10 Directors Who Went To Insane Lengths To Get Their Movies Made

10. Orson Welles Pretended He Wasn't Filming Scenes That The Producers Hated - Citizen Kane

For most of his career, Orson Welles' work was hampered by producers. But because of his non-interference contract over Citizen Kane, the studio couldn't alter a single frame of the finished film.

But, man, did they try!

Because Welles' magnum opus is based on William Randolph Hearst, the media mogul did everything in his power to destroy the production. Terrified at suffering Hearst's wrath, the film executives did all they could to ensure Welles didn't depict him in a negative light. When they showed up unannounced on set and saw scenes they didn't like, Welles pretended the actors were merely rehearsing. The studio suspected this and so, sent spies to the set. Welles got wind of this and had his crew play softball until the spies left!

During filming, Welles was informed that Hearst had arranged a naked woman to jump at him when he entered his hotel room while one of Hearst's men took a picture. Knowing this photograph would besmirch his reputation, Welles slept elsewhere on the night he learned of this.

Even though everything seemed to be against Welles, he made Citizen Kane the way he wanted, allowing it to become one of the most influential films in cinema.