10 Directors Who Are Notoriously Difficult To Work With

6. Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola would earn a place on this list for Apocalypse Now alone. In a manner similar to Cimino's herculean Heaven's Gate undertaking, Coppola went ever so slightly mad while shooting the Vietnam War epic, going around $15 mil over budget, driving his alcohol-infused star Martin Sheen (who was flown in after Coppola gave the boot to original lead player Harvey Keitel after only a week) to an early heart attack, all the while taking over a year to finish principal photography, as opposed to the five months originally proposed. But Coppola has filled his career with all kinds of difficult, and has always been one for battling anyone at odds with his 'vision' (he made a close enemy in producer Robert Evans on the set of The Godfather - he eventually went on to sue Evans, at the same time as working with him on The Cotton Club), his own mountainous self-belief leading him to believe there's only ever one right opinion: his own.
Contributor
Contributor

Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1