10 Troubled Shoots That Resulted In Great Films
8. There Were Seventeen Screenwriters - The Wizard Of Oz
Regarded as a seminal piece of pop-culture, The Wizard of Oz is a cinematic masterpiece. However, the greatness of the film gave little indication to what a hellish journey it was to just to get it made.
Before a camera had even started rolling, there were numerous issues with the script. Despite the screenplay being credited to only three writers, at least seventeen writers have had their fingerprints all over the film. When it was time to get someone to film this Frankenstein's monster of a script, directors were getting hired and fired on a whim during production.
On top of constant creative changes, the cast and crew have to deal with a chaotic and gruelling production schedule. Actors had to be on set at 4am and were filming until 8 or 9pm everyday, the amount of lighting required meant that all everyone was subjected to unbearable heat, and there were dangerous accidents everywhere. Several flying monkey actors were injured, the actress playing the Wicked Witch accidentally caught on fire, and the original actor for Tin Man had to be replaced midway through shooting because he was allergic to the aluminium paint used on his skin.
But credit to everyone involved as if it weren't for their sacrifices, everyone would've been deprived of Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion skipping merrily down the yellow brick road.