There Was Reportedly a Lot of Heated Drama on the Set of HELLBOY
Well, it looks like the cat is out of the bag. I’ve known for some time now that there has been some drama on the set of Hellboy, but was asked not to report on it. I’ve alluded to it in previous posts regarding the film, but never came right out and said any of the things I heard.
Now The Wrap has shared all of the details regarding the troubled production which saw director Neil Marshall clashing with a couple of producers on the film. If you’ve wondered why Marshall hasn’t been doing any kind of promotion on the film, this is obviously the reason.
The two producers that Marshall was butting heads with were Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin, and it all started when the producers decided to replace Marshall’s long-time cinematographer, Sam McCurdy. There were also fights involving rehearsals, star David Harbour, and the design of a tree.
Two people familiar with the situation said McCurdy was fired simply for doing what Marshall asked him to do, and that producers Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin were trying to send a message to Marshall that despite being the film’s director, Marshall was not in charge.
Obviously, Levin denies these allegations and his attorney accused Marshall of planting the story at The Wrap. The thing is, I’ve been hearing about these issues for awhile and was asked not to say anything.
Here is a list of the some of the stories that have leaked out from insiders:
Three people told TheWrap that Levin interrupted Marshall frequently in front of the crew as Marshall tried to rehearse actors, sometimes giving them different directions than the director. Singer’s attorney disputed that: “In fact, Mr. Levin would speak to Neil Marshall after rehearsals and discuss issues with him at that time.”
Two insiders said Harbour repeatedly walked off set, refusing Marshall’s requests for more takes. Singer responded for Levin: “My client has no recollection of that ever happening. To the contrary, David Harbour gave everything he was asked of and more during filming.”
Two insiders said the script was re-written throughout the production. One said those doing the rewriting included actors Harbour and co-star Ian McShane. Singer responded: “Only a few scenes were rewritten during production, and neither David Harbour nor Ian McShane did any rewriting of the screenplay at all. Rewriting certain scenes of a movie during production is customary in the entertainment industry, including by actors, producers, writers and directors.”
One insider described a prolonged dispute over a surreal tree that figures prominently in the film. Marshall wanted a realistic-looking, asymmetrical tree. But the insider said Levin overruled him, insisting on a symmetrical tree. Then, in postproduction, the tree became asymmetrical again. Singer disputed any suggestion that Levin “somehow mucked it up in a back-and-forth tug-of-war over symmetry versus asymmetry,” adding: “The design of the tree, like hundreds of other design elements in the movie, went through an exhaustive design and evolution process.”
It was also reported, and this was the same thing I’ve heard, that Marshall handed in his cut of the film to the studio, and then the producers took over and did whatever they wanted to do with it. Apparently Marshall was never promised final cut on the film, though.
As you may have seen, the movie is getting terrible reviews. I haven’t seen it for myself yet, but if the movie is as bad as everyone is saying it is, then maybe there was a lot of trouble on the set. If the producers controlled the production the way insiders are saying they did, then they obviously didn’t know what they were doing, and that’s a shame.
There’s really no reason that this Hellboy reboot shouldn’t have been a good and entertaining movie, unless the people in charge just didn’t have the creative talent and management skills to deliver it.