3. Faye Dunaway vs Roman Polanski
What do you do if your lead actress needs to go to the toilet whilst you are filming a crucial scene? If you are Roman Polanski, you tell her to get on with it and wait. The making of Chinatown was no easy ride according to Faye Dunaway, who according to the book Easy Riders and Raging Bulls, had a real struggle with the infamous yet incredibly talented Polish director. When she asked Polanski during one scene what her motivation was, Polanski told her to "Say the f**king words. Your salary is your motivation". He was also insanely annoyed by an out of place hair during one scene, so much so that he plucked it from her head. Their bickering and blows came to a head when Polanski refused to let the actress break for a trip to the toilet, despite the actress' pleas that she couldn't wait. Whilst filming the scene in a car, she took to reliving herself into a coffee cup and then threw the contents in the director's face; quite the dirty protest I am sure you will agree.
Who Won? Dunaway hasn't been affected by the incidents, and is the proud owner of an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Network. She was also nominated for Chinatown and Bonnie and Clyde prior to her win. Polanski has been making great films all his life despite being afflicted with a huge amount of controversy, so much so that on set arguments couldn't possibly taint him anymore than his personal affairs have. This includes not being able to set foot upon American soil since he could still be jailed for sexual offences against a 13 year old girl in Jack Nicholson's vacant house in 1977. He has been making films that have been loved and adored by critics and movie-goers alike for years, himself winning an Oscar for The Pianist in 2002, which was accepted by "good friend" Jack Nicholson. Hollywood eh? You couldn't make this up...