13 Films Remembered More For The Drama Behind The Scenes Than The Movie Plot

When it comes to watching movies, drama is unavoidable. Well-executed dramas are praised for their ability to depict the emotions, feuds, and romance that we all experience in our daily lives. There's even an award show category devoted entirely to drama films.
But what happens when the true drama unfolds when the cameras are turned off, or when it becomes a little too realistic? Behind-the-scenes turmoil disrupted, interrupted, or even completely wrecked the production of these seven films.
The drama could be tied to a certain actor who has a long history of public difficulties, or other factors. And while some films may survive the drama and become Entertainment masterpieces, others simply cannot. This is why big movie studios tend to avoid or publicize behind-the-scene dramas during production.
On some occasions, however, these dramas simply become hot subjects that people become obsessed with because of how strange a situation is, to the point where it overshadows the film itself. In any case, they all make for interesting stories. So, grab your best glassware because we're about to spill some tea.

#1 Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)

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This rom-com/action film is about a husband and wife finding out they are assassins sent to kill each other. The fact that Brad Pitt fell in love with Angelina Jolie while he was still married to Jennifer Aniston is what makes it more well-known.At the time, the media portrayed Jolie as a "man-eater." who could ruin a marriage. Even though she and Pitt both vehemently denied having a relationship, she told the New York Times in 2008 that she would eventually show the film to their kids because "not a lot of people get to see a movie where their parents fell in love."

Pitt and Aniston split up in January 2005 after they first met in the summer of 2004. Pitt and Jolie participated in a couple's pictorial for W magazine in March, while Aniston formally filed for divorce that July.

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Aniston was taken aback by the "Domestic Bliss" photoshoot because the couple hadn't publicly acknowledged their relationship.

Aniston was followed by paparazzi in the days that followed, even at her house. She was always the target of hostile, frequently misogynistic rumors. She revealed to Vanity Fair, "A divorced man would never be accused of prioritizing his profession over his family. That truly infuriated me."

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But the public's perception also appeared to support her. The same post claimed that "Team Aniston" jerseys vastly outsold "Team Jolie" shirts at a nearby boutique.
Aiston remarked, "Something going to an end is sad. It sort of makes you more vulnerable to sensation. The agony gets worse as you attempt to escape it. In front of the world, I am a human being experiencing a human experience. I wish things weren't in public view. I make a lot of effort to overcome it."
She disregarded the negative publicity since she had pals like Courteney Cox by her side. She chooses to accept Brad's denials that he had an affair with her and that the timing of their photo session for W magazine wasn't cruel.
Six children were eventually raised by Jolie and Pitt together. They were married in 2014, but after charges of domestic abuse, she filed for divorce in 2016.

#2 Escape from Tomorrow (2013)

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The film is an independent horror film about the strange events and hallucinations of a father who loses his job on the last day of his family's vacation to Walt Disney World. The project is infamous for filming at Disney World and Disneyland without permission using guerilla filmmaking techniques.
The movie appeared to be a copyright case waiting to happen because it portrayed characters from Disney parks as child killers and prostitutes. Other aspects of the story implied that the enormous turkey legs were actually made of emu meat and connected a number of attractions to a terrifying conspiracy.

Randy Moore, the writer/director, shed 47 pounds during filming because he was afraid of being caught.

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Additionally, following a close call with security when they spent three and a half hours on the same ride, he ordered his whole cast and crew to leave the park.

Despite claims that the film was edited in South Korea to keep it out of Disney's sights, only the visual effects were completed there. It debuted at Sundance.

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Tim Wu, a professor at Columbia Law School, attended the screening and then published an article in The New Yorker explaining why he didn't think the movie broke any copyright rules. He noted: "It appears to obviously come under a recognized category of fair use as criticism of Disney World's social principles, therefore a court probably won't be able to enforce copyright or trademark laws to prevent it. The movie focuses more on the unattainable family perfection promised by a day spent at the park than it does on Disney World itself."

Finally, Disney refused to comment on the film and preferred to ignore it, a decision that purportedly sought to avoid drawing additional attention to the production or giving it free exposure.

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According to studio marketing officials questioned by The Hollywood Reporter, the Walt Disney Company's silence injured the movie more than pursuing legal action, which would have increased awareness of it.
The official "Disney A-Z" catalogue from D23 does, however, mention Escape from Tomorrow and calls it "an independent surrealistic cult film surreptitiously filmed at Walt Disney World and Disneyland."

#3 I Heart Huckabees (2004)

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An independent comedy, the film follows a detective team whose inquiries focus on "universal interconnectivity." Two leaked films of an altercation between performer Lily Tomlin and director David O. Russell that went popular on YouTube overshadowed it.Russell yelled at Tomlin, called her names, and said he was only trying to "help" her throughout his profanity-filled tirade.

Russell's rage came back to haunt him when he was honored with a career appreciation award at the 2012 IFP Gotham Awards. As part of his introductory speech, comedian and host Mike Birbiglia repeated the director's diatribe, but Russell handled it in stride.

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He said to Vulture, "Old news, already! How will you proceed? I take it humorously. You have to smile when you make a mistake."

Tomlin told the Hollywood Reporter in 2015 that they "made up in just a few hours, and then [they] had a second fracas."

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She went on, "I had become stoic in my misery by that point. But we managed to get past it. It fades away and disappears. Every day while we were filming, I was working on The Search (for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe). So I would have to leave at five and go into the city. I think I was overextending myself. However, it wasn't a major issue."

#4 Roar (1981)

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A biologist and his family face off against wild animals in this action comedy. The filmmaker and his entire family were injured by wild creatures, earning the production the reputation of being among the riskiest Movies ever filmed.

After putting the film's theory to the test by bringing lions into their own home, Noel Marshall and his wife, actress Tippi Hedren, cast themselves and their children in the starring parts.

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Because no other actor was willing to come into such close contact with the animals, Marshall was forced to take on the role of the male lead.
"132 big cats, one elephant, three aoudad sheep, and a collection of ostriches, flamingos, marabou, storks, and black swans." were among the cast members, Hedren claimed in her memoirs.

The cast was injured both on-screen and behind the scenes. Marshall was poisoned with blood. Hedren required skin transplants and gangrene therapy. Melanie Griffith, her daughter, need cosmetic surgery when an animal injured her face near her eye.

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There was also a risk to the crew. The scalp of director of photography Jan de Bont had to be sewn back on with 120 stitches.
"Dad was an f–king a–hole to do that to his family." John Marshall reportedly told the NY Post.

The film was in production for 11 years before it was released internationally. It wasn't released in the United States until 2015 when Drafthouse Films added the tagline "most dangerous film ever made."

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Shambala, an animal refuge north of Los Angeles, was founded by Hedren in 1971. After their divorce, Marshall continued to contribute financially to the ranch.
In order to care for the Shambala animals, she established the Roar Foundation in 1983.
She stated this to the Los Angeles Times: "People occasionally tell me that Noel and I would still be together if it weren't for the lions.
I'm not sure, but I doubt that accidents and flooding happened frequently. 140 individuals were present daily around the lions and tigers during the actual filming. Astonishingly, there weren't more mishaps. That experience taught us a lot of things. That is currently keeping us secure."

#5 Pulgasari (1985)

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The film is a dark fantasy with Godzilla influences. It was only produced as a result of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il kidnapping renowned South Korean director Shin Sang-ok and his wife, actor Choi Eun-hee; nevertheless, their release was made possible by the popularity of the film.
Shin said to the Guardian: "Even though I detested communism, I had to seem like I was loyal to it in order to leave this desolate republic. It was insane."

Shin said in his memoir, Kingdom of Kim, that the dictator forced him to make the film as propaganda for the Korean Workers' Party.

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Additionally, he said that after being apprehended during an attempted escape, he was given a four-year prison term. At a ceremony Kim hosted after his release, he was reunited with Choi. They learned the purpose of their kidnapping there, after which they started producing propaganda movies.Before making it to Vienna, they finished seven movies. The secret tape Choi made during their first encounter with Kim—which was released and shown in South Korea—was the key to their release.

Shin and Choi were granted permission to fly to Austria to meet with a film distributor following the success of Pulgasari. They never returned to North Korea after landing in Vienna.

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They had lunch with a Japanese film critic acquaintance who assisted them in boarding a taxi and taking them to the American embassy.

Pulgasari was published on VHS by ADV Films, an American anime distribution company, in 2001. Since then, the film has played in several independent theaters throughout the world.

Source: Korea Film Studio / ADV Films / Via youtube.com

#6 Super Mario Bros (1993)

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Although the film is an adventure comedy with inspiration from a well-known Nintendo game, husband and wife directing team Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel drastically diverged from the original and took the project in a darker direction.
The movie was filmed in Dinohatten, an alternate universe version of New York City ruled by dinosaurs that were nevertheless linked to the "real world" by a portal.
Due to a tight timeline with associated financial penalties, production was hurried, and several script revisions were made with references to Mad Max and Die Hard.
Morton remarked on Game Informer, "I desired a more complex cinematic...
I wanted to create a movie that would break everything down and interest parents in video games."

The directors' vision, however, conflicted with the studio's expectations for a joyful family film, which the actors and crew mostly shared. Tensions rose, and rewrites proceeded. The producers won a battle with the directors to incorporate Mario and Luigi's distinctive overalls.

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According to rumors, Morton spilled coffee on one extra because he thought they weren't grubby enough for the scenario they were filming.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the cast and crew dubbed the directors "Rockabell" and "Rocky and Annabel, the Flying Squirrel Show."

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Dennis Hopper, an actor, stated "Why won't the filmmakers provide interviews? The wisest thing I've ever heard from them is that. The only intelligent action I've heard of them doing, in my opinion, is that."

Between scenes, the actors who played Mario and Luigi — Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo – drank scotch together. According to reports, Leguizamo was inebriated during a scene in which he had to drive a van and braked too forcefully, causing the sliding doors to break Hoskins' hand.

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Hoskins told the Guardian in 2007: "What was my worst action ever? The Super Mario Bros. It was a nightmare, for real. The entire situation was a nightmare. It was directed by a husband-and-wife duo whose conceit had been misconstrued for talent. Their own agent urged them to leave the set after so many weeks! horrible nightmare stupid asses."

After principal photography concluded, the filmmakers were barred from additional filming and the editing room until Morton enlisted the help of the Director's Guild of America union.

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The final product was a box office dud, making less than half of what it cost to make.
However, it made a special 20th-anniversary release in 2013 and went back into theaters.

#7 Justice League (2017)

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After Superman's demise, the movie followed the alliance of several of DC's most popular superheroes. But allegations of wrongdoing and a director change midway through the filming created a bigger controversy.

After his daughter died, filmmaker Zack Snyder took a break during post-production to be with his family. Joss Whedon, whom Snyder had already brought on board to rewrite extra scenes, was replaced by Warner Bros.

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DCEU producer Charles Roven remarked during the Wonder Woman premiere, "It was fortunate that Zack was able to persuade him to step in and finish the movie to aid Zack in realizing his vision. About it, we're enthusiastic."

However, in 2020, Cyborg actor Ray Fisher claimed on Twitter that the new director's "on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable."

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection

WarnerMedia launched an inquiry and took "remedial action" but they chose not to reveal the findings.The investigation's lead investigator, former federal judge Katherine Forrest, told the Hollywood Reporter that she had found "no credible support for claims of racial animus."
Fisher did, however, tell THR that he believed it was his duty to "explain some of the most basic points of what would be offensive to the Black community." when working for Whedon.
The director allegedly told him, "It feels like I’m taking notes right now, and I don’t like taking notes from anybody — not even Robert Downey Jr." when he tried to express his concerns with Whedon.
THR was informed by further sources that the filmmaker had disagreements with each of the key actresses, including Gal Gadot, who played Wonder Woman. These people claimed "Joss boasted that he was done with Gal. She is going to shut up and say the lines, he said, and he can make her look terribly foolish in this movie since he is the writer."

Whedon's version of the film bombed at the box office, but Warner Bros. released the Snyder Cut in 2021, declaring it a "hit" and a "global phenomenon."

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Additionally, Snyder's version received accolades for being more inclusive than Whedon's.

#8 Suicide Squad (2016)

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Viola Davis, who played Amanda Waller told Vanity Fair, "He did some bad things...Jared Leto did."

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She claimed that Leto set up a "henchman" to place a dead pig on the table during practice in order to get things started.

Leto gave Margot Robbie, who played Harley Quinn, a strange gift — a black rat in a box.

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She revealed this on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show "I initially found this to be repulsive. After that, however, I thought, "I'm not going to kill him." I ultimately decided to keep him as a pet. In the end, I bought him a collar, a slide, a hammock, and a cute little playpen because I wanted to take him out and walk him about. But then the owner of the apartment I was renting learned about it."

Karen Fukuhara, who played Katana, was also an unfortunate recipient of the method actor's gifts. She told USA Today, "He did give me some odd, interesting gifts — some sex toys and my first porn magazine."

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She stated: "He was always the Joker. I approached him on the first day he was on set and introduced myself as Karen, good to meet you. I use the Katana. He then exclaims, "He, he, he, he." Hello, lovely. It was both the eeriest and cool event of my life."

Leto told Entertainment Weekly, "I never said anything about delivering obscene gifts to the entire cast." "Any of the few gifts ever presented were offered in a spirit of fun and adventure, and they were greeted with laughter, pleasure, and adventure... I'm portraying the Joker, so I'm allowed to crack a few jokes. Nothing has ever crossed any lines, and it is not the responsibility of others on the internet to draw those lines."

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He went on, "At the end of the day, I'm an artist. You can essentially kiss my ass if I take a risk and you don't like it."

#9 Blade: Trinity (2004)

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Patton Oswalt, who played Hedges, told the AV Club that the production was "a very troubled production" and that "Wesley [Snipes] was just fucking crazy in a hilarious way."

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He claimed that Snipes let his body double-handle everything but close-ups, used marijuana all day and tried to choke the director.
We went out that night to a strip club, and we were all drinking, Oswalt said. Since there were several motorcyclists present, [director] David [S. Goyer] offers to provide them beers if they show up on set the following day and pose as his protection. After freaking out, Wesley returned to his trailer. Wesley sat down with David the following day and said, "I think you need to quit." You are damaging to this movie.
And David said, "Why don't you give up?" We have all of your close-ups, and we could have your stand-in shoot the remaining scenes. And that so alarmed Wesley that he would only interact with the director through Post-it notes for the remainder of the production. And he added "From Blade" as a signature to each Post-it note.
Snipes denied trying to choke Goyer in 2020, saying to the Guardian, "Let me tell you one thing. You most likely wouldn't be speaking to me right now if I had attempted to strangle David Goyer. I assure you that someone will go to jail for strangling a movie director with a muscular Black man.
Additionally, he refuted the Post-it note rumor and made fun of the notion that Oswalt was an "authority" on him. He stated: "the assumption that a remark may be made by one white man and be taken to be accurate! Why would anybody think his account is accurate? because they tend to think that everything is always the fault of the Black person. And all it takes is Mr. Oswalt, who I don't know very well."

Goyer told Uproxx in 2016, "That was the most personally and professionally difficult and painful thing I've ever been through."

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"Having said that, I have a lot of great memories of working on the film with Ryan Reynolds, Jessica Biel, and many other individuals. Today, Ryan and I are still very close. As has been reported, it was a challenging shoot. How shall I begin? Added he.
Additionally, he claimed that since the filming, he hasn't spoken to Snipes.

Snipes filed a $5 million lawsuit against Goyer, executive producer Toby Emmerich, and New Line Cinema in 2005, claiming that they broke their agreements by imposing the supporting cast, director, and script on him. Additionally, he claimed that they still owed him a portion of his fee and that he was the victim of harassment and defamation with racial overtones.

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#10 Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

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An unsuccessful kid actor who enrages her movie star sister is the subject of this psychological horror thriller. However, the majority of the movie's attention came from the long-running conflict between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, who played the lead.

Their feud began in 1933 when news of Crawford's divorce overshadowed publicity for Davis's film, Ex-Lady, in the papers.

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Ex-Lady was pulled from theaters after a week due to weak ticket sales.Two years later, Davis fell in love with Franchot Tone, her Dangerous co-star, while they were filming, but he secretly became engaged to Cindy Crawford.Davis was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for the part, but she didn't expect to win, so she showed up to the ceremony in a simple dress. Crawford, however, ignored her when she won the prize until Tone called her out on it. Then, allegedly, she said, "Hello, Bette! What a gorgeous dress."

Despite Crawford's efforts to put an end to their feud, it persisted. Crawford was also said to be in love with Davis, which Davis reportedly thought to be true.

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Crawford's former friend Katherine Albert wrote The Star in 1952 to make fun of her and starred Davis.

Davis agreed to play Baby Jane on two conditions: (1) she had to play Baby Jane, and (2) the director had to guarantee her that he wasn't sleeping with Crawford. The rivalry between the women created a tense and deadly climate on site.

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It began as something minor. Davis arranged for a Coke machine to be installed in Crawford's dressing area because she was then a Pepsi board member.
However, things swiftly got out of hand. Crawford needed a body double since she didn't believe Davis wouldn't hurt her. She was unable to use the body double when recording a close-up, and Davis reportedly smacked her so hard in the head that she needed stitches.
Crawford also engaged in some physical play, deliberately weighing herself down with boulders and a weightlifter's belt for a scene where Davis had to drag Crawford because Crawford was aware that her competitor had back problems.

The rivalry raged on throughout awards season when Davis was nominated for Best Actress but Crawford was not. Crawford pledged to receive the award on behalf of any other nominees who were unable to attend the presentation in retribution. Because Anne Bancroft won but was unable to attend, Crawford took the award and posed with the other nominees.

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Warner Bros. attempted to put Crawford and Davis in a different film together, but Crawford withdrew less than two weeks into the production.
The FX miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan was inspired by their conflict.

#11 Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

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The paparazzi photos of them together that US Weekly published made their romance public. Both Sanders and Stewart issued formal statements of regret.

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In response, Universal abandoned its plans for a sequel and decided to focus only on Chris Hemsworth's Huntsman. The Huntsman: Winter's War didn't feature Stewart or Sanders.

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The slut-shaming that occurred, according to Stewart on The Howard Stern Show in 2019, "the slut-shaming that went down was so absurd." She added that even though she never did have a sexual relationship with Sanders, she didn't feel comfortable telling anyone because they wouldn't believe her.

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#12 The Room (2003)

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Tommy Wiseau, the film's director, writer, and lead actor, made infamously bizarre choices with the $6 million budget. For instance, he insisted on constructing a personal on-set restroom for himself despite refusing to pay for air conditioning or for the cast to use water bottles.

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The Room became a sort of cult classic despite, or maybe even because of, its oddity. It initially only had a two-week run at a few cinemas, but a startling billboard with Wiseau's picture, a website, and a phone number hung above West Hollywood for five years and advertised the movie.

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Fans had already gathered for midnight screenings when the billboard was finally taken down. When one of the framed spoon photographs was displayed, they shouted, did acts, and flung plastic spoons at the television.

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The story was originally written as a play, then it changed into a novel, and finally, it became a movie. Wiseau handled the production alone and didn't approach studios until the film was ready for distribution. He explained to Portland Mercury, "You see, The Room is simply... Okay, I wanted to go about it my way. You are aware of the saying "My way or the highway."

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#13 And finally, Heart of Glass (1976)

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A professional hypnotist hired by Herzog was fired for promoting "new age bullshit." He then decided to hypnotize the cast himself, many of whom were not performers.

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A professional hypnotist hired by Herzog was fired for promoting "new age bullshit." He then decided to hypnotize the cast himself, many of whom were not performers.

Source: Werner Herzog Filmproduktion courtesy Everett Collection