Otto was not satisfied with the gentlemanly Mitchum's holding back on the force of the blow and kept insisting on another take in which he was instructed to slap her even harder.
In take after take the director would shout instructions to slap her harder- harder-HARDER! Poor Jean had tears coming from her eyes as her cheek got redder and redder.
Finally Mitchum could take it no longer, and approached the director to get further instructions.
"Otto, I just don't get it -- do you want me to slap her like this?" -- then hauled off and smacked Preminger full across the face, then stormed off the set.
An outraged Otto shouted out to the departing actor that he was fired and would never work in the industry again! (although they did collaborate on RIVER OF NO RETURN the following year).
Mitchum went to the nearest florist and ordered two dozen roses to be sent to Simmons, with a note of apology.
Great story, thanks. 
Lots of French, Spanish and especially Italian directors are said to have pushed actresses way over the edge, slapping and the rough stuff being a genuine commonality in 1960s and 1970s genre cinema that later caused some consternation. In theatre, actors tend to be tougher because they push their bodies live, night after night. Otto Preminger witnessed a lot in the theatre that would never simply fly in Hollywood. Some people he pushed to the brink, be it Robert Mitchum or Jean Seberg, came back to work with him. I really don't trust the gossipy Mitchum though, he seems to have a negative quip or anecdote for just about everybody he ever worked with, as if his own don't stink. Just today, I was reading some of Mitchum's typically blunt and opinionated comments on director Dick Richards, whom he apparently rated highly : "The producer, Elliott Kastner, comes by with Sir Lew Grade, the British tycoon. He has a black suit, a black tie, a white shirt and a whiter face. 'I know nothing about motion pictures,' Sir Lew says. 'What I know is entertainment: Ferris wheels, pony rides.' I suggested we buy up the rights to Murder, My Sweet with Dick Powell, re-release it and go to the beach. But, no, they hired a director, Dick Richards, so nervous he can't hold his legs still. They have all the hide rubbed off them, He started doing TV commercials. He was accustomed to, you know, start the camera, expose 120 feet of film and tell somebody to move the beer bottle half an inch clockwise. He does the same thing with people."
Robert Mitchum, Otto Preminger & Jean Simmons
"Laura was a very big hit and Preminger was established at Fox as a director. For nearly 20 years he had an expert touch, invariably producing his films and so promoting himself as a producer that it was easy to miss his directorial style. Preminger moves the camera like an angel. He loves to show people in interactive groups. He is a genius on the space between people and the way they look at each other.
He is a very great director and a big shot as a producer at once. Over the next decades, you see him fighting censorship over The Moon is Blue, launching the splashy search for Saint Joan, dealing with a taboo subject like drug addiction in The Man With the Golden Arm, hiring the black-listed Dalton Trumbo to do Exodus, daring to make an all-black musical out of Carmen Jones (and getting his secret mistress, Dorothy Dandridge, the first lead Oscar nomination for a black player). His productions were always heavily promoted (with cool Saul Bass credit and poster designs), and by the late-1950s he launched himself with due deliberation at a series of weighty topics: the law (Anatomy of a Murder), nationalism (Exodus), democracy (Advise and Consent) and religion (The Cardinal). The first three of that quartet are brilliant films and very intelligent entertainments."
- David Thomson, 'Sex It Up'
'In the early 1960s, Preminger was revered by both British and French critics, who placed him high up in "Top 10" polls, but in recent years, his stock has fallen. It is the Austrian-born director's misfortune that his tantrums are as well remembered today as his movies. "I always felt he was a little underrated, and that people judged him more on his personality," says Foster Hirsch, who is currently putting the finishing touches to his biography of the film-maker, entitled Subject to Fits.
Look a little more closely and it soon becomes apparent that Preminger was indeed a far richer and complex film-maker than the newspaper headlines about his combustible temperament suggested. Besides, the tantrums served a purpose. Like other film-makers, from Von Sternberg to Von Trier, he was a skilled self-publicist who knew the value in column inches of behaving like an ogre.
Even his strange fetish for playing Nazis, despite being Jewish, was understandable. He was trying to convey to US audiences just how atrocious Hitler's regime really was. "He wanted to make them look as horrible as possible," his widow Hope Preminger says. She was married to him for 30 years and the man she describes is far removed from the film-maker of popular myth: a devoted father and husband, exemplary host, loyal and generous friend.
Preminger's best films (some screening in new prints at the National Film Theatre's forthcoming retrospective) hold up remarkably well. What is most startling is their diversity. He worked in every genre conceivable: film noir, Western, musical, courtroom drama, comedy, historical epic, melodrama, espionage thriller. Some of his pictures are chamber pieces. Others are on a vast scale. "That was his personality," says Hope Preminger. "He tried never to do the same things twice. Whenever anybody asked him which of his films was his favourite, his answer was always, 'The next one'."
- Introducing the Otto Preminger Film Season at the National Film Theatre
"Q : Having withdrawn from his “Anatomy of a Murder,” would Miss Turner ever work with Otto Preminger?
A : “God forbid— not if my family and I were hungry.”
- Howard Thomson, Lana Turner Stars At Town Hall In Films And Onstage Interview (April 14, 1975)
Billy Wilder & Otto Preminger
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Post by Captain Spencer on Dec 3, 2018 20:01:36 GMT
Based on everything I've read about Michael Winner, he was apparently a horrible director to work with. Chris Sarandon claimed Winner actually made fun of the deformed people on the set of The Sentinel. And a cast member of Death Wish 3 said Winner was a complete tyrant to the cast and crew.
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