7. Oliver Stone
Oliver Stoneis a patriot and a great filmmaker, who created several Hollywood classics over the decades, including the likes ofPlatoon(1986),JFK(1991), andNatural Born Killers(1994).
Oliver Stone apparently based his directorial style on his former drill sergeants from his service during the Vietnam War. Known for being tough and demanding on set, Stone has rubbed many the wrong way.
He’s worked with many notable actors, but few have good things to say about him—most notably Sean Penn,who described talking with himas like “talking to a pig.”
Jamie Foxx also hadsimilar experiences with the director, stating that the director told him he was “horrible” and told him to “get the f*ck out” of his audition. (However, Foxx also stated that he learned from this toughness and that it inspired him.)
6. James Cameron
AlthoughJames Cameronhas turned in blockbuster hit after blockbuster hit, the work environments on his sets are far from nice.
On the set ofTitanic(1997), Kate Winslet recalled that he liked to run a tight ship. She wasterrified of him due to his incessant shouting, remarking that he has “a temper like you wouldn’t believe.”
Sam Worthington, star ofAvatar(2009), described how James Cameron wouldnailgun phones to the wallif they went off during a take. Ed Harris, who worked with Cameron onAbyss(1989), described him as an"autocratic" filmmaker who made everyone miserable.
IfAvatar 2: The Way of Water(2022) is as successful as his previous films, some will claim that the ends justify his means.
5. Lars von Trier
For a glimpse of how this Danish auteur approaches his work with actors,Lars von Trierhas remarked that he’s like a chef working with “a potato or a bit of meat.”
Von Trier prefers his actors to stay in character between takes, which can cause significant strain on the shoot.
While directingDancer in the Dark(2000), he fought with Icelandic sensation Björk almost constantly. She’s spoken to how she had to take breaks for days at a time, and she evenaccused him of sexual harassmentin a public Facebook post in 2017.
Nicole Kidman is another who has lamented the practices of Lars von Trier, claiming that von Trier would get drunk, abusive, and mouthy about how he wanted totie Kidman up and whip her.
Kidman remarked that she would cry every night while shootingDogville(2003), yet she still admired Lars as an artist.
4. David Fincher
David Fincheris a perfectionist—and in pursuit of perfection, he sometimes falls short in his treatment of cast and crew.
A notorious example comes from his time directing Netflix’sMindhunter: one particular scene was meant to be a nine-minute take, but he forced his cast and crew toshoot it 75 times before calling it quits, amounting to more than 11 hours just to shoot that one sequence.
Fincher also implemented a No-Pee-Break policy on the set ofZodiac(2007), a film for which he shot upwards of 70 takes for every scene. In fact, Rooney Mara was forced to perform one particular scene 99 times before Fincher was satisfied.
Not only was Jake Gyllenhaal pissed off, butRobert Downey Jr. urinated in mason jarsand left them around the set in protest. Jake Gyllenhaal eventually came out and said that David Fincher “paints with people” and"it’s tough to be a color."
As if to echo this sentiment,acting legend R. Lee Ermey claimedthat “Fincher wants puppets. He doesn’t want people who are creative.” If an ex-Marine drill instructor says you’re too demanding, that’s quite an indictment…!
3. David O. Russell
David O. Russellhas made many stellar films, includingThe Fighter(2010),Silver Linings Playbook(2012), andAmerican Hustle(2013). However, he also has a reputation for inexcusable behavior.
For his filmThree Kings(1999), Russell only cast George Clooney after everyone else he wanted for the part turned him down—and then made it openly clear that he had no real interest in working with Clooney.
In turn,Clooney described him as “vulnerable and selfish"which would “manifest itself in a lot of yelling.”
Things only got worse when Clooney attempted to defend others from Russell’s tirades. Eventually, the two came to blows, with Russell headbutting Clooney after he criticized Russell’s treatment of an extra.
Other inexcusable behaviors include Russellscreaming obscenities at Lily Tomlin, reducing Amy Adams totears most days on the set ofAmerican Hustle, and physicallyassaulting Christopher Nolan at a party.
2. Stanley Kubrick
WhileStanley Kubrickwas an absolute visionary, his reputation forced many to keep their distances from him. No one was exempt from being admonished by the great director.
On the set ofSpartacus(1960), hetold cinematographer Russell Metty to sit down and shut up, claiming he knew more about Metty’s job than Metty did. For the same film, Kubrick also quarrelled with Kirk Douglas incessantly, with the two nearly coming to blows.
Stanley Kubrick had a shady history with screenwriters, removing their credits if he felt like they hadn’t pulled their weight.
He didn’t pull punches with actors, either. WhenAdam Baldwin asked what Kubrick wantedfrom a scene inFull Metal Jacket(1987), Kubrick simply replied: “How about some better acting, Adam?”
However, Kubrick’s inhumane and psychologically abusive treatment of Shelley Duvall on the set ofThe Shining(1980) is what wins him the Most Unpleasant Work Environment Award.
Stanley Kubrick wouldceaselessly berate and chastise Duvall, wanting her to feel so much real anxiety that it would spill over into her performance—and it worked.
It worked so well, in fact, that Shelley Duvall not only turned in a great showing, but her hair started falling out as a result of the stress.
1. Alfred Hitchcock
When reviewing the behaviors of old-school master directors, the results aren’t always pretty—but it’s important to shed light on past abuses of power so that history can stop repeating itself.
AlthoughAlfred Hitchcockis commonly remembered as “Master of Suspense,” given his on-set reputation, “Master of Torment” would likely be a more appropriate moniker.
Hitchcock famously remarked that"all actors should be treated like cattle,“and his treatment of them certainly reflected that.
Many actresses have come out to describe how hellish it was to work with him, having to reject his sexual advances almost constantly. Tippi Hedren, in particular, recalledinhumane working conditions.
Still, the most disturbing story of all is how Alfred Hitchcock bet a crew member—one week’s wage—to spend a night chained up in the film lot. Hitchcock gave him a bottle of brandy to get through the night, butsecretly laced it with laxatives.
Whether he was lusting after his actresses or poisoning his crew as “pranks,” it’s fair to say that Hitchcock easily takes the cake as the most difficult movie director to work with of all time.
Read next:The Best Movies That Changed Directors Partway Through Production
