1. Over 70 People Wind Up Injured From Maulings (And More) - Roar
A little seen drama from 1981, Roar tells the inspiring story of a family living on a wildlife preserve in Africa with a bunch of wild animals. Roar may not be well known, but it has to be one of the most extreme film productions ever attempted. The fact that nobody died making this piece of insanity is just impressive. Roar was made by husband and wife team Noel Marshall and Tippi Hedren, who were inspired to make a movie about lions after spending time in Africa. They wanted to get real big cats and film them naturally. They also cast their own children, including Hedrens young daughter Melanie Griffith. The shoot proved to be long and difficult, and it took four years to make from start to finish. Over the course of production around 70 people working on it were injured. Tippi Hedren was bitten on the neck by a lion, and fractured a leg after being bucked off of an elephant. Her husband Marshall was mauled repeatedly during production and was eventually diagnosed with gangrene. Melanie Griffith was bitten on the face by a lion and required plastic surgery. She almost lost an eye in this incident too. The cinematographer Jan de Bont - who later directed Speed and Twister - was scalped by a lion and ended up receiving 220 stitches. And thats just a small number of the total amount of injuries received. Added to this the set was also destroyed in a flood and the crew often had to deal with bushfires. The budget ballooned to $17 million, and when it was finally released it only made back about $2 million. Marshall and Hedren divorced soon after the films release. At least the film left them with lots of amazing anecdotes to tell for life. Can you think of any other infamously troubled shoots that nearly cost people their lives? Share your picks in the comments below.