9 Directors Who Really F**ked Up The First Day Of Filming

2. Richard Stanley Failed To Tame Val Kilmer & An Anxious Studio - The Island Of Dr. Moreau

Richard Stanley's 1996 cult sci-fi horror film is one of the most famously troubled productions in cinema history, and it was all downhill from that very first day.

The movie was a major passion project for Stanley, whose eccentric personality nevertheless made New Line Cinema nervous.

Their relationship with the director began to crumble as Stanley's main ally, star Marlon Brando, was absent from the start of shooting due to the suicide of his daughter.

Making matters worse, Val Kilmer was two days late to set after learning on day one that he was being divorced by his wife, further straining relations between Stanley and New Line, with the studio feeling that the director lacked the backbone to keep the production running smoothly.

By day two, co-star Rob Morrow quit the film amid rewrites (eventually replaced by David Thewlis) and inclement weather prevented filming from continuing.

By day three, New Line fired Stanley by fax, replacing him with veteran director John Frankenheimer, who despite his skill couldn't rescue the obviously doomed production.

The stories of Dr. Moreau's shoot are so infamous that there's even a terrific documentary about the whole sordid disaster.