3. Chinatown Roman Polanski Vs. Robert Towne & Faye Dunaway
Walk into any film class in any university across the United States, and 99% of the professors will teach you that Roman Polanski's Chinatown is the greatest screenplay ever written. But when Polanski and Robert Towne (writer of the original novel) were working on the script, they constantly found themselves at odds. The script was written over the course of two months, and the writer and director fought over everything, from the use of narration to deciding if a character's name was too Jewish. But the greatest difference in opinion came from the most important part of the film: the climax. Towne had originally written a happy ending, but Polanski still getting over the murder of his wife Sharon Tate - was insistent on changing it to something darker. Towne vehemently opposed the alteration and fought Polanski every step of the way to no avail. In the end, it's a good thing Polanski didn't back down. "Chinatown's" dark ending is revered for bucking the trend of the good guy always winning in mainstream movies. Polanski didn't find a respite from adversity once the script troubles were through. Star Faye Dunaway is reported to have been a true diva on-set, always getting into arguments with Polanski. The director-actress skirmish reached a head when one day Dunaway through a cup of her urine on Polanski after he refused to give her a bathroom break.