Even before the cameras rolled on The Wolfman there was trouble.
The original director Mark Romanek walked off the project, setting
off a cascade of problems that would need more than a single silver
bullet to fix.
It's a remake of the 1941 creaky classic The Wolf Man, and the
filmmakers are quick to say their version is in the spirit of the
black and white B-movie. But it's a fine line between celebrating
something shoddy and being truly crappy in your own right - a line
that The Wolfman leaps over with gusto. It's not entirely Joe
Johnston's fault. He was parachuted in after Romanek left, and
isn't the natural choice of director to tackle a big horror movie?
Soon after, the writer's strike kicked in leaving him holding a
script that could have done with another polish. It certainly could
have done without lines like "I saw the bodies with my own eyes!" -
Is there any other way of seeing?
Johnston pressed on with a budget that Romanek didn't feel could do the job, and a decision to go back to old-fashioned make-up techniques rather than rely on special effects. Rick Baker, the best in the business and more than capable of handling hairiness after King Kong and Planet of the Apes, was hired to turn Benicio into a werewolf. The result, it has to be said, is more cute than blood-curling - the mane of wooly hair... the cute black button nose. He's more like an angry ewok than blood-curdling beast.
Feedback from early test screenings was far from glowing,
sending filmmakers back to the story board. Reshoots were booked in
to beef up the screen relationship between Benicio and Emily Blunt,
as well as extra work on the scenes in Victorian London. All this
meant the original 1st May 2009 release date was pushed back...
there were no preview screenings for critics... and The Wolfman was
looking like a damage limitation exercise. That's not to say it
won't make a few bob at the box office, and some people will fall
for its cheesy charms. But it does deserve to be included in a list
of cinema's most troubled productions - along with...
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Boxing Helena (1993)Here's the pitch - a surgeon kidnaps a woman he's obsessed with and amputates her limbs while she taunts him. But, and here's the twist... it all be a dream. Well, how on earth could that feelgood premise not work? Kim Basinger didn't think it would and went back on a verbal agreement to star. She was successfully sued for breach of copyright by the producers for breach of contract for over $8 million, although the decision was overruled on appeal. |
Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)Even with a limitless budget and smooth running production, any film by Ed Wood was going to be dire. Widely considered to be worst director of all time, Plan 9 was a typically confusing tale of zombies, flying saucers and aliens. It also starred horror legend Bela Lugosi - a remarkable achievement given he'd died before production started. Wood had previously shot a couple of minutes of footage of Lugosi which he seamlessly spliced into a brand new story in 1956. Replacing Lugosi would be Wood's wife's chiropractor Tom Mason who spent most the film with a hood over his head. The distributing company went bust and the film didn't get released until three years later. |
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Waterworld (1995)This never turned out to be the oven-ready, self- basting turkey that everyone expected. Worldwide box office was $264 million on a budget of $175 million - at the time the most that had been spend on any film. Much of the money went on a huge floating set off the coast of Hawaii, which was regularly shifted around by gales. As well as that, cast members were stung by jellyfish, a stunt man was lost in the ocean on a jet ski and the director allegedly walked off before filming finished leaving final scenes to be shot by the star, Kevin Costner. |
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)It just wouldn't be right to not include a film in the list by Terry Gilliam, a director who's had more messy productions than most. From the start, Munchausen's budget speeded along with Gilliam's runaway imagination. Soon, $5 million of unpaid bills were found in the producer's office and the film's insurers were threatening to sue. Scenes had to be drastically cut; famously a big action scene on the moon which was supposed to involve hundreds of extras was cut down to four of the key cast. |
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Apocalypse Now 1979Again, a list wouldn't be complete without the Vietnam War movie that was hell behind the cameras. The shoot was planned for 5 months in the Philippines, but ran for well over year. In that time Harvey Keitel was replaced by Martin Sheen, who went on to suffer a heart attack. The director Francis Ford Coppola lost 100lbs, a typhoon ripped up major sets, the entire payroll was stolen and a huge Brando, who'd failed to lose the promised weight, had to be filmed largely in shadow. The result, somehow, is the finest Vietnam War film ever made. |
