15 Popular Movies Which Were Notoriously Difficult To Produce

The Shining would become the crown jewel of Stanley Kubrick's career and a smash hit in cinemas. But he didn't make it easy.

Kubrick did not get along with author Stephen King. The director didn’t think much of the book and completely ignored it. Even when King devised a screenplay, it was dismissed. It comes at no surprise that Stephen hated the film.

Kubrick was even worse to his cast and crew, making frequent changes to the script on a daily basis and fierce demands of the actors. Jack Nicholson was only fed cheese sandwiches for two weeks straight, a food which he hates, in order to build intensity within his character.

Shelley Duvall, received the worst treatment of all. Kubrick psychologically abused her to the point her hair literally fell out. It achieved the anxiety and helplessness that he wanted from her character but it’s still very disturbing to know what went on when cameras weren’t rolling.

Stanley did get a comeuppance for his unpleasant methods when a huge fire broke out and consumed a vital part of the set, costing $2.5 million in damages. It is ironic because the actual book ended with fire, whilst the movie ended on ice. It is still unknown what caused the deadly blaze but some say it was the set punishing Kubrick for going so far off the original source material.