What were the most abusive , toxic TV / movie sets ?

The original Roseanne was supposedly pretty bad.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Gone With the Wind. Didn't it have 5 different directors?

Anything with Joan Crawford?

THE MISFITS. John Huston was drinking and gambling. Arthur Miller was constantly rewriting. Monty Cliff was damaged and failing. They blamed it all on Marilyn and barely finished the film. Almost immediately Clark Gable died.

"Cybill" was pretty bad. Alan Rosenberg has said it's his worst acting experience ever, and Christine Baranski would leave the building as soon as her scenes were finished, flying home to New York every weekend.

^ I agree.

The Munsters was supposed to be impossible, so was Laverne & Shirley and Three’s Company.

Tell me about The Munsters set.

Three’s Company

R3 GWTW had a total of three directors: Cukor (fired at the insistance of Gable), Fleming, and Sam Wood, who took over during a two week period in May while Fleming was recovering from exhaustion/a nervous breakdown. That was owing more to the sheer scope of the project, and porducer David O. Selznick's extreme perfectionism, than a toxic atmosphere.

Who got credit for directing r11?

Fleming, r12.

R4 Joan caused havoc on the production of Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte by faking illness and bowing out of it. Joan hadn't wanted Bette to get all the glory like she had done for Baby Jane, and Bette was still pissed about Joan campaigning AGAINST her Oscar and accepting the award for Anne Bancroft at the ceremony. Bette had all the Pepsi machines replaced with coke machines and basically made her life hell.

Has anyone listened to TCM's podcast about The Bonfire of the Vanities? I suspect that movie was very dysfunctional during production.

"Teletubbies."

I won't mention Po's name, but let's just say Lea Michele wasn't the only complete cunt working in television in the last 20 years.

Well, The Revenant was supposedly pretty bad, but since Leo is still a force to be reckoned with, no one's really talking

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.

Glee, bitches. And then half the cast died or committed suicide.

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Sex and the City, thanks to old HORSE FACE!

Lots of anal on the set

Desire Me (1947): MGM spent millions to build a seaside village on the backlot for this romantic melodrama set in post-war France, and started filming in the summer of 1946 with Greer Garson, Robert Montgomery, and Robert Mitchum starring and George Cukor directing; but conflict between the actor and the director caused Montgomery to bail after three weeks and Cukor to be fired; stage actor Richard Hart was then cast in Montgomery's role, and subsequently, while filming on the California coast, he and Garson were swept away by a large wave, with Garson injuring her back, causing another shutdown; shooting extended into the spring of 1947 and the movie was released in the fall of that year (after Hart's second film, Green Dolphin Street, had already been released and become a huge hit), whereupon it flopped massively, ending Garson's reign as a box-office queen and causing the moneymen in New York to bring in former RKO chief Dore Schary to put a break on the absolute power of MGM chief Louis B. Mayer, the first step in his eventual ouster a few years later. Multiple directors worked on the film -- aside from Cukor, others who had a hand in helming the production were Mervyn LeRoy, Jack Conway, and Victor Savile -- but nobody was credited on the final product, reportedly the first big studio film to be released without a directing credit.

The Lucy Show.

"The Island Of Dr. Moreau" (1996). For instance: it got so bad, that at one point Fairuza Balk actually tried to bail out. She was subsequently tracked down all the way in Sydney International Airport, and brought back. And that's not even the worst of it.

On top of everything, the movie is asolute trash. Oh, and so was Val Kilmer at the time. He intentionally fucked with production, and even burned the sideburn of a cameraman with a cigarette, because he "thought it was funny".

Buffy the Vampire Slayer mainly due to Alysen Hannigan and Seth Green...before he was fired/quit.

There's no way Three's Company makes this thread.

Oliver Stone used to try to fuck his female interns in the office. And probably on his sets.

Grace Under Fire sounded like a trainwreck.

R15 There is a book on BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES called THE DEVIL'S CANDY. Im sure the podcast is just based on that reporting. DePalma, thinking he was directing a classic, allowed a NYTimes reporter to shadow him throughout production. The wild thing is im sure some people would say that was a wildly egotistical move and a mistake. It wasn't.

If anything, the production of BONFIRE was mundane. You get a sense of what DePalma was going for and some of the creative and casting decisions as they occurred (Since any discussion of it after would be just monday morning quarterbacking). But even the book itself is kind of mundane. DePalma was a professional, Hanks was a professional, Melanie Griffith actually delivers one of her best comic performances, Willis was trying to step up in to respectable movie stardom and was on better behavior than what came later.....

R26, how was Seth green on set?

As far as television, ROSEANNE was definitely one of the worst. When Tom Arnold became involved with the show, he and Roseanne ruled with iron fists.

Green and Hannigan have been besties since their child acting days and when they made Willow a lesbian instead of Oz's true love they both got very sour about it, hence Hannigan's constant mistreatment of Amber Bensen who played Tara.

Willow and Tara had zero chemistry and Allison seems like a major cunt .

Baby Driver

Or pretty much any Kevin Spacey movie

We had a Magnavox that used to shove a sock in my mouth and beat me with its antenna every afternoon until I was twelve.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Twilight Zone: The Movie

Yes!

Someone mention "The Island of Dr.Moraeu" but I've also heard that Kubrick psychologically abused Shelly Duvall on the set of "The Shining." The rest of the set seemed pretty positive though - which is weird.

TV show "Moonlighting" between Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepard,but again it seemed from what I've read that it a personal thing between those two..

Interesting though the she's attached to two notoriously toxic sets.

Star Trek: Voyager

Although Tim Russ got along with everyone famously.

Who ever heard of toxic tv show sets? WE ARE NICE, GODDAMNIT

Mr. Rogers was hell on set - King, Elaine and even Grandpere were all afraid of his violent outbursts.

Bryan Singer's X-Men sets

Designing Women. I was a child at the time and somehow remember every step in that saga.

ALF

R47, I always thought Benji Gregory looked a little afraid of the ALF puppet in some of their scenes.

Any Otto Preminger movie

ALF is another good one. Max Wright (father Willie) wasn’t the easiest to work with and the entire cast hated dealing with the show’s time consuming challenges.

Desperate housewives. Marc cherry should have gotten over whatever personal beef he had with Nicolette Sheridan. The show went downhill after it bumped off Edie. She was a fantastic foil for the sweet and daffy Susan.

Anne Schedeen on ALF gave off a vague sense that she might really excel in a drama. It's too bad she never found that project.

That sounds really cunty but that's not how I meant it at all.

Ellen

R41, the YMRT season on Polly Platt talks about Cybil Shepard sleeping with Bogdonovich at night and then getting her hair, makeup and costumes prepared in the morning by his wife Platt, who was also advising on the scenes designed to make Shepard look appealing.

[quote] Bryan Singer's X-Men sets

You can't just drop that there, with no explanation.

From what I could tell, the actors all seemed pretty happy.

Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have returned for the sequels.

Regarding Anne Schedeen, from IMDB:

“She made five guest appearances on Three's Company (1976) from 1978-1982. The first three times, she was Jack Tripper's girlfriend Linda; the fourth time as his date Lisa; the final time as a loan officer Louise who rejects Jack's request for a loan, as well as rejecting his advances. She worked with all the regular cast members of the show, with the exception of Ann Wedgeworth, and she said it was the happiest set she had ever been.”

R55, Singer is known for erratic behavior

There was an account of him getting in a huge fight with Halle Berry and her screaming "Kiss my black ass!" at him

Plus all the stories about his casting couch

Speaking of Bryan Singer, there was that lawsuit about his behavior on the set of Apt Pupil

And the fight he and Kevin Spacey had on the set of The Usual Suspect

R50 wow that was an interesting read - never knew that about the Alf set.

I didn't even know the dad died.

R16 Po was struggling with meth addiction and bipolar disorder at the time. Not excusing it but it was rough. He discusses this in his biography " Waiting for the Sun to Rise: A Teletubbies Journey Through Addiction and Fame".

8 is Enuf. Dick Van Patten was the only stabilizing force. Grant Goodeve was hot, and not an egomaniac but the daughters were so batshit crazy, demanding the same money as Grant, Willie Aames and Adam Rich. They staged a walk out once and TPTB brought on replacements who only marginally resembled Laurie, Lani and Susan. They were shot from behind and given no dialogue. Laurie Walters wrote a lesbian script where Joannie admitted to Abby she was sexually attracted to her. Needless to say it was changed to Joannie felt resentment from Abby because she was her mother's namesake.

I miss EIE

R22 Clooney's wife?

The original production of The Godfather was a bad time for everyone involved, not necessarily because of abuse or cast hostility, but because of constant creative conflict between everyone involved, namely Coppola vs. Crew and Paramount execs.

Can’t remember the directors name (Victor Salva? )he made Powder and his first movie was called Clown House. One of the kids said he was molested by the director and ended up doing jail time for child molestation. I Think he is still in the business today since he got out started directing again.

Apocalypse Now was a pretty famously troubled production. Among other things, Martin Sheen had a heart attack on set from the stress and Dennis Hopper got Laurence Fishburne (then a teenager) hooked on heroin.

That’s something, R11, because, according to IMDb, Fleming and Cukor also helmed The Wizard of Oz with 3 other directors.

I assume that was around the same time as GWTW, since both came out in ‘39 - perhaps someone here knows for sure.

But TWoO had its rough patches as well, with Buddy being burned by the silver Tin Man make-up and having to be replaced by Jack. I seem to remember hearing of other tough situations on that set.

No wonder Fleming had a breakdown.

And Cukor, fired by Gable and then again, according to an above poster, from the Garson debacle.

Poor guy.

Damn dog on Wizard of Oz made more than the munchkins!

Aguirre, the Wrath of God. Both director, Werner Herzog, and star, Klaus Kinski, were nuts, and the strenuous jungle shoot didn't help matters. Kinski became so irate by the noise cast and crew were making, he fired a gun and shot off the tip of an extra's finger. Another time, when an exasperated Kinski tried to leave the jungle, Herzog threatened to shoot him and then himself.

Twilight Zone movie

[quote]Interesting though the she's (Cybill Shepherd) attached to two notoriously toxic sets.

She was pretty damn toxic on the set of "The Last Picture Show" too...

That's 3 for 3 for Cybill - I see a pattern

Lies...goddamned lies!

Who said I'm difficult?

I want names!

I will DESTROY them!

Lucille Ball shoved and kicked elderly character actress Ruth McDevitt on the set of "Here's Lucy" when McDevitt repeatedly failed to hit her mark in a scene.

McDevitt fell to the ground screaming.

Longtime director Maury Thompson reportedly told Lucy later that day he could no longer continue to work with her.

[quote] "Someone mention "The Island of Dr.Moraeu" but I've also heard that Kubrick psychologically abused Shelly Duvall on the set of "The Shining."

R25 Here. I added "Moreau", to the list, R40. But I don't understand the point you're trying to make by referencing "The Shining". "Moreau" was directed by Richard Stanley (until he was fired three days into filming), and John Frankenheimer.

I remember Cybill telling Liz Smith that the rumors she and Christine didn't get along were obvious nonsense because, if not for her, Cybill, no one would know who Christine was.

Any series starring either Bette Midler or Nathan Lane.

True Hollywood Story did an episode on Home Improvement, and Patricia Richardson seemed to think that Tim Allen was a jackass.

Patricia Richardson is correct

NCIS, according to Pauley Perrette.

[quote]R6 Christine Baranski would leave the building as soon as her scenes were finished, flying home to New York every weekend.

That’s because she had children at home (in NY)

R15 I'm two episodes in. It's interesting and Julie Saloman tells a good story, but dear lord her speaking voice. Why oh why do grown women have these nasal, high-pitched little girl voices, like the ditzy sitcom next-door neighbor? It's almost unlistenable and yet I'm enjoying it.

[quote]R61 the daughters were so batshit crazy, demanding the same money as Grant, Willie Aames and Adam Rich [on “Eight is Enough”]

Yeah… actresses are crazy for wanting to be paid the same as actors.

I Heart Huckabees

Lily Tomlin and David O. Russell had a real hatefest goin.

In this first video, the real action kicks in around 01:05.

I Heart Huckabees part 2

Didn't Baranski become known to the general public because of Cybil?

[quote] Buffy the Vampire Slayer mainly due to Alysen Hannigan and Seth Green...before he was fired/quit.

Hannigan used to whine about how Julie Benz was a cunt to her, but she wasn't any better with other people on the show. She kind of reminds me of how Jennie Garth bitched for years about Shannen Doherty being on cunt on the Beverly HIlls 90210 set. But, Jennie was a cunt to several actresses who joined the show post Shannen Doherty. The gossip she was cunt to Tiffani Amber Theissen, Emma Caulfield, Vanessa Marcil and Kathleen Robertson. I think it was either Emma or Vanessa who went on record about Jennie's cuntiness. Jennie and TIffani have had feuds over the years. Jessica Alba said in some interview a year ago or two that Jennie was awful due a short guest star arc she had on the show.

I thought Lucy kicking Ruth and knocking her down was a joke. Lucy was not only mean but insane. Jesus what a horrible person. And I thought her saying Angela did not want to do the movie of Mame was bad.

[quote]R71 [Cybill] was pretty damn toxic on the set of "The Last Picture Show" too...

Oh? What did she do… aside from have dinners in out of the way restaurants with the director and sometimes sleep in his room?

What do you imagine she did that was so “toxic” and disruptive?

R42 The cast of Star Trek Voyager got along very well in the show's early years but when Jeri Ryan was brought in, Kate Mulgrew lost it and made life on set a living hell for Jeri. Other members of the cast have admitted dreading filming days when they were stuck working with Mulgrew and Ryan together.

Mulgrew's anger is understandable as she felt the producers decision to up the T&A factor to try and improve the show's falling ratings damaged the feminist leaning of the series. She was also upset that Jennifer Lien (Kes) was fired to make room for Ryan as Lien was dealing with mental health issues and Mulgrew felt producers should have done more to support Lien. Unfortunately, Mulgrew took her anger out on Ryan and not the producers. Also, Mulgrew was allegedly jealous because when the show started, she was the star and the only member of the cast who made media appearances. When Ryan was added, she became the center of media attention for the show. IN later seasons, Mulgrew also began feuding with other members of the cast, particularly Robert Beltran, and when they finished filming the series the only cast member that said goodbye to Mulgrew was Robert Picardo.

To give Mulgrew credit, in recent years she has fully acknowledged her poor treatment of Ryan and they have seemed to made up, evening making convention appearances together.

To her credit,

I’m certain that Cybil is aspie

[quote]She was also upset that Jennifer Lien (Kes) was fired to make room for Ryan as Lien was dealing with mental health issues and Mulgrew felt producers should have done more to support Lien.

Jennifer Lien was batshit crazy and on drugs and it was a very sad situation but at the same time there was a show that had to be made and people had to work, Lien was interfering with all that. There's only so much people can do in a situation like that before time and money and slowing down production become a major factor and Lien just had to be let go.

Jeri Ryan and Kate Mulgrew made amends with each other and they're friends now.

Voyager ended 20 years ago, if you can even believe it.

[quote] It's interesting and Julie Saloman tells a good story, but dear lord her speaking voice. Why oh why do grown women have these nasal, high-pitched little girl voices...

Another one? I thought you meant the unlistenable Karina Longworth who ruins the "You Must Remember This" podcast!

Also in the 2 for 2 category.

That cunt N Sheridan > Desperate Housewives and Dynasty

Cybill Shepherd has been a disaster on just about every set she's ever been on. In "The Golden Turkeys" the authors talk at length about how unprofessional she was filming "At Long Last Love"--she was would burst into tears and scream, "I CAN'T STAND IT! I CAN'T STAND IT!" when they had to do takes in front of hot lights.

On the set of "Cybill" she didn't get along with any of the other actors except Tom Wopat, who was so thankful to be getting steady work. She was incredibly jealous of Christine Baranski whose Mary Ann was the show's breakout character, and thought Baranski flew back to Buffalo on weekends just to spite her, rather than for Baranski to see her husband. She wasn't on speaking terms with either Peter Krause who played her son-in-law or Alicia Witt (who was dating Krause by the end of the show) who played her daughter. The writers loathed her constant demands to change the scripts to make them glorify her--Alan Ball has spoken about this at great length in several venues.

R91 That's not entirely true. The book that came out late last year for Voyager's 25th anniversary goes into quiet a bit of detail about Lien. She was dealing with mental problems and addiction, but that it didn't overtly affect her work. In fact towards the end of the third season, Lien was seemingly in a better place and the producers were clearly planning for her to be involved in the fourth season "Year of Hell" episode arc. It was Garret Wang who had been slated to be fired at the end of the third season (even before they decided to add Jeri Ryan). Wang was problematic on set with Wang suspended from two episodes and made to go to rehab by Rick Berman (Wang denies he was ever on drugs). But Wang was selected as one of People's Magazines 100 most beautiful people and Paramount told producers they could not fire him, so Lien was cut instead.

Alan Ball talks about Cybill and doesn't hold back. He hated the show and her.

Cybill Shepherd was so pretty back in the day.

[quote]Cybill Shepherd was so pretty back in the day.

So was Magda Goebbels...

Sam Peckinpah's later movies - He had a crew and some actors he hired for different movies, so they'd gotten to know each other. On the set of [italic]the Ballad of Cable Hogue[/italic], they had a regular poker game going. Even on a good day, Peckinpah was a cantankerous alcoholic. On one of his worse days, he was standing by the poker table. In a fit of pique, he mixed up everything on the table, so the hands were screwed up, the pot was a mess, and everyone's money was hopelessly confused. With that the crew had finally had it. They started a collection to hire a hit man to have him killed. One of the actors intervened to calm everyone down.

r95 Peter Krause was hot before he got fat.

The CW's Dynasty reboot. 2 recasts and three leads fired in just two seasons, the DRAMA!

Apparently, Elizabeth Gillies and Nicolette Sheridan HATED each other. Gillies's very dry sense of humour upset Sheridan during filming of the Season 1 finale. When they returned that summer for Season 2, Sheridan made sure that her screen-time with Gillies has kept on the minimum. Half-way through Season 2 the producers got fed up trying to write around the Sheridan's demands so they fired her. Giles and the writers decided to stick the knife into Sheridan by making Giles play a version of her character even mimicking her mannerisms.

r100, I was watching The Osterman Weekend earlier when it popped up on one of the free movie channels. It was Peckinpah's last film and based on the imdb trivia page it sounds like the production was something of a mess. I need to seek out the DVD that includes a documentary about the making of the film.

R102, this is the first time I’ve heard the details of what is obviously a very toxic set. So is Gilles the problem child? Someone has to be a cunt. That show sheds cast members unlike anything I’ve seen before. What happened to the other Crystals? And Steven? Who is the next to go?

Christine Baranski was not flying back to Buffalo, she was going to Cee City to be with her pimp, Billy Clyde Tuggle.

Anything directed by James Cameron or Michael Bay.

For a scene where Ed’s character runs out of oxygen in The Abyss, the Cameron gave him an empty scuba tank to cause actual asphyxiation without telling him. According to rumors, Harris punched him in the face when he found that out.

Michael Bay is the straight version of Bryan Singer.

R93 Yes I thought of that too. I love the idea of that podcast but five minutes was all I could take.

From my friend the costume designer on the art of Little Women (and other Julia Robert’s films) SHES A GRADE A NASTY JEALOUS OF WOMEN CUNT. Not as pretty as people are TOLd she is and was CRUEL to the high school extras standing in the freezing rain while she was under wraps and an umbrella as they froze in the old period clothing getting soaked and she refused to make eye contact with them or anyone while it was HER BEING A TWAT making them stand out there waiting for her. She had such a mean steak, she resents her brother because he’s infinitely more talented yet he’s fucked from drug issues and his daughter Emma is a cunt like her aunt and not as “pretty” so she’s fine with her. She is one of the WORST in HOLLYWOOD. Now complete opposite is Angelina Jolie! This woman deserves the saint angie moniker. Professional, kind, loved to make sure EVERYONE was acknowledged and given respect. She doesn’t have time for the bullshit of playing a star because she is one. Her health is always on out minds, when she got her breasts and lady parts removed to avoid cancer it put her into early menopause which is very difficult and Brad wasn’t supportive , he was too busy smoking weed and drinking with his buddies. She was the stabilizing force of the relationship but she was painted as a loon in the press for her EARLY PRE KIDS lifestyle. He kept everyone thinking he was the decent guy when he wasn’t. He’s fame obsessed and she’s not. But the press love a good female villain story. She’s the opposite.

Was set of Titanic toxic? I vaguely recall that Cameron was a mock keep Winslet on her weight and embarrass her.

[quote]IN later seasons, Mulgrew also began feuding with other members of the cast, particularly Robert Beltran, and when they finished filming the series the only cast member that said goodbye to Mulgrew was Robert Picardo

R96, R89, Early on, they had issues with Rick Berman's direction. He wanted them to behave as if they were in the military and have zero emotion when they spoke. If he caught them doing it, he'd make them reshoot the scenes over and over again. Garrett Wang complained (offhandedly) and he believes that is why he was never allowed to direct an episode of the show. He started off trying to diffuse fights between Ryan and Mulgrew but then became emotionally wiped out. (As I suspect most of them did.) He also admits to being outspoken which jives with everything else heard about him.

Robert Beltran, was unhappy with his storylines and it hit a fever pitch after they added Ryan. Before her, he was able to push for change. After her, he felt they didn't care much anymore. The series was all about her. According to Ryan, once she started dating the showrunner, Brannon Braga people started being nice to her. Braga was the person Beltran blamed for several characters not being written well and all of the storylines revolving around his girlfriend.

Mulgrew, Ryan and Picardo were the only good actors on that show. The others were pretty weak.

On EIE little Adam Rich made triple what they paid Connie Needham(the lowest paid cast member).

Based on how Debra Messing allegedly was on her other shows, I imagine the later seasons of Will & Grace were horrible.

Noah Wylie admitted to being a huge jerk to Kellie Martin when she was brought onto ER. He was used to being the young ingenue of the show. And after Clooney left, he was pretty much the star of the show. He was jealous when Martin, another young star (with a more impressive resume) joined the show and started getting lots of air time.

Kubrick was no picnic with anyone. Endless takes, just making them try everything so later in editing he could make choices. He had a loyal crew so he was likely ok with them. The costumer for Eyes Wide Shut recalled misplacing a necklace for a close up and Kubrick telling her not to worry about it. Like Hitchcock, he seemed to think of actors as props, perhaps with the exception of Peter Sellers and Nicole Kidman, who both really came alive under his direction.

Fox News, the Roger Ailes era.

Noah was also bitter because he missed his "friend" George

Desperate Housewives was bad, what with the women all giving one another the silent treatment and Marc Cherry beating the shit out of Nicollette Sheridan!

But actually the worst? Probably The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. One cast member driven to suicide after the first season. Another humiliated on air for being an alcoholic. Two more stealing millions from orphans.

The View. Read my book and talk to my sweet friend Meghan.

I’d love to know what happened on the set of Castle. I’m assuming Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic just detested each other?

One Day at a Time (the original) was no picnic, with Bonnie Franklin throwing diva fits and Mackenzie Phillips' drug problems, firing, rehiring, then refiring.

The Island of Dr Moreau

Titanic?

The Young and the Restless

[quote] Monty Cliff was damaged and failing.

He must have gotten damaged when he fell off Monty Cliff. And onto Monty Clift.

[quote] That was owing more to the sheer scope of the project, and porducer David O. Selznick's extreme perfectionism, than a toxic atmosphere.

GWTW had more issues than the changes of director. Vivien Leigh was utterly focussed on having Scarlett be portrayed as faithfully to the book as could be managed, and she took on Selznick with fire whenever she thought that was at stake - which was often. She and Olivia deHavilland went to Cukor's house every weekend to rehearse the coming week's scenes after he ceased to be the director, because Leigh thought Fleming wasn't up to it character-wise and Gable and Howard didn't care. You can imagine the impact on everyone else of a manic Leigh and the how-dare-you-question-me Selznick having regular flaming rows.

Not to mention that WWII was declared between the end of filming and the re-filming of the opening sequence ("War, war, war! If anybody says war one more time I'll go in the house and shut the door!",) meaning that pre-war tensions were going on the whole time. This would have had additional impact on Leigh, who was to go home to England after the shoot.

Cukor leaving Gone With the Wind was much more complicated than Gable being uncomfortable with him. When Cukor left, the film was behind schedule and over budget and he, Cukor, agreed with Selznick it was time for someone else to take over. Still, more than 20 percent of the finished film is Cukor's, including the two scenes in Scarlett's bedroom and the entire birth of Melanie's baby, including her running out into the street to stop the soldier on horseback. He also shot the opening scene on Tara's porch (twice), the dance at the Atlanta bazarre, and the Paris hat sequence, but those were all reshot by Fleming. Yet even a handful of shots from Cukor's takes remain even in those scenes. Whenever you see Gable wearing a cape in the Bazarre scene, that's Cukor. When you see Scarlett from the back in the booth secretly dancing, that's Cukor. Likewise the women surrendering their wedding rings.

Selznick and Cukor departed on good terms, if disappointing for them both. It was Selznick who ensured that MGM assigned him to The Women.

Meanwhile, Victor Fleming was the director of credit for two films in 1939: The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind. I mean, can you imagine that? Having that on your resume?

[quote]R127 You can imagine the impact on everyone else of a manic Leigh and the how-dare-you-question-me Selznick having regular flaming rows.

I have never read of an on set row between those 2. Fleming told her she could stick the novel “up her royal British ass” or something… but yelling matches? I don’t think so.

Morning Joe. Mika finding her value by sleeping with Joe. Staffers mimicking her behind her back, keeping a tally of her days off, her hissy fits. Scheming to marginalize Willie's role.

[quote]Like Hitchcock, he seemed to think of actors as props, perhaps with the exception of Peter Sellers and Nicole Kidman, who both really came alive under his direction.

I don't think the performances of the three adult leads in LOLITA--Sellers, James Mason, and Shelley Winters--could have been beaten. He seemed to do splendidly with actors earlier in his career.

I think as he became more and more famous and more and more isolated from reality, he "forgot what people are like" (to use a phrase of E. M. Forster's) and started treating them as machines for his use, which is ironic since one of his most famous films, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, is about the horror of treating people like machines. That worked wonders with Kidman since she's an expressive actress but not a super intelligent one, so he could build her performance in the editing room. But it wrought havoc for an extremely sensitive actor like Shelley Winters.

No, the yelling matches between Leigh and Fleming happened, When he dropped out due to "nervous exhaustion" or some such she famously went to his house with Selznick and Gable with a pair of lovebirds to ask him to come back. They all just wanted to get the damn thing done.

MGM pulled Fleming off of The Wizard of Oz to take over Gone With the Wind. He was a favorite of Gable and famous for getting things done on time and on budget. What remained to be shot on Oz were the black and white Kansas sequences, including Over the Rainbow. King Vidor filled in for him on those scenes.

When Victor Fleming took over GWTW, he assembled the cast and said "I'm going to make this picture a melodrama." That's what sent Vivien and Olivia running to Cukor's house on the weekends.

What else would it be besides a melodrama? A comedy?

A musical.

R113 Well, it's a historical drama and a romance, and Cukor probably was not directing it like a melodrama, I think he was giving it the sensitive sort of direction he gave David Copperfield or Little Women. He was also a somewhat slow, careful director, not an action director like Fleming. Not that Fleming couldn't do sensitivity, Captains Courageous is a great example of his sensitivity -- but it's also a masculine film.

The very warm relationship of Cukor and Selznick was never the same after the GWTW debacle. He did not agree to leaving the picture. Selznick fired him. A warm friendship is not going to survive that. I don't know where you got your info from.

In fact Cukor had fired Bette Davis from some stock production in Rochester NY when they were starting out. When she threw it into his face years later he was like get over it. I was fired from the biggest picture of all time! He claimed not to know even why. When a reporter said to him the rumor was that you knew Gable when he was a Hollywood hustler Cukor refused to confirm or deny the gossip. And Cukor had no problem saying something was ridiculous.

The Good Wife - Julianna Margulies' alleged cunty behavior

Cukor worked on pre-production of GWTW for maybe a year or more, he visited the South, conducted screen tests galore, worked on the screenplay - all of it. Then when he started directing, I believe he said it wasn't coming together to anyone's satisfaction. He was too close to it. His contributions to the film are really immense, but maybe he wasn't the person to do the actual direction, in the end. It was a huge undertaking and maybe he wasn't the type to take control of such a big film. Epic films have defeated a lot of good directors.

I have never understood her allure, r98. Perhaps she is more beautiful IRL, but I don’t find her thin lips or potato nose attractive.

[quote]R132 No, the yelling matches between Leigh and Fleming happened

You said there were “regular flaming rows” on set between Leigh and Selznick.

Where have you read or heard this?

A hard virtual slap for R122.

Let me help:

Titanic

A few people have brought that up. I do remember hearing that Winslet was very unhappy making it and mad at James Cameron. Don't know if it was because of weight issues.

She basically did all her contracted press and flew home for Christmas washing her hands of the film. THEN it became a phenomenon and she wisely rethought her postition and started doing press for the film again. I think she does always emphasize how well she and Leo got along and doesn't mention Cameron.

Mary Elizabeht Mastrantonio was upset with Cameron on The Abyss too.

Dustin Hoffman drove people crazy on Kramer Versus Kramer.

Meryl could handle his stunts (the part where he smashes a glass against the wall when she tells him he wants the son) he did on the spot. It wasn't in the script. Streep calmly told him she wishes he'd tell her before hand if he is going to do stuff like that.

Gail Strickland was originally cast as the friend. She developed a nervous stammer and couldn't get thru her scenes with Hoffman. They called Jane Alexander and asked her if she would take over but that she'd have to deal with Hoffman's antics. Alexander took the part saying she was used to Hoffman from All the President's men and thought she could handle him. (She was very jealous of Meryl though as we've discussed in other threads.)

James Cameron is a screamer, and the company during filming of TITANIC was so angry and miserable that someone slipped angel dust into the community soup at dinner.

[quote] You said there were “regular flaming rows” on set between Leigh and Selznick.

No, I didn't say that. Somebody else did. I'm evidently not the only one who has read the stories.

[quote] You said there were “regular flaming rows” on set between Leigh and Selznick. Where have you read or heard this?

"Memo from David O. Selznick" for one. And other books about the making of the film, I can't remember them all offhand in the middle of the night.

Viola suffered greatly in (insert name of movie or TV show here.)

Vivien initially cared very much about the film and her performance. But after six months of 18 hour days days, six days a week, she like Selznick, Fleming, Wood, Canutt, etc. just wanted to get the damn thing in the can and get on with her life.

"The Road to Tara" is another out of print book about the making of GWTW. So many others,

R14 I don't blame Bette for gaslighting Joan. Joan was upset that Bette was getting more attention for Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, went berserk when only Bette was nominated for an Academy Award and was most likely the reason why she lost to Anne Bancroft.

[quote]R150 "The Road to Tara" is another out of print book about the making of GWTW. So many others,

I have read books about the making of GWTW and the artists involved, but I have never read that Leigh had “regular flaming rows” with David O. Selznick. For instance, when he wanted her breasts taped together to create cleavage, she did it. When she wanted to screen test for REBECCA although she was all wrong for the part, he indulged her. Certainly they disagreed, and she bailed on her contract with him, but they seemed to have a straightforward professional relationship.

I think Leigh’s acting is overrated (tho she’s perfect as Scarlett), so I’m not some stan flying to her defense.

The original 90210 had a fistfight between Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth

The whole cast threw a party and a big celebration when Shannen was fired in 1994

[Quote] Green and Hannigan have been besties since their child acting days and when they made Willow a lesbian instead of Oz's true love they both got very sour about it, hence Hannigan's constant mistreatment of Amber Bensen who played Tara.

I'm sure Joss had nothing to do with it. He liked pitting the cast against each other. And planned on having either Willow or Xander be gay. I thought Seth wanted to leave because he wanted to focus on doing movies. They didn't give Oz much to do. And the set of Angel was probably just as bad.

[Quote] Bryan Singer's X-Men sets

Superman Returns doesn't sound like much fun if it's true that both Bryan and Kevin were doing coke during most of it. Brandon got a raw deal.

[Quote] Jessica Alba said in some interview a year ago or two that Jennie was awful due a short guest star arc she had on the show.

That's rich coming from her. Both Jessica and Michael were assholes to Jensen Ackles on Dark Angel.

R154 What happened on the set of Dark Angel?

Arrested Development!

R155 they didn't like that Jensen's character was being set up to play Jessica's love interest. Of course it’s not the first time Michael's been an asshole.

Seth Green said in interviews that Oz had no real storylines in Season 3 and he was standing around the set for hours at a time to deliver one reaction shot or one line. Joss did come up with the whole werewolf girlfriend thing in Season 4 and that was supposed to take all season, but Seth had already had enough.

Most of the foreshadowing in the early seasons points towards Xander being the gay one. But maybe Nick Brendon's drinking had already gotten out of hand, because he had no major storylines after Season 3.

Whoops. Don’t thread.

The Lethal Weapon TV show set seemed pretty toxic even for toxic masculinity standards.

“Wrong” thread.

R157 Thanks for the info. I was a big fan of Dark Angel when it was on.

I wonder how Alba feels now, because iirc her and Weatherly had a bad breakup.

I know Weatherly was threatened by Jensen Ackles and started comparing line counts when he joined the show. I also don't imagine his fratboy antics were any LESS objectionable behind the scenes than they were on NCIS.

Then again, James Cameron was one of the creators and the writing involved the main character literally going into heat, so you know that production was already going to be a nightmare no matter what else was going on.

Weatherly made rape jokes about Eliza Dushku when she guest starred on Bull. He seems like a douche

Is that the show she got fired from on a jerk costar’s orders?

^^ sorry… just realized r164 wrote “guest starred.”

R162 I'm a Dark Angel fan too. Kind of surprised it hasn't had a reboot. I didn't know Jessica and Michael had a bad breakup. Michael would definitely get alot of flack now for dating an 18 year old.

R163 my shallow self enjoys the heat episodes. Those guys were hot lol

It sticks in my mind reading Leigh asked Fleming for direction in a scene and the reply was: Ham it up.

Weatherly is a creep and a pervert into jailbait.

The atmosphere on the set of The Band Wagon (1953) was apparently miserable. Astaire's wife had lung cancer, Jack Buchanan was having major dental work and was in a lot of pain, Nannette Fabray and Oscar Levant (playing husband and wife) didn't like each other (and Levant, a hypochondriac at best, had recently had a heart attack). Fabray said it was a nightmare, and finally she told Levant off and the crew applauded.

Valley of the Dolls. The director Mark Robson was horrible and made Sharon Tate cry.

I’d imagine she’s suffered worse, R171

Terms of Endearment and for the matter most films with Debra Winger.

Crimes of Passion was a nightmare shoot as well. Ken Russell was apparently drunk most of the time and Anthony Perkins knew what buttons to press to get Kathleen Turner's back up. He'd also suggest to Russell that Turner appear nude in certain scenes which would cause fights between Russell & Turner. Perkins also tried to get Turner to take poppers.

Hard Promises (1991) a little known film starring Sissy Spacek was apparently a very toxic set. The original director was Lee Grant and leading man William Petersen who was also a producer of the film had conflicting views on the tone of the film. Lee thought it should be more dramatic in tone whilst Petersen wanted a lighter tone, breezier affair. Lee got fired and replaced by another lesser director. The resulting film is watchable but really only of any interest because of its great cast.

Barefoot Contessa. Ina has alienated friends, neighbors and employees ever since she built that barn. T.R., Jack the realtor, the antique shop lady have all been excised from her world.

[quote]Morning Joe. Mika finding her value by sleeping with Joe. Staffers mimicking her behind her back, keeping a tally of her days off, her hissy fits. Scheming to marginalize Willie's role.

Joe still thinking he can have a band at his age...dear God, my ears are bleeding

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf

The Cosby Show

- Lisa Bonet

*the reason she NEVER smiles in any press picture.

What does Maoam see in her???

[quote]The Cosby Show- Lisa Bonet *the reason she NEVER smiles in any press picture.

There were some monsters on the set of "The Cosby Show"

but Lisa Bonet acting out as a normal teenage girl is hardly worth mentioning

[Quote] There were some monsters on the set of "The Cosby Show"

Probably the reason why Lisa never smiled.

Yeah, Lisa Bonet was the problem...uh-huh....right...

Virginia Woolf did not have a toxic or abusive set. It was a difficult shoot, going over time and over budget, but they were all glad to be there. The difficulties were many but primarily due to diva like behavior by the Burtons (sometimes they wouldn't declare themselves ready to go before the camera until four in the afternoon) and director Mike Nichols was learning as he was going along as it was his first film. But there was mutual respect among the cast, the cast and crew and everyone and Nichols. There were no reports of dissension or dissing or bullying or anything like that.

I should have added that the Burtons were divas but they were friendly and well liked. Except maybe by Nichols who was pulling his hair because his first film was going over budget and Jack Warner and the studio were coming down hard on him about it, even threatening to replace him.

Remington Steele was apparently not a happy set. Even Doris Roberts said so in interviews. Stephanie Zimbalist was livid that Pierce Brosnan stole the show from her.

The young Pierce Brosnan would've stolen any tv series he was cast in. He was a total star from the get-go.

Nobody is saying Lisa Bonet was the problem, R180.

It's just very strange that she always looks like a very unpleasant humorless sour puss, pretty much in every picture you see of her online. What's her personality? Is she just trying to come across as ultra cool and above it all?

I think Bonet really rebelled against the Cosby image by doing a nude scene in Angel Heart. I don't think Bill was happy (although what a hypocrite we now no he was.)

Debbie Allen said in a TV Academy video that when she took over as producer of A Different World the second season and Bonet was pregnant. She went to Bill with her hat in her hand and pitched an idea that it would be interesting to have this girl from an upper class family have an accidental pregnancy and not want to get married but want to stay in college and keep the child.

Cosby thought about it and then she got word that he decided Lisa Bonet is pregnant. Denise Huxtable isn't. So they brought her back on to Cosby after she gave birth and A Different World went on its own path.

How did they explain Denise not being at college? Did they have her transfer to a NYC school?

I would imagine the Wendy Williams set was unpleasant when she was married. It seems just as bad now that she's divorced.

She's mean on camera to her crew (Suzanne, Norman). She's barely functioning and needs them to prop her up, yet she had enough juice in her to be nasty.

In the season 2 premiere, there is some mention made of Denise not coming back but it's quick.

Patty talking about Mark Robson's treatment of Judy Garland:

Dick & Liz were just playing themselves in Virginia Woolf. Just with better dialogue.

I think Lisa Bonet comes across as sort of sullen and sour because I think she’s a sort of introvert and possibly a little shy that makes her not that comfortable with fame. I say this only because I had a very brief interaction with her many years ago and that was my feeling about her. She was very pretty and small in person. She really was a terrible actress. I have a feeling she is more relaxed around those she is around . She is still really good friends with Cree Summers.

Lou Grant

Lisa Bonet is for all intents and purposes a child actor and child actors are picked for various reasons, but the standard for acting ability is always going to be pretty low. She was hired because she was a striking teenage girl who grew into a beautiful young woman. On Cosby, she wasn't asked to do to much and like most child actors was probably coached quite a bit. If she looks surly its probably because fame wasn't necessarily part of her plan or certainly the fame that she achieved, as an upbeat teen on a wholesome sitcom. From what I read she wasn't particularly consistent or interested in A Different World and seem much more preoccupied with then boyfriend Lenny Kravitz. I never got the impression she was particularly broken up over leaving A Different World.

Bonet's bored & over it expressions worked on the Cosby show because she was supposed to be a surly teen (and next to the annoying Rudy, someone had to be lowkey); as a college student, however, a bit more expression is required. The show actually got much better once they wrote out her & made it more of an ensemble

The story about Dark Angel as I heard it goes that Alba and Weatherly were engaged when they were in it. Ackles arrived in Season 2, just as the writers in their wisdom had placed Weatherly permanently in a wheelchair after the character was injured in an accident or battle or whatever. (Possibly he was an asshole one too many times to the showrunner: it was certainly an odd choice for the leading man in a show where the heroine was practically a ninja). This made it difficult for Weatherly to combat Ackles's jaunty youthful charm, so he enlisted Alba in a campaign to make Ackles's life on set difficult. The thing about him counting his and Ackles's lines in every episode and complaining if there was an imbalance is oft-repeated.

The consequences were that Ackles was always very conscious of how he treated the crew and the guest cast on Supernatural, Alba apologised to Ackles years later after she'd got rid of Weatherly, and the rumor was that Weatherly based de Nozzo's breezy manner on Ackles's in Dark Angel. (But maybe that last rumor was put about by Ackles or his fans to tarnish Weatherly's most lasting achievement.)

Well Logan was a serious character to begin with. And Max wasn't exactly a barrel of laughs either. Makes sense that Alec would be a smart ass. But i'm glad they never actually got together.

More on Lou Grant

I can’t imagine the original “Charmed” was a lot of fun, before or after Rose McGowan showed up.

[Quote] I can’t imagine the original “Charmed” was a lot of fun, before or after Rose McGowan showed up.

The reboot is just as messy. One of the leads has left and the showrunners are being replaced for the second time.

Speaking of A Different World, was anyone else afraid of Jasmine Guy's voice? I think she was incredibly sexy but she had a scary grandma voice to go with her hot dancer's body and it was fucking confusing.

Denise always seemed stoned to me in that first season.

Jasmine Guy's voice was just LOUD and piercing.

Denise seemed stoned through Cosby. I don't remember much about "A Different World."

[quote]If she looks surly its probably because fame wasn't necessarily part of her plan or certainly the fame that she achieved, as an upbeat teen on a wholesome sitcom.

Given Bonet's very limited talent, I'd say she should be very glad she made it this far.

R36 I would have loved that!

This was real.

The Roseanne cast, in the reboot, dropped Roseanne and never looked back. It makes sense that they had no loyalty to her due to her bad management style in the old Roseanne (with Tom Arnold).

The Roseanne set was a nightmare once Tom Arnold came into the picture.

[quote]Speaking of A Different World, was anyone else afraid of Jasmine Guy's voice?

I mean, she definitely played up that "southern" accident and made her voice extraordinarily shrill to go with Whitley's insulting or complaining.

She's much more toned down outside of all of that.

I never watched that show, but loved Jasmine Guy on Dead Like Me.

I heard that Rude Awakening, the Showtime guilty pleasure with Audrey Horne, was a particularly toxic set. Anyone with details on that one?

Given how Audrey behaved to Dale Cooper, anything involving her was bound to be a pain in the ass.

Blade Runner sounded like a nightmare. As I recall, Ford wound up punching Scott over the punishing numerous takes Scott demanded. It sounds as if Sean Young was also a basket case.

More on Lou Grant

Shameless. Emmy Rossum is a cunt and thinks she's the smartest person in the room. There was collective relief when she left. And the last season didn't suffer at all without her.

R213 the writing went to shit about 3 years before she left...

Twin Peaks

The TV series R215? Which one?

The original r216

How so, R217?

How about Michael Weatherly's other show, Bull?

They had to pay an enormous payout to Eliza Dushku who had been slated to become a series regular and Weatherly's love interest. But Weatherly was jealous of her and egregiously sexually harassed her. This was before #Metoo took off and the studio barely put up a fight--it was apparently that bad.

Meanwhile, the showrunner (GG Caron of Moonlighting fame) and cast member Freddy Rodriguez were fired at the end of last season for their "behavior." I guess only the star is allowed to be a dick in the wake of an expensive pay out.

R219 why was Weatherly jealous of Eliza?

The Vampire Diaries was like a cocaine factory.

If you're going to link to a video of Bruce Vilanch you need to include a trigger warning.

On Twin Peaks, Lara Flynn Boyle hated all the women in her age range and was particularly awful to Sherilyn Fenn. Multiple people who worked on the show have confirmed this.

You can see it in her face.

Interesting that Bonet’s daughter, Zoe Kravitz, turned out to be a far more capable actress.

R225) Yes, the both bring such energy to what ever they perform in😂

R221 that would be a solid explanation for the rumour about one of the actors fucking JP 🤢

R223,Lara was very insecure . Her mom fucked her up. Sherilyn was pretty judgmental herself .

Lara specifically demanded the Audrey/Cooper romantic storyline be nixed because she was dating Kyle MacLachlan at the time.

The Talk owns this thread. They had to be shut down for a month and get educated over the toxicity.

Sheryl Underwood got PTSD over being told not to cry. 😢

The original Mama's Family was not a very happy set. Rue hated her character, and hated that they filmed the show throughout the entire summer, when most shows didn't start production at that time until late July/early August. She also clashed with director Harvey Korman numerous times.

Carol and Joe Hamilton had just separated and the last place Carol wanted to be was on the studio lot working with him. She actually exploded one day on the set when one of the actors tried to correct her on something. She only did one appearance the second season.

Dorothy Lyman was flying back and forth between NY to do All My Children and LA for Mama's Family. The routine became exhausting.

By the time of the syndication run, Lyman had left AMC, Harvey was gone, Rue went on to Golden Girls, and Carol washed her hands of MF completely. By many accounts, the syndication run was a much calmer, smoother running set, and they even got it down to a four day work week.

Joe Hamilton fired Vicki for being pregnant on the variety show and Carol brought her back.

I love Rue!!

....

Wasn't Danny Thomas on Make Room For Daddy supposed to have been a screamer/rager?

[quote] ALF's creator, as well as the voice and main puppeteer for the show's star, was magician and ventriloquist Paul Fusco

‘Magician’ alone is hot. ‘Magician’ + ‘ventriloquist’ makes me absolutely moist!

Madeline Stowe, doesn't like other women. This is problematic for a chick flick.

More on Madeline . I heard she was a total prima donna and that set. I always found her a very attractive, but devoid of any real joy or warmth. Takes her self way too seriously

Drugs plus macho bullshit plus Faye High Maintenance Dunaway= KABOOOM!

See above

Drugs plus macho bullshit plus Sean High Maintenance Young= KABOOOM!

DUNE. It started well. Opulent sets, costumes, photography, with a stellar cast. But Dine De Laurentiis and his bitch daughter Raffaella got nervous about Lynch's vision, the running time and the escalating costs and literally randomly tore out script pages to shorten the shooting schedule. Lynch (who everyone says was wonderful and a true artist) didn't have final cut and was profoundly distressed with losing control. The result was a glorious wreck, a Cliffs Notes version with some great moments and memorable scenes. It's a shame Lynch was unable to completely finish his version. Still, the film is loaded with style with bits of brilliance that shine through.

Will this year’s remake give it justice r243?

Possibly. The Villeneuve film is only Part One, with Part Two still remaining. Denis will have twice the run time to tell the story. So, maybe. He's one of the few directors that can handle the sprawling narrative.

A college friend went to high school with Tiffany Brissette who played Vicki on DL favorite “Small Wonder”.

The red headed neighbor was nasty to poor Tiffany because she felt she should have had the lead role. Can you imagine?

I also believe Cybil and Bruce should have screwed and gotten over it.

On another site a crew member said “Sledge Hammer” was the best set he ever worked on. Everyone was an adult, everyone worked their asses off, especially Anne-Marie Martin.

Anything with Debra Winger.

R246, that is hard to believe. Edie McClurg?

R198 is a phony, a lizard person, and a LIE ! R198 also put coke in my purse and molested me!

The today show during the Lauer and Curry feud. Curry had the last laugh though.

R246 yes, who do you think killed Willard Scott?

R81, I know exactly what you mean about Julie Salamon's voice . . . for some reason the way she says "Brian" particularly irritates me.

“ Wasn't Danny Thomas on Make Room For Daddy supposed to have been a screamer/rager?”

Only if the girl was shy or constipated

[quote]Nobody is saying Lisa Bonet was the problem... It's just very strange that she always looks like a very unpleasant humorless sour puss, pretty much in every picture you see of her online. What's her personality?

When I used to ring her up at Trader Joe's, she seemed to have OCD and refused to speak to any of us, not even the cheese wrapping gal she'd gone to high school with.

She'd hand her items and money to the maid who accompanied her (actually wearing a maid's uniform), the maid bought the (vegan) food from us, we'd give Maid the change and thank her, she'd hand the change to Bonet, and Lisa would barely touch it with the edges of her ling fingernails and dropped it into her little purse. Idk if she was pathologically shy or just considered us beneath notice.

Jason Mamoa adores her, so maybe she's finally gotten past her horrible social impairment.

^ I have no idea how "ling" got in there. She was pregnant at the time with Zoe, so maybe her germ phobia was out of concern for her baby.

Roseanne’s set was toxic and horrible around the time of her very public feuds and gossip tabloid notoriety, especially regarding her marriage to Tom Arnold. The cast was gagged, I remember John Goodman being asked questions on a talk show and he smiled and said he couldn’t discuss the set.

Roseanne was one of several actresses during that era would couldn’t hold her shit together and was a terror, alongside Brett Butler on the ‘Grace Under Fire’ set, Cybil Shepherd on ‘Cybil’, and fat Delta Burke on ‘Designing Women’. It was truly an era for insane bitches to be on TV.

Any film made with M…….even the children in the Devil Wears Prada had to be put down after filming. She’s a cunt.

r256 the 90s were full of diva tv stars, both male and female. It was tolerated then, but things have changed so much now. Even big stars can be fired. Roseanne thought things were still like they were in the 90s but she learned the hard way that everybody is expendable in the modern entertainment era, no matter how big of a star they are.

R258 = Cunty Sara Gilbert

Valerie…and Valerie’s Family!

[quote]I should have added that the Burtons were divas but they were friendly and well liked. Except maybe by Nichols who was pulling his hair because his first film was going over budget...

Poor Mike had no hair to pull, but I know what you mean. It must have helped the atmosphere somewhat that the Burtons and Nichols were firm friends, having starred adjacently on Broadway at the same time.

Think it was WAOVW when Nichols asked a film insider how to approach his first movie. 'Fire someone on the first day', was the brutal response. Sure enough some fool on set threw Nichols shade as a newbie, which gave the director the chance to assert his authority.

Nichols needed to do that again much later with Mandy Patinkin on 'Heartburn', but that supposedly was an artistic decision.

R89 The tension between Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan is one of those instances where it works really well on camera, adding depth to the relationship between the characters. I like Mulgrew but she seems like she is a very "grand" person. If you watch Voyager she becomes much more grandiose as Janeway in the later seasons.

Voyager wasn't the only Star Trek show with tensions. Of course on the original show everyone hated Shatner, the TNG cast got a long (and still do) very well except they were rude to Diana Muldaur the year she was on the show. The DS9 cast had more interpersonal conflict, Brooks was very distant from most of the cast and a stickler "getting down to work" and didn't along well with some members of the cast, also Terry Farrell apparently didn't get along with much of the cast towards the end of her time on the show.

I do appreciate situations like the Voyager tension where Mulgrew admits she was a bitch and that she was wrong, without the usual BS or PR excuses.

Shatner is so fed up with Takei at this point. While I’m certain there’s some truth to what he claims, George needs to let it go.

R262, why were they rude to Diana Muldaur?

She was a cunt

Knots Landing became toxic later on. I still think the Lechowicks basically gaslit Joan Van Ark for a handful of years.

[quote]the Lechowicks basically gaslit Joan Van Ark for a handful of years.

Is that how her face got melted?

R268, yes, surely, something about the Lechowicks and a grease fire.

Here’s an oldie. “Hunter”.

Fred Dryer was a dick when he got creative control.

Prove it Fred!

Oh he proved it.

All three of ABC's mid 00's hits - Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and Brothers & Sisters - had backstage issues.

R227 Who was it? That's horrific, whoever it was.

Transparent.

Oooh, child......

Regarding r272 - today's youth have no conception of what it was like to turn on network TV and see Fred Dryer's enormous coiled anaconda in tight jeans.

[quote] I think she does always emphasize how well she and Leo got along and doesn't mention Cameron.

Uh, what? Kate Winslet is appearing in multiple Avatar sequels, and I heard her talking glowingly about Cameron recently on the Smartless podcast.

You people really talk out of your asses here quite a lot.

^ that was for R144 who doesn’t have a goddamned clue what he’s talking about.

The weird thing about Roseanne is that the cast stayed extremely loyal to her. Showed up on her talk show, did not speak ill of her - nothing. Roseanne seemed very protective of the kids in particular.

Of course, 20 years later....

I don't like what Roseanne has become, but I could see that she had to fight hard for her voice to be heard on her show and having to keep fighting to not get pushed aside on her own show. I think that kind of experience did a number on her and made her the Deplorable crazy loon we have now. I think in so-called Liberal Hollywood women, gays, and other minorities have to create their own support system away from the straight white men dominated business (look at the success Reese Witherspoon created for herself within the industry as a producer creating projects with roles for her and other women).

Yeah, I'm sure working on her productions is VERY peaceful and bullshit-free given the "Do you know who I am?" traffic stop cuntery and such.

Was just thinking about yet another fucked up work meeting I had today. And then I saw this thread, which I love.

But, honestly, what work “set” isn’t fucked up and filled with unneeded drama?

Joostice League.

Most David O. Russell sets.

The Wizard of Oz. All of the munchkins orgies.

Crimewave

The waning days of “Evening Shade”, thanks to an unhinged Mr. Burt Reynolds.

[quote]Monty Cliff was damaged and failing

Oh, dear.

R268, thanks for linking - that was a fascinating look at a complete disaster of a film. I still think it has moments of brilliance, such as Louise Lassiter fleeing through the nightmarish display of doors.

The View and The Talk.