27 Directors Who Took Things to Wildly Unethical Heights to Get the Shot

When ‘anything for the shot’ goes way too far
27 Directors Who Took Things to Wildly Unethical Heights to Get the Shot
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If any of you happen to work on a film set and roll your eyes at some of the overly protective regulations on set, you have these complete psychos to blame. In a time where these regulations weren’t in place, directors seemed to have complete immunity in the name of getting the shot. 

These directors succeeded in bringing their vision to life, but some poor souls paid the price for it.

Alien

The cast didn't fully grasp the concept of a chestburster until this very moment. ALIEN Ridley Scott wanted to document their authentic reactions, and he certainly got 'em. Veronica Cartwright fainted when she saw it.

The Exorcist

Father Karras was mislead about the amount of puke. THE EXORCIST CRACKED.COM Actor Jason Miller was legitimately pissed when he got a mouthfull of old pea soup, having been promised he would get hit in the chest.

Fight Club

David Fincher made Ed Norton clock Brad Pitt in the noggin. FIGHT CLUB CRACKED.COM Pitt famously wonders aloud, Why the ear?! which... good question! Where would you punch Brad Pitt? Sound off in the comments!

Kes

The director told this kid they had to kill his animal costar. KES CRACKED.COM In reality, they just used the dead body of a bird who had died of natural causes (dubious), but the actor wasn't told the truth until after he'd filmed the tragic climactic scene.

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

The kids were kept in the dark. WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY CRACKED.COM It was cute when they got to see the Chocolate Room for the first time... until you realize they had no idea what was coming when they stepped onto that boat.

Chinatown

Faye Dunaway threw her pee at Roman Polanski. CHINATOWN CRACKED.COM Among other awful behavior, Polanski wouldn't allow Dunaway bathroom breaks, forcing her to pee in cups. In protest, she hucked one of her pee cups in his face.

American Hustle

AMY ADAMS & DAVID O RUSSELL CRACKED.COM There could be a whole list for o Russell. In 2014, Amy Adams and David o Russell clashed on American Hustle. Adams said that he made her cry with his process of shouting at actors mid-scene. Не was hard on me, that's for sure, she told GQ. I was really just devastated on set. She has no intention of working with him again.

The Shining

SHELLEY DUVALL & STANLEY KUBRICK CRACKED.COM Production delays on 'The Shining' kept Duvall from her family for a whole year, and Kubrick made her life a living nightmare by berating her in front of the crew. In an interview, she said, My character had to cry 12 hours a day the last nine months straight, five or six days a week.

Titanic

KATE WINSLET & JAMES CAMERON CRACKED.COM Winslet described 'Titanic' as grueling. She suffered from hypothermia in the ocean scene, caught her coat on a gate and almost drowned in another, and got no sympathy from director James Cameron. She said, Не has a temper like you wouldn't believe. You'd have to pay me a lot of money to work with Jim again.

I Heart Huckabees

David О. Russell threw a violent temper tantrum. I HEART HUCKABEES CRACKED.COM After Lily Tomlin expressed frustration with his notes and revisions, he freaked out and started throwing and kicking props all over the set. The whole thing was caught on camera! It's wild!

The Exorcist (Again)

William Friedkin slapped one of his actors as hard as he could on a movie set. It was for The Exorcist, and the person was a priest who couldn't portray the right level of shock-so Friedkin slapped him as hard as he could. CRACKED.COM

The Abyss

On The Abyss, an actress complained about being treated like an animal. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio got slapped for a scene in the ,James Cameron movie even after the camera went off, so she got up, said We are not animals! and left. CRACKED.COM

Chinatown

On Chinatown, Roman Polanski plucked out a hair from Faye Dunaway once. It was spoiling the shot, apparently, so he just went up and yanked it from her head -presumably, moving it would never have worked. CRACKED.COM

The Terminator

Illegal filmmaking The Terminator filmed without a permit and poisoned the crew. They didn't pay for permits, and snuck a lot of shots on L.A. streets. Worse, they didn't stop filming when pesticides were sprayed over the city, so the fog washing over the cast and crew was incredibly toxic. CRACKED

Easy Rider

Illegal filmmaking Easy Rider's drug use and knife fights, The drugs used on camera were real, and the cast and crew partook off-camera as well. Director Dennis Hopper also threatened actor Rip Torn with a knife, but claims Torn pulled a knife first. CRACKED

Noah’s Ark

Illegal filmmaking Extras died in 1928's Noah's Ark. For the flood, cameraman Hal Mohr quit when director Michael Curtiz rolled his eyes at his safety concerns. Three extras died, another lost a limb, and a dozen suffered serious injuries, but Curtiz somehow escaped any legal repercussions. CRACKED

The Birds

Illegal filmmaking Alfred Hitchcock terrorized actors and birds) on The Birds. Hitchcock pelted actress Tippi Hedren with live birds (injuring and killing the birds), and force-fed whisky to seagulls to get them to stay still for longer. Hedren was hospitalized, and he ruined her career when she refused his sexual advances. CRACKED

Alien 3

Illegal filmmaking David Fincher took matters into his own hands on Alien 3. Producers thought the drooling Xenormorph was too much, so Fincher took a rogue crew, stole an alien costume, and took Sigourney Weaver to another location (without a permit) to shoot the scene against their wishes. CRACKED

Justice League

Joss Whedon threatened Gal Gadot's career on the Justice League shoot. Не had her record lines she didn't want to say, apparently telling her he could make her look incredibly stupid in the finished movie if he wanted to. CRACKED.COM

The Return of the Living Dead

THE YELLOWISH SMOKE DURING THE OPENING CREDITS WAS PRETTY TOXIC _IN_ THE RETURN of THE LIVING DEAD. Apparently the only way to get yellow smoke was for the production team to use sulfur. It took a few minutes of pumping that smoke to give most of the people on set terrible headaches. CRACKED.COM

The Blair Witch Project

The cast was subject to constant psychological torture. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT CRACKED COM They were periodically told to pick fights with each other, while being stalked through the woods day and night by crew members.

Scream

Wes Craven threatened to murder Drew Barrymore's dog. SCREAM CRACKED.COM In order to rile her up into the blubbering ball of fear she becomes, the director recounted acts of animal cruelty to her between takes, culminating in the graphic threat.

The Others

Alakina Mann The Others Mann had to stay indoors during daylight hours for the duration of the three-and-a-half-month shoot in order to remain pale. CRACKED.COM

The Evil Dead

Sam Raimi injured and tortured Bruce Campbell for months. THE EVIL DEAD CRACKED.COM The whole cast was in the dark when it came to Raimi's practical effects, but Campbell took the brunt. For example, Raimi routinely re-sprained his ankle.

Real Bullets

IN THE EARLY DAYS OF CINEMA, REAL BULLETS WERE FIRED AT ACTORS. Before blanks, squibs, and special effects were invented, directors would hire sharpshooters to shoot over actors' heads during gunfight scenes. CRACKED.COM

White Wilderness

Disney widely popularized the myth that lemmings deliberately commit mass suicide in its nature documentary White Wilderness. FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD! A FABULOUS NEW ADVENTURE IN EXCITING ENTERTAINMENT Walt Disney's WHITE WILDERNESS TECHNICOLOR TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURE FEATURE Disney filmmakers actually threw the cute rodents of a cliff to stage a scene of their migration, now known to be a natural act of dispersion that involves some accidental deaths. GRAGKED.COM

Strangers on a Train

27 Directors Who Took Things to Wildly Unethical Heights to Get the Shot

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