You Get Paid, I Get Paid, I Haven't Even Read the Script: How Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer Drove Everyone Crazy on the Set of "The Island of Doctor Moreau" (7 photos)

The stars behaved like capricious children.





First of all, the director was fired, but he will return



The film was conceived by aspiring director Richard Stanley. He wrote the script himself and prepared for filming for four years. Stanley somehow convinced Brando to play the role of a mad scientist. The actor liked the fact that Stanley himself was a real descendant of the famous explorer Henry Morton Stanley, one of the prototypes for Brando's character in "Apocalypse Now." Brando's authority was enough for the producers to comply with his demand to increase the budget and take on more stars. Val Kilmer (who was in great demand after "Batman Forever") was cast for the lead role and James Woods for the secondary one. Filming began in the jungles of Australia and did not go well from the very beginning.

Val Kilmer found out on the set that his wife was filing for divorce, and began to take it out on the film crew. He also demanded that his role be reduced by 40%, so the studio had to make a castling move and give the lead role to James Woods. Kilmer himself decided when to come to the set and what scenes to film. Marlon Brando took an indefinite sabbatical from Australia because his daughter had committed suicide. Richard Stanley couldn't handle the stars, and the studio fired him early in the filming of his dream project.





Val Kilmer in The Island of Dr. Moreau

Then Stanley decided to sabotage the film's production, damaging the sets and destroying important documents. The producers allowed him to keep his fee, but on the condition that he immediately fly to Hollywood. He was taken to the airport, but he never checked in and disappeared into thin air. Actress Fairuza Balk tried to escape from the set, but she was caught on her way to Sydney and was persuaded to return, threatening to ruin her career. The set was guarded 24 hours a day because Stanley had advised one of the staff to set the set on fire before leaving, and it was unknown where he had gone, in case he had escaped from the airport to return and burn it all down himself.

New Director, Old Problems



Marlon Brando and Nelson de la Rosa in The Island of Dr. Moreau

The studio hired experienced director John Frankenheimer, who first decided to completely rewrite the script. With the arrival of the new director, however, the atmosphere on the set did not improve. Frankenheimer constantly quarreled with Kilmer and argued with the returning Brando. Kilmer behaved like a school bully. Once he came up behind the cameraman and singed his hair with a cigarette.

Meanwhile, Woods, unable to bear the stress, quit, and the studio hired Rob Morrow, who also quit after rewriting the script. The studio rushed to find a new lead, and eventually found David Thewlis (later famous for his role as Professor Lupin in Harry Potter). He later regretted agreeing to participate in the film and was incredibly happy when he broke his leg towards the end of filming, which allowed him to finish work early.

Brando and Kilmer were constantly late, quarreling with each other and with members of the film crew. They had this entertainment - whoever got out of the trailer first lost. They sat there for hours, making everyone wait. However, the filmmakers were not very offended by Brando, there was no anger in him, he did everything with humor. But Kilmer could really bring you to tears. As soon as Kilmer had finished his last scene, the director demanded that he be escorted off the set immediately, and only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.



"The Island of Dr. Moreau"



"Austin Powers"

Marlon Brando constantly imposed his vision on the director, and the director was often forced to submit to the titan of the film industry. Thus, at Brando's whim, the role of the dwarf actor Nelson de la Rosa was significantly increased. At the star's order, the actor was given small costumes that completely replicated Brando's costumes, and they appeared in the frame together, like Dr. Evil and Mini-Me from Austin Powers (in fact, Mike Myers parodied The Island of Dr. Moreau in his comedy).

"I've worked with difficult actors, but no one compares to Marlon Brando. He had the idea that Dr. Moreau would wear a hat throughout the film, and at the end he would take it off and turn out to be a dolphin," Frankenheimer said.

Brando didn't memorize the lines, it was his standard practice. He believed that memorized lines deprived an actor of natural reactions. The lines were fed to him through an earpiece, and in some scenes included in the film, you can notice this. Once the transmitter picked up a police wave, and Brando, not at all embarrassed, began to repeat something like: “Attention! All posts…”

Fairuza Balk recalls that she once approached Brando to discuss a joint scene, to which he replied:

No need. You are paid, I am paid, the script is complete nonsense. I haven't even finished reading it. Why worry? Relax. Do what you did. You are beautiful.

The Director's Return



Beastmen

And what about the missing Richard Stanley? He really didn't fly to Hollywood, but settled in a hut on the plantation grounds not far from the filming location. Rumors began to reach the crew about an eccentric foreigner who constantly drinks and curses Val Kilmer with the worst words. Someone helped him get on the set in the guise of a beastman, and he played in the crowd. If the producers had found out about this, he would have been deprived of his fee for violating the terms of the contract.

With a budget of $40 million (the original budget was $15 million), the film grossed $49 million. "The Island of Dr. Moreau" received six Golden Raspberry nominations. Brando and Kilmer were nominated for worst supporting actors. In the end, the Raspberry went to 72-year-old Brando.