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5 On Set Nuclear Meltdowns
Behind the Scenes Rants, Tears and Psychotic Episodes By Dirk Sonniksen
November 05, 2009
5 On Set Nuclear Meltdowns
© Mania/ Robert Trate
We all have our moments, but actors and directors have special on-set moments that can make the daily office squabble seem tame. It could be poor lighting, bad scripts, million-dollar deal disputes, or bad drugs. Whatever the case, meltdowns on the set are entertaining fare for us mere mortals, a box office boon to some celebrities, and a publicity nightmare for others. These on-set soap operas are fascinating peeks into the psychological turmoil and freakish drive that make these actors and directors part of our everyday lives. Below are five on-set nuclear meltdowns that have garnered more interest than the movies themselves, and helped to further the legendary status of those that have made these moments famous.
5. The Shining (1980) – Shelley Duvall & Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick may have looked like a big teddy bear, but underneath that pudgy, hairy exterior lied a director obsessed with getting exactly what he wanted. His process often involved mercilessly berating actors and exhausting everyone involved in his films with grueling schedules and endless takes. Case in point, The Shining and poor Shelley Duvall, whose character Wendy looks like she's been up for a week on a meth binge. At one point (seen in a documentary shot by Kubrick's daughter), Duvall presents Kubrick with hairs that have fallen out during filming. Looking at the hairs, Kubrick seems non-plussed by the incident, and even instructs the crew not to “sympathize with Shelley.”
Duvall would later praise Kubrick for helping her to get the most out of her performance and indeed, it was a spectacular piece of work. It's our view that Shelley might have enjoyed taking a swing or two at Stan with that bat of hers, the very same bat he made her swing and average of 41 times for each take, for more than 20 takes while continuously walking up a flight of stairs. We give Ms. Duvall high honors for having only a partial nervous breakdown while filming The Shining, and not bad-mouthing Kubrick after the fact, for putting her through hell for close to a year.
4. Apocalypse Now (1979) Marlon Brando & Francis Ford Coppola
“The Horror.” That would be the horror of working with Marlon Brando. Considered by many to be one of the greatest actors of our age, he was also known to be a giant pain in the ass on the set. Did we say giant? The fact that Brando had ballooned to over 300 pounds was apparently news to Coppola, who was shocked by Brando's girth when he finally managed to make it to the set of Apocalypse Now. Brando received an unheard of amount of money at the time for his role as Colonel Kurtz, a monetary windfall for doing next to nothing… and not knowing his lines. Perhaps Coppola was forced to pay him by the pound.
Not only was Brando incredibly unfit for the roll, he had also never actually read “Heart of Darkness,” Joseph Conrad’s book upon which Apocalypse Now was very loosely based. It is said that Coppola spent a fair amount of time reading the book out loud to Brando on the set, which is a Kodak moment to die for. Coppola apparently grew so sick of Brando, he had Big Marlon’s scenes shot by the assistant director, not by Coppola himself. Couple Brando’s unforeseen physical appearance and odd behavior with Martin Sheen’s untimely heart attack while filming, and it’s easy to see how Coppola managed to shed an estimated 100lbs. during filming. Hey, it was either the stress or Brando ate part of him when no one was looking.
3. Terminator Salvation (2009) – Christian Bale
Possibly winning the award for most F-bombs dropped in a single recording, Christian Bale went wacky on DP Shane Hurlbut for messing with his mojo during preparations for a scene on the set of Terminator Salvation. While Hurlbut had the good sense to keep his mouth shut for the majority of the standoff and apologize for basically being alive, Bale could not be contained. Threatening at one point to do a walk off if Hurlbut wasn’t sacked, the Salvation star ranted for what must have seemed like eternity for poor Shane until Bale’s meds kicked in and shooting commenced. Christian Bale brought new meaning to the term “intense scene,” and also managed to brand himself as a complete dick.
While Bale’s tirade sparked outrage by many who saw his behavior as inexcusable, it should be noted that tooling around the set aimlessly when an actor is preparing is not looked upon kindly, not only by actors, but by crew members as well. Bale soon apologized, later stating in a radio interview that he “acted like a punk,” and that he and Shane had buried the proverbial hatchet. We give Bale big marks for extensive use of profanity, and Hurlbut an equally-high shout out for completely screwing up, most likely landing him in therapy for years to come.
2. Ong Bak 2 (2008) – Tony Jaa
While Tony Jaa is considered by many to be the ultimate martial arts artist (yes, artist), he’s perhaps also known for his breakdown on the set of Ong Bak 2. According to reports, the stress from directing the mammoth sequel to Ong Bak was just too much for this pint-sized little ball of badass. To make matters worse, some questioned Jaa’s apparent fascination with the dark arts at the time, which is very Harry Potter/Professor Snape indeed. Jaa maintained that his odd behavior at times (dressing like a shaman and hanging out in caves) was simply research for the movie, and one can totally dig Tony’s dedication to the craft. At the same time, we wonder if Tony lost some marbles while filming this beast.
Jaa appeared on Thai TV and broke down in tears, attempting to explain (with his attorney present) his reasons for walking off the set of Ong Bak 2, and denying any involvement in black magic. With funding for the film being a major problem, and Jaa being a bit of a fledgling to the director’s chair and under a great deal of pressure, it’s not out of the question that he might have lost it, With Ong Bak 3 tentatively in the works, we will see if Tony can dry his eyes, cast a few enchanted spells, and bring this threequel to a successful close.
1. The Abyss (1989) – Ed Harris & Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
You can call Ed Harris a crybaby (yes, he actually pulled his car over and cried from the strain of filming) and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio high strung (emotional breakdown and walking off the set), but working with James Cameron on The Abyss couldn’t have been a cakewalk. While many of the main cast was forced to work in extreme conditions, the demands on Harris and Mastrantonio were by far the greatest. In one scene Harris was instructed to swim a fair stretch underwater with no breathing apparatus. There was an emergency diver on-hand to supply air to Harris, but as the diver was forced to stay out of the shot, it would take him an uncomfortably long length of time to reach the actor, causing Ed to have some anxiety issues. During Mastrantonio’s resurrection death scene, the demands were such that she stormed off the set, only to return to find out the last scene (a really good take apparently) had been lost, due to the camera running out of film.
Given Cameron’s penchant for detail and pushing actors to the limit, it easy to see how an underwater shoot would cause problems. South Carolina (where large portions of The Abyss were filmed) can be bad enough, but being stuck there submerged for hours at a time in a huge tank of an abandoned nuclear power plant? That just sucks, regardless of the paycheck. But while the actors themselves were on edge from a rigorous schedule and fighting off insanity from filming below deck, Cameron lived in his own hell. After hours on the set, he was forced to watch dailies underwater on a portable monitor while decompressing from each day’s shoot.
Read Mania's Review for Ong Bak 2 :HERE
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This article doesn't quite fit the kind of thing usually covered on a "genre" site. It's more of a Bob Eubanks/TV special kind of article. "And number 3 on our list of ALL-TIME meltdowns is..."