10 Biggest Movie Set Meltdowns Ever
2. George Clooney And David O. Russell (Three Kings)
David O. Russell appears to have mellowed out in recent years, but for a time, he had a knack for bringing out the absolute worst in people. When shooting his Gulf War drama Three Kings in 1999, that person happened to be George Clooney.
Russell was generally being Russell throughout the shoot, which on this occasion meant handing verbal beatdowns to cameramen, script supervisors and extras. The situation came to a head when a timid extra was reluctant to hurl Clooney to the ground in an action scene, prompting the irate director to act the scene out on him.
This is when Clooney stepped in and faced Russell down, only retaliating when the filmmaker grabbed him by the throat. A full-blown scrap ensued and that was the final straw for second assistant director Paul Bernard, who quit on the spot.
Somehow filming continued to completion and Three Kings went on to earn critical acclaim. Reflecting on the incident years later, Clooney said: "Will I work with David ever again? Absolutely not. Never. Do I think he's tremendously talented and do I think he should be nominated for Oscars? Yeah."