It can be difficult to separate the art from the artist, and sometimes people behind the scenes do something that just does not sit right. I have always contended that if I see a film that has a profound effect on me, I am not going to betray that experience over one person’s actions in a large crew. However, if I learn of misconduct beforehand, I want nothing to do with seeing it.
The other side is tragedies on set, which can be a bit more complex, but also fall under a similar territory of moral ambiguity. Though behind-the-scenes drama or accidents have also made some of these movies infamous. Regardless of whether you like and still watch these films, there is no denying that the real-life drama or tragedy surrounding them makes them difficult to enjoy fully.
‘The Shining’ (1980)
Mistreatment of Shelley Duvall
Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is undoubtedly a masterpiece, and a highly influential one at that. The film would become so engrossed in pop culture, give Jack Nicholson one of the best performances of his career, and show how cinematography could be just as menacing a force as any other form of horror. Still, while Nicholson is often highlighted, Shelly Duvall’s performance is just as integral to the movie, making her treatment behind the scenes all the harder to approach.
To get the performance from Duvall, Kubrick deliberately isolated the actor while keeping her in a purposeful state of distress throughout. The shooting was also arduous for her, with Kubrick getting her to do the baseball bat scene around 127 times. Reportedly, Duvall was constantly crying on the set and was losing hair. Looking at her struggles with mental health later in life, it seems likely that her career in Hollywood put a lot of pressure on her, with The Shining being exemplary of why SAG and AFTRA have become stricter with their rules.
‘Twilight Zone: The Movie’ (1983)
Fatal Helicopter Crash
Confession time, I have never watched The Twilight Zone: The Movie despite being a decades-long horror fan and knowing it is one of the best anthologies ever made. The reason was an on-set accident that resulted in the death of Vic Morrow and two child actors, Myca Dinh Le (age 7) and Renee Shin-Yi Chen (age 6), both of whom were hired illegally for the shot (brought in at 2 AM for a grueling sequence).
This was for John Landis’s segment, in a scene in which Morrow carried the two actors to safety through water, with a helicopter flying overhead. The helicopter got too close to the pyrotechnics, and the plane crashed on top of the three. Landis was ultimately charged with involuntary manslaughter and was later acquitted. The truth remains murky as to who was at fault, but it marks one of the most tragic onset accidents in history.
‘Jeepers Creepers’ (2001)
Director Charged with SA of a Minor
This caveat can easily be applied to any of director Victor Salva’s works, but for many, Jeepers Creepers was a smash hit that launched a franchise. While his film Powder was a hit as well, this is easily the most famous of his films. However, when you learn about Salva’s background, it is hard to reminisce about how big and talked about this one was on release, rather than trying to forget it ever existed.
Via The Independent, Salva, on the set of his first film, Clownhouse, in 1988, was convicted of sexually abusing a 12-year-old star when he was 30. He also recorded the abuse, which also brought with it the charge of owning CSAM. Salva pleaded no contest and, remarkably, served only three years in prison before returning to the Jeepers Creepers franchise. Some mistakes deserve redemption, but abuse of innocence never does. Jeepers Creepers and its sequels are forever tainted.
‘The Flash’ (2023)
Ezra Miller Behavior Behind the Scenes
DC has a history of behind-the-scenes issues, from Amber Heard being nixed from Aquaman, to Joss Whedon and Cyborg actor Ray Fisher’s conflicts, and the onset of ‘Zack Snyder syndrome’ after his work on the Justice League. But the biggest, arguably, what killed the entire DCU, resulting in James Gunn taking over and rebooting it, is Ezra Miller as the Flash. The Flash was supposed to be integral to the larger direction of the iconic heroes going forward, but leading up to its release, so much news about the actor’s unstable behavior came out.
Between 2020 and 2022, Miller was involved in an alarming number of events, including two assault charges in different countries resulting in a restraining order, footage emerged of him choking a fan, and allegations of grooming. Perhaps the biggest concern was seeing how far the star fell through when authorities discovered that Miller was harboring a mother with three children at a Vermont farm with weapons and drugs loosely lying about. At the moment, Miller seems to have landed himself in the position of persona non grata for his actions, but the actor has hinted he may try to rebuild his career after some reflection. Though scenes like his arrest are likely to stay burned in fans’ memories for some time.
‘Last Tango in Paris’ (1972)
Non-Consensual Sex Scene
Honestly, The Last Tango in Paris belongs in the garbage, as viewers see an actual sexual assault on screen, though this truth was not brought up till much later. Bernardo Bertolucci’s highly controversial film, starring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider, brought much of its shock value from a single scene where Brando’s character uses a stick of butter before having sex with Schneider’s character.
Via the CBC, Bertolucci and Brando devised the scene the morning of the shoot and deliberately withheld it from Schneider in an attempt to get an authentic reaction; an experience that left the actor feeling humiliated and permanently traumatized. Bertolucci, in an interview, would go on to say she wanted to see her “as a girl, not as an actress.” The 19-year-old actor was given little warning before the then-48-year-old Brando and Bertolucci shot the scene. Now that you know, avoid this one like the plague.
‘The Crow’ (1994)
Brandon Lee’s Death
1994’s The Crow is a cult classic, and one which fans have revisited time and time again, the perfect blend of romance, tragedy, horror, and heroism. The Crow is still a film that can be enjoyed, but that does not make the death of lead actor Brandon Lee a hard pill to swallow when revisiting it.
By now, the story is pretty well known: the son of legendary martial artist and actor Bruce Lee, Brandon Lee, was on the rise as a star, seen as having the same potential as his father, only to have it cut short. Lee, who would die in surgery on March 31, 1993, at age 28, was shot on set when a prop gun launched a fragment from a misfire earlier into his abdomen. This accident makes the scenes of Lee’s death in the film an emotional affair.
‘Fitzcarraldo’ (1982)
Disastrous Production With Injuries, Deaths, and Tribal Raids
Fitzcarraldo is certainly a film worthy of its acclaim, with director Werner Herzog creating one of the biggest set pieces ever and an unforgettable performance from icon Klaus Kinski. The film follows a man (Kinski) who wants to haul a steamship over a mountain in the Amazon. Instead of using a miniature, Herzog wanted authenticity. So, indigenous people were hired to help bring his vision to life.
Herzog is a director who, while controversial, can be easy to love, with his eccentric persona, view on life, and clear artistic vision, but here it is hard not to argue that he went too far. Take this with a grain of salt, as some of these incidents are unverified, but include one worker drowning, another contracting a deadly disease in abysmal work conditions, and a tribal raid that resulted in one person being shot by an arrow. The documentary Herzog made about the film, Burden of Dreams, is a fascinating watch in itself, but the grueling conditions, injuries, and deaths make it hard to fully embrace Fitzcarraldo despite its masterpiece status.
‘Roar’ (1981)
A Passion Project That Led to Multiple Injuries
For cinephiles, there is an argument to be made to watch Roar, at least once, as it is an utter cinematic spectacle that should have never been made, and will never be made again. The premise alone spells trouble, as this 10-year passion project saw Tippi Hedren and her husband, Noel Marshall, living with over 150 untrained big cats to shoot a family-friendly drama.
While the film flopped hard, decades later, people came back to it and slowly began to realize what an absolute s***-show and bad idea the production was, while also delivering some jaw-dropping sequences. Sadly, 14 lions and tigers died as a result of contracting airborne illnesses in the environment, while an accident on set that caused a flood led to the injury of others. The tag of “No Animals Were Hurt” in the trailer is misleading.
There were over 70 reported injuries among the cast and crew, including a young Melanie Griffith, who required facial reconstructive surgery after an attack. Director Noel Marshall had multiple hospital visits due to recurring infections from scratches and bites. The movie became controversial due to the sheer amount of neglect that was reported, with studios coming on and off to keep the project going. Oddly, the movie is a family-friendly affair, though if you know about the accidents, you can determine when they happened before the camera cut.
‘Don’t Worry Darling’
Behind the Scenes Fighting Got Dirty
This was one mess in the build-up to a release that won’t soon be forgotten. There was so much going on here, with lead actress Florence Pugh being visibly absent from most of the film’s promotion, speculated to be due to fallout with director Olivia Wilde. Wilde’s relationship with co-star Harry Styles seemed to complicate matters further. While Shia LaBeouf exited and claimed that Olivia fired him for safety reasons, it became a public spat between the two. Then there was the ‘Spitgate’ controversy, in which people were convinced that Harry Styles spat on co-star Chris Pine at the Venice Film Festival premiere.
The film was a flop because many people just did not want to approach it amid all the infighting and speculation behind the scenes. Moreover, it is unlikely that cinema fans will want to revisit this one, even with all the drama behind it, as the film itself was not well-received, with a weak script being the major critique.
There are many movies out there that become hard to enjoy once a few key details are known, which is why directors like Woody Allen and Roman Polanski have remained contentious throughout their careers. We gave some concrete examples of how actions surrounding a production can leave a sour taste, but let us know which movies were ruined for you, or which ones you avoid.
If you or someone you know needs help related to sexual assault, you can call the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or chat with someone on the RAINN website.
