10 Behind-The-Scenes Stories That Spoil Classic Movies
2. Gene Hackman Terrorised The Royal Tenenbaums
Gene Hackman being a bit of a difficult actor to work with is well-documented. The French Connection star was a prickly presence on most movie sets, meaning there were few people in the film industry disappointed when he quietly retired after 2003's Welcome To Mooseport (he went out on a high, playing second fiddle to Ray Romano). A couple of years before that came one of Hackman's best-remembered performances. There's no shortage of star power in the ensemble cast of The Royal Tenenbaums, but it was Hackman as the estranged family patriarch that stood out. And apparently he took his last big role as an opportunity to show just how much of a jackass he could be. He regularly called screenwriter Noah Baumbach a cunt, told director Wes Anderson to pull up your pants and act like a man, and Gwyneth Paltrow was afraid of being near him. Sure does make the final scene, of his death after everybody's finally come around to the frosty character on-screen, look like a total joke. The real Royal was even worse.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
