Everyone knows that Jaws, Blade Runner, Apocalypse Now, The Crow, 47 Ronin and absolutely anything directed by David O. Russell had punishing shoots, but what about those ones you might not be quite so familiar with? From Best Picture-winning classics to low-budget horrors, contemporary sci-fi flicks and everything in-between, these movies were all assailed by huge production problems, be it creative arguments on set or acts of God, which tested the mettle and patience of just about anyone working on them. Though many of these movies are best remembered for, well, just being great movies, dig a little deeper and there are some juicy tales of how everyone involved suffered for their art, and though for some the juice may not have been worth the squeeze.
15. Gladiator
Why It Was Hell: Developing Gladiator's script was an absolutely agonising process, going through countless drafts such that, a mere two weeks before shooting, cast members were still complaining about various aspects of it. Once filming began, the issues didn't stop: Oliver Reed died mid-production and the script had to again be altered to accommodate this, while Russell Crowe's behaviour was noted as "erratic" by many cast and crew members. Crowe reportedly stormed off set twice over creative disagreements and threatened to kill producer Branko Lustig "with his bare hands" because he claimed his assistants weren't being paid enough. Was It Worth It?: It was nominated for a whopping twelve Oscars and ended up winning five (including the coveted Best Picture and Best Actor awards) and went on to gross more than four-times its hefty $103 million budget, ensuring that all that toil was absolutely worth it. A rare example of a movie that manages to scoop both huge fortune and immense glory all at the same time.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
