It would seem that it is vitally important that directors and actors at least respect each other while making a film, but Hollywood history is riddled with cases where this simply did not happen. . One of the most famous disagreements nearly turned fatal when Werner Herzog threatened to shoot (with a gun) the notoriously erratic star Klaus Kinski. during the filming of “Aguirre, the Wrath of God”. No guns were brandished on the set of “Hook,” but Steven Spielberg didn’t enjoy his time working with Julia Roberts (they haven’t worked together since). And then there is David O. Russellwho fought and/or terrorized stars like Amy Adams, Lily Tomlin and George Clooney; If there’s any justice, O. Russell, a once-formidable talent who hasn’t directed a watchable film since 2010’s “The Fighter,” won’t be allowed back behind the camera until he learns to behave like a decent human being.
Bruce Willis is an actor who had a reputation for being in conflict with his directors. The sadly retired artist (who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023) had a horrible time filming the horrible “Cop Out” with Kevin Smith and was so unhappy with the direction of “Broadway Brawler” by Lee Grant that the Disney studio closed the entire filming. decreasing production (thus forcing Willis to make a film called “The Sixth Sense”).
Willis also clashed with director Antoine Fuqua during the filming of the war film “Tears of the Sun,” filmed in Nigeria in 2003. It was Fuqua’s first film since the commercial and critical triumph of “Training Day.” , which earned Denzel Washington his first Academy Award for Best Actor. So the timing of Willis’s displeasure was a bit surprising. Fuqua was one of the hottest directors in town, and this film was supposed to be a prestige action film. What could have gone wrong?
Bruce Willis was a pain in Antoine Fuqua’s behind
In an interview with the BBC in 2004 Marking the release of Fuqua’s “King Arthur” (not to be confused with Guy Ritchie’s “Kind Arthur: Legend of the Sword”), the filmmaker spoke about his controversial experience with Willis on the set of “Tears of the Sun.” When asked which actor was “the biggest pain in the ass” he had ever worked with, Fuqua replied:
“Bruce Willis. My ass hurts, no problem with that. We just didn’t get along. We got along off camera, but filming [‘Tears Of The Sun’] we just didn’t get along. Some men don’t get along when it comes to work – you have different work ethic, different opinions, different points of view, different filmmaking methods – and we don’t get along. Off camera we were friends – Bruce is great – but we just don’t get along when it comes to work, and that’s about it. »
For his part, Willis had the right to be hostile. During the filming of the film, he lost consciousness when a projectile from a staged explosion hit him in the head. He then sued Revolution Studios for damages. Fuqua continued to emphasize that his off-camera relationship with Willis was friendly, although he implied that he lost a power struggle with the star on the final cut of the film.
