10 Behind-The-Scenes Dramas That Failed To Derail Famous Movies
The original Anchorman was almost a completely different film...
Behind-the-scenes drama on a movie set is never a good thing.
Where there are creative differences, arguments, or spats between the filmmakers and the studio, there's usually an incoherent final product or a movie that lacks a focused, singular vision.
Scenarios like this have become extremely prevalent as of late. 2015's awful Fantastic Four reboot is notorious for its extensive reshoots and quarrel between director Josh Trank and 20th Century Fox, and more recently, Lucasfilm's Han Solo spinoff lost its directors with just a few weeks of shooting to go - though the quality of that particular film remains to be seen.
However, some films can overcome these problems and defy the odds, delivering something that isn't just successful in terms of quality, but also makes plenty of cash and receives heaps of critical acclaim.
Some of the most famous movies of all time suffered a whole host issues during production, from replacing lead actors and switching directors to rewriting and reshooting entire chunks of the story, and the fact that they turned out as good as they did is nothing short of astounding.
10. Everything That Could Go Wrong Does Go Wrong With Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now had such a troubled and eventful production that an entire documentary was made to explain exactly what went on (it's called Hearts Of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse).
The issues involved are almost too numerous to list. Director Francis Ford Coppola fired leading man Harvey Keitel after just two weeks of filming, replacing him with Martin Sheen, who, at the time, was suffering from alcohol addiction.
As a result, Sheen would regularly show up to set drunk. The scene featuring his character wildly flailing around a hotel room and punching a mirror looked incredibly convincing, and that's because it was real; the actor was off his face and accidentally cut himself on the glass.
Another actor, Marlon Brando, would show up to set having not learnt his lines, forcing Coppola to shut down the movie temporarily so he could take Brando through the script.
Coppola also had to overcome other obstacles, like erratic weather, actors not getting along with each other, and Martin Sheen having a heart attack.
But in the end, none of this held the movie back whatsoever. Apocalypse Now is regarded as one of the finest war movies of all time, and was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards - which is hardly a disastrous result.