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Most of the projects
I initially worked on

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were very strange movies,

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so you couldn't really hang
them on any kind of peg.

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But then I discovered
that certain things

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in my work scared them.

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If I talked about the
supernatural or something

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or there was a murder or
something in the story,

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this would scare people.

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Although they might be
not be relevant to it,

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or they might be
misinterpreting it

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and I was able to
pick up on that.

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I first heard of Richard
Stanley in the early '90s

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when Hardware was coming out.

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At the time we were used to
horror directors

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having beards and
looking like your dad,

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and then here was this sort of
young, hot guy.

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He had the long hair
and a very mysterious look

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and the wide-brimmed hat

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that became associated
with him over the years,

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making this brand new film that
was unlike a lot of the films

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that had been leading up to it
in the '80s.

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I was very struck by
Richard Stanley's vision.

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It was kind of different
from anything else

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that had been going on.

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His use of color and light
and music
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and really creating this unique
dystopian vision for his story.

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I still think it's one of the
most important genre films

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of the '90s,
but woven throughout it

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was this sort of esoteric
witchiness

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which is sort of a trademark
of Richard Stanley's works

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and his life in general.

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Richard Stanley was
casting this spell on you

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when you watched his films.

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I was brought up
by a strong mother

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who was involved in witchcraft,
anthropology, and stuff,

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stayed on the road
the whole time,

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but she was a very good mother
in that she was very unstable
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and gave me a kind of
disastrous upbringing

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that was largely responsible
for what I am today.

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It was a huge hit.

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I mean in genre terms
it was definitely a huge hit,

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and it was definitely
something where

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this guy was the
next best thing.

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You know, this was somebody
you wanted to see

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what he was going to do next,

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and it was largely because
of the success of Hardware

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that Miramax worked
with him on Dust Devil.

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Miramax's view on Richard?

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Uh...

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Good question.
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Um...
I think that they like Richard

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in a way that they like what
he was with Hardware.

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After Dust Devil,

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Richard gets the opportunity to
direct The Island of Dr. Moreau.

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We just thought that
Richard Stanley

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doing Island of Dr. Moreau

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was one of the most
exciting projects

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we'd heard of in a while.

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He was someone who had
worked on the independent side,

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but now he was getting
the backing of a studio.

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This is going to be
a huge project,

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and this is going to propel
Richard Stanley

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into the super stardom that
he deserves as an auteur.

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Okay.
Well, here we have a mound of

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rather tatty surviving artworks
from Dr. Moreau

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that gives some brief glimpse

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into the workhouse
of filthy creation.

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A lot of the beast people are
going to be wearing masks

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just the same as
human beings in,

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I guess, pagan tribes and
faiths wear animal masks,

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we wanted the beast people
to be wearing human masks.

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And the sloth-people,
they weren't very bright.

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I originally wanted them
to be stop-motion

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or something like that.

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I wanted a couple of
stop-motion creates in there.

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I think it happens in a
rather different way

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in the Frankenheimer movie.

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One of the shots used
would have never gotten in

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the finished New Line version,

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mutant baby sucks
a mutant nipple, happily.

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I'd first come across the book,

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in fact,
the same copy I've got here,

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which is a first edition
in my father's bookshelf.

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When I was very small,
four or five,

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I remember being drawn to it,

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probably because
it was bright red,

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and it's got some
interesting plates in it.
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And I'm being warned off
by my parents,

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who consistently told me
it was too scary,

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which, of course,
drew me to it very strongly,

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and I read it
as fast as I could.

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It's a book about humanity,
about man and nature,

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man and God,

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civilization

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and essentially what it means
to be human.

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It's a vast, complex book

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written right at the height
of the British Empire,

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and I think spurred
by Darwin's theory on

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the Origin of the Species

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and in the book
Moreau's been hounded out

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of conventional society in
London by anti-vivisectionists

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who have been obviously
appalled by what he is doing.

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A flayed dog escapes from
his laboratory in London,

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which causes a controversy
in the newspapers,

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the Moreau horrors.

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He's forced to try to find
a place in the world

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where he's able to work
in isolation

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without conventional society
looking over his shoulder.

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To a large extent he
is a metaphor for God.

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He is the creator-being.

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He created the beast-people.
They're not experiments.

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They are things which
had never existed before.
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In a curious footnote,

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Wells was a close friend at that
point in time of Joseph Conrad.

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And about one year later,
Conrad turned in a book called.

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Heart of Darkness

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which caused Wells and
Conrad to fall out bitterly

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as Wells' claimed that Conrad
was essentially

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ripping off Island of Dr. Moreau

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and that the character of Kurtz
in Heart of Darkness

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was based on Moreau,

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certainly structurally
there's similarities

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between the two books.

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The narrator spends the entire
story journeying towards

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the island in
Island of Dr. Moreau

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and eventually getting up
to finally addressing Moreau

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and asking what it's all about

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in the same what way
that the narrator Marlow

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journeys upriver to find Kurtz.

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Certainly with
Heart of Darkness,

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Kurtz's character has retreated
from mankind per se

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and certainly civilization.

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Conrad defended the
accusations of plagiarism

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by claiming that,
in fact, he had based

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the character of Kurtz,
not on Dr. Moreau,

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but on the celebrated
African traveler.

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Sir Henry Morton Stanley.

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What's interesting,

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as far as Richard's concerned,
that his great-grandfather,

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Henry Morton Stanley,

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was considered to be one of...

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the main basis of
Kurtz's character.

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It seems, of course, that
Stanley did kind of give him

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this megalomaniac texture,

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and it seems like he was
less than gentle

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with the locals, shall we say.

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The book was first adapted
to the screen in 1932

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by Erle C. Kenton under the
title Island of Lost Souls.

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Wells was still alive
at the time

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and was bitterly disappointed
by the film adaption.
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He felt it was a terrible
bastardization of his work;

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And to some extent he's right,

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although Island of Lost Souls

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is probably the most
effective screen adaptation.

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Charles Laughton chooses to play
Moreau as a gloating sadist

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who spends much the movie
twatting his mustachios

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and reclining chaise lounge.

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It's a very memorable portrayal,

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although very far from
the humane,

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god-like figure
envisioned by Wells.

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It also compresses the narrative
in a way which

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I think every subsequent
adaptation copied

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in that they're always only
interested in the beast-people

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overthrowing Moreau,

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and that's usually
the end of the movie;

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Whereas, in the Wells' book the
beast people liberate themselves

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just after the halfway mark
in the book,

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and things really become
problematic

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once the beast people

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try to run the island
for themselves.

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Wells knew that simply by
giving control of the island

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to the beast folk things could
not possibly get any better.

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Things would only backslide
into anarchy and chaos.

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After Island of Lost Souls,

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there were a slew of
illegitimate adaptions,
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such as Eddie Romero's
Twilight People

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from the Philippines,

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"Test Tube Terrors,

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Half Man, Half Beast...
All Monster"

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and Terror is a Man
with Francis Lederer.

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The next official adaptation
happened in 1977

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and was directed by Don Taylor

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and featured Burt Lancaster
in the Moreau part,

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but Lancaster actually
did a pretty good job.

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Unfortunately,
the movie's pretty ham-fisted.

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I saw the Don Taylor version
at my local cinema

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when I was a kid.

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It has the distinction
of probably being

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the first movie I ever saw

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which angered me so much.
I wanted my money back.

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I was a big fan of the original,
and I was deeply disappointed.

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Amongst other things,
was confused by the fact

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that there was a woman turning
into a panther on the poster

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of the movie, which never
happened in the film.

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And I guess from
that moment onwards,

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the germ of the idea
started to gestate in my mind,

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and I was determined
to do it justice,

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to try and adapt the story
in a way

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that could actually work
for the screen.

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Shortly after Dust Devil,
my second film,

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I found myself washed up
in London without a bean.

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I had never been paid my
second half of my fee.

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The films rights
were a complete mess.

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To get it back and finish it,

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I had to basically borrow
resources and leverage

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pretty much everything;

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So I was probably
$40,000 in the red.

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Even then, I knew on
the back of Dust Devil,

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I didn't have the
political clout

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to be really able to get
Dr. Moreau made.

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I mean, after Dust Devil,
I was finding it hard

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just to get gigs.
213
00:10:01,602 --> 00:10:03,168
He had written a script,

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and we had a quick
conversation on the phone,

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and he at that point said,

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"Can we actually put together
some sort of basic image?

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It would be of the
script cover,

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to try and drum up
the interest."

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And we then thought perhaps
actually extending that further.

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We recreated a couple of scenes

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from the imagined
finished product.

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I sincerely believe
that if Wells was alive now,

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he would write it differently.

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There's no way that Wells now
would set the story in 1895.

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Plainly, the story would
be set in the present.

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It's not a story about the past
but is about the near future.

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The images... the first one
we produced was

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actually an image of Dr. Moreau
with a newborn creature,

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one of the lambs,

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with what actually looked
like a halo around his head.

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So the whole point was to almost
sort of play on the whole virgin

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and baby Jesus image.

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The dog-men are not entirely
obeying his orders too,

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because we can
see behind Moreau's back,

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some of the dog-men
are actually

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licking the blood off the
surgical instruments,

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and way in the back in the
background in the tank,
238
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we see a big, three-eyed,
intelligent Cthuloid octopus.

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00:11:01,595 --> 00:11:04,362
There were going to be
sea creatures as well.

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From that we decided
actually..we produced

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a series of 12 images echoing
the Stations of the Cross

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which began with
this basic birth,

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birth of the baby Jesus,

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and then with the sort of
crucifixion scene the end,

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which was actually
Moreau's own death.

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Moreau was originally conceived

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was actually nothing like
Marlon Brando.

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00:11:22,649 --> 00:11:24,549
I think I had originally talked
to Jurgen Prochnow

249
00:11:24,551 --> 00:11:26,284
about playing the part.

250
00:11:26,286 --> 00:11:28,653
I wanted Moreau to be something,
a little bit of a New Ager.

251
00:11:28,655 --> 00:11:30,321
In some of the earlier pictures,

252
00:11:30,323 --> 00:11:33,258
we see he's still got the
long hair and beard.

253
00:11:33,260 --> 00:11:35,760
I was making him into some
type of a composite of.

254
00:11:35,762 --> 00:11:38,430
Timothy Leary and John Lilly

255
00:11:38,432 --> 00:11:40,331
the dolphin
communication expert.

256
00:11:40,333 --> 00:11:42,534
As important as the character
of Dr. Moreau

257
00:11:42,536 --> 00:11:44,269
were the beast-people.

258
00:11:44,271 --> 00:11:45,837
They were going to be civilized,
at least more so

259
00:11:45,839 --> 00:11:48,306
than we've seen in the
previous Moreau versions.

260
00:11:48,308 --> 00:11:50,341
They've decorated themselves.
They've got piercings.

261
00:11:50,343 --> 00:11:52,777
They've got some degree of
beast-person civilization.

262
00:11:52,779 --> 00:11:54,512
There is no cat-lady in book.
263
00:11:54,514 --> 00:11:55,680
The panther woman was added

264
00:11:55,682 --> 00:11:57,015
in the in the
Erle C. Kenton movie

265
00:11:57,017 --> 00:11:59,017
in the process of making
it more Hollywood,

266
00:11:59,019 --> 00:12:00,785
and we, in return,
retained her.

267
00:12:00,787 --> 00:12:04,522
In reality, Aissa, our cat-lady
is drawn from another novel.

268
00:12:04,524 --> 00:12:07,358
We stole it from
Outcast of the Islands,

269
00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:08,426
the Joseph Conrad novel.

270
00:12:08,428 --> 00:12:10,361
We thought since there's this
connection between.

271
00:12:10,363 --> 00:12:11,846
Conrad and Wells,

272
00:12:11,847 --> 00:12:13,330
borrowing characters from
another Conrad story

273
00:12:13,333 --> 00:12:15,033
was vaguely in our agreement.

274
00:12:15,035 --> 00:12:16,367
I was determined on some level

275
00:12:16,369 --> 00:12:17,836
that I would provide
that moment,

276
00:12:17,838 --> 00:12:20,605
that we were going to see
the girl turn into a cat

277
00:12:20,607 --> 00:12:21,573
and be an animal.

278
00:12:21,575 --> 00:12:23,925
She would run on all fours.

279
00:12:23,926 --> 00:12:26,276
She would become furry
and underneath her chilaba

280
00:12:26,279 --> 00:12:28,346
is furry all over
and has a tail.

281
00:12:28,348 --> 00:12:29,748
The dog-people
take the opportunity,

282
00:12:29,750 --> 00:12:31,883
while the master is away,
to chase her up the wall,

283
00:12:31,885 --> 00:12:33,651
drag her down, and kill her.

284
00:12:33,653 --> 00:12:37,322
Being civilized, they then
proceed to not just to eat her

285
00:12:37,324 --> 00:12:40,692
but to cook her and then
serve her to the castaway.

286
00:12:40,694 --> 00:12:43,361
When he realizes what's
happened in his absence,

287
00:12:43,363 --> 00:12:45,663
he immediately shoots a
couple of the dog-men.
288
00:12:45,665 --> 00:12:46,898
The dog-men really love him.

289
00:12:46,900 --> 00:12:49,300
Not only that, they've
got very short memories,

290
00:12:49,302 --> 00:12:51,302
because they're dogs;
So they don't really remember

291
00:12:51,303 --> 00:12:53,303
that they've killed and cooked
the cat-lady to begin with.

292
00:12:53,306 --> 00:12:55,340
They don't really understand
why he's killing them.

293
00:12:55,342 --> 00:12:57,375
We also rationalize that
Montgomery would

294
00:12:57,377 --> 00:12:59,477
undoubtedly be
sleeping with the beast-people

295
00:12:59,479 --> 00:13:01,513
if he's been on the island
for decades.

296
00:13:01,515 --> 00:13:04,382
I know in one version we had
the thought of the pig-lady

297
00:13:04,384 --> 00:13:07,585
biting Montgomery's dick off
during the final party,

298
00:13:07,587 --> 00:13:09,654
which... later in the story,

299
00:13:09,656 --> 00:13:11,923
the beast-people get into
Montgomery's stash.

300
00:13:11,925 --> 00:13:14,726
So suddenly we're dealing with
humanized animals on drugs,

301
00:13:14,728 --> 00:13:16,895
which is a very
appealing thought,

302
00:13:16,897 --> 00:13:19,330
and then one starts wondering
how they would behave

303
00:13:19,332 --> 00:13:20,665
and what they would see.

304
00:13:20,667 --> 00:13:24,636
And these were to prove to be
controversial elements

305
00:13:24,638 --> 00:13:26,538
later in the
development process.

306
00:13:26,540 --> 00:13:29,808
Here we see the muscular
satire character

307
00:13:29,810 --> 00:13:32,110
cranking the handle
to lower the lift cage.

308
00:13:32,112 --> 00:13:34,579
All the way down the shaft,
there's other creatures

309
00:13:34,581 --> 00:13:36,781
living in the different
layers of the complex.

310
00:13:36,783 --> 00:13:39,417
We see them through the
cage of the elevator,

311
00:13:39,419 --> 00:13:40,618
and they're peeking out,

312
00:13:40,620 --> 00:13:42,387
and we notice
that there's babies

313
00:13:42,389 --> 00:13:44,355
and fires burning down there.

314
00:13:44,357 --> 00:13:46,624
Here the bear-man reaches
for the conch shell

315
00:13:46,626 --> 00:13:48,126
with a Lord of the Flies touch

316
00:13:48,128 --> 00:13:51,496
and then picks up the
conch shell and blows it.

317
00:13:51,498 --> 00:13:53,965
Yes, there was going
animal vision in this movie,

318
00:13:53,967 --> 00:13:55,834
just like toad vision
or droid vision.

319
00:13:55,836 --> 00:13:58,403
Of course, we're going to see
point-of-view shots

320
00:13:58,405 --> 00:14:00,689
from the beast people.

321
00:14:00,690 --> 00:14:02,974
I remember making phone calls
until I ran out of change

322
00:14:02,976 --> 00:14:05,510
from a phone booth
in South London,

323
00:14:05,512 --> 00:14:07,879
and I remember it was
close to Christmas,

324
00:14:07,881 --> 00:14:10,415
and it was snowing,
it was close to a bus station,
325
00:14:10,417 --> 00:14:12,684
but somehow I just
on the remains of my

326
00:14:12,686 --> 00:14:13,918
dwindling change,

327
00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:16,487
I managed to basically
get Ed Pressman

328
00:14:16,489 --> 00:14:18,590
of the Edward R. Pressman
Film Corporation

329
00:14:18,592 --> 00:14:20,859
interested in Dr. Moreau.

330
00:14:20,861 --> 00:14:22,961
Ed had produced
a lot of fine movies,

331
00:14:22,963 --> 00:14:25,597
notably Badlands
with Terrence Malick,

332
00:14:25,599 --> 00:14:28,166
Conan the Barbarian
for John Milius,

333
00:14:28,168 --> 00:14:29,968
Das Boot for Wolfgang Peterson,

334
00:14:29,970 --> 00:14:32,003
and Bad Lieutenant
for Abel Ferrara;

335
00:14:32,005 --> 00:14:34,172
So Ed had pretty good taste

336
00:14:34,174 --> 00:14:36,174
and was the right man
to be the producer.

337
00:14:36,176 --> 00:14:38,576
Island of Dr. Moreau
came out about

338
00:14:38,578 --> 00:14:40,612
by the initiative of
Richard Stanley.

339
00:14:40,614 --> 00:14:44,883
It was a wonderful script,
and he was a good filmmaker.

340
00:14:44,885 --> 00:14:46,684
His agent at the time,
Jenne Casarotto,

341
00:14:46,686 --> 00:14:50,922
represented the estate
of Wells, H.G. Wells.

342
00:14:50,924 --> 00:14:53,491
Right from the beginning
there was always that problem

343
00:14:53,493 --> 00:14:55,793
that I was working
on something I didn't own.

344
00:14:55,795 --> 00:14:57,912
I needed a big company
to pick it up,

345
00:14:57,913 --> 00:15:00,030
because somebody actually had to
negotiate with the Wells' estate

346
00:15:00,033 --> 00:15:02,767
and try and get hold
of the rights,

347
00:15:02,769 --> 00:15:04,702
which were pretty confused.

348
00:15:04,704 --> 00:15:09,674
Mike DeLuca was at New Line
at the time and liked it,

349
00:15:09,676 --> 00:15:17,615
and we thought of it
as a modest budget sci-fi film

350
00:15:17,617 --> 00:15:20,785
that would be done for
$5 - $8 million.

351
00:15:20,787 --> 00:15:23,721
Ed immediately wanted
to Americanize the script

352
00:15:23,723 --> 00:15:26,524
which was something
I was quite opposed to.

353
00:15:26,526 --> 00:15:29,560
I felt all of Wells' work
is inherently British,

354
00:15:29,562 --> 00:15:31,863
and one of the problems
with the Wells' material

355
00:15:31,865 --> 00:15:34,599
was that Britain has never
really shown any interest really

356
00:15:34,601 --> 00:15:37,085
in adapting it.

357
00:15:37,086 --> 00:15:39,570
In the end, Ed convinced me
to allow them to do this,

358
00:15:39,572 --> 00:15:42,874
provided that they hired a
screenwriter to work on it

359
00:15:42,876 --> 00:15:45,610
who I thought would
do the work justice.

360
00:15:45,612 --> 00:15:47,512
And so we ended up
with Michael Herr,

361
00:15:47,514 --> 00:15:49,547
the writer of Dispatches,

362
00:15:49,549 --> 00:15:51,950
the classic book about
the Vietnam War,

363
00:15:51,952 --> 00:15:53,251
which is probably one
of the best books

364
00:15:53,253 --> 00:15:54,819
about war ever written;

365
00:15:54,821 --> 00:15:57,555
Who also provided the voiceover
to Apocalypse Now

366
00:15:57,557 --> 00:15:59,524
and was a perfect choice
for Moreau

367
00:15:59,526 --> 00:16:02,093
and brought an awful lot to
the Montgomery character,

368
00:16:02,095 --> 00:16:03,995
giving him some of that
hard-boiled,

369
00:16:03,997 --> 00:16:05,964
acid-drenched shtick.

370
00:16:05,966 --> 00:16:07,699
He is the single
greatest screenwriter

371
00:16:07,701 --> 00:16:10,702
I have ever worked with
and a very fine man.

372
00:16:10,704 --> 00:16:13,004
He hates... I can't say "hates."
It's a strong word,

373
00:16:13,006 --> 00:16:15,006
but he probably does
hate Hollywood
374
00:16:15,008 --> 00:16:16,674
and hates the movie industry.

375
00:16:16,676 --> 00:16:19,577
Whether or not he hates the
human race in total

376
00:16:19,579 --> 00:16:21,779
is a harder question.

377
00:16:31,658 --> 00:16:34,058
As the company started
with virtually nothing

378
00:16:34,060 --> 00:16:36,661
and as we made our
way in the business,

379
00:16:36,663 --> 00:16:39,998
we began to have as part of
our wherewithal obviously

380
00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:42,767
production, acquisition,
and financing

381
00:16:42,769 --> 00:16:46,771
that allowed us to buy
films and to make films.

382
00:16:46,773 --> 00:16:49,574
Bob Shaye had created
something that was very edgy.

383
00:16:49,576 --> 00:16:52,810
It was all House Party,
Nightmare on Elm Street,

384
00:16:52,812 --> 00:16:55,947
Ninja Turtles.

385
00:16:55,948 --> 00:16:59,083
It was drive-in, grindhouse,
Saturday matinee-type fare.

386
00:16:59,085 --> 00:17:03,054
As artists and executives
and a studio,

387
00:17:03,056 --> 00:17:06,557
they were often maligned
by the big boys,

388
00:17:06,559 --> 00:17:10,661
as being, you know,
niche and crap, you know,

389
00:17:10,663 --> 00:17:12,630
Pink Flamingos and Freddy.

390
00:17:12,632 --> 00:17:16,000
I mean, these movies make money,
but they don't gain respect.

391
00:17:16,002 --> 00:17:18,903
Mike DeLuca, who was president
of our production company,

392
00:17:18,905 --> 00:17:20,738
he was charged with the idea

393
00:17:20,740 --> 00:17:22,907
of going out and
putting together projects,

394
00:17:22,909 --> 00:17:24,742
and then presenting
them to myself

395
00:17:24,744 --> 00:17:27,045
to decide whether we wanted
to go ahead with it or not.

396
00:17:27,047 --> 00:17:28,613
In the mid-90s,

397
00:17:28,615 --> 00:17:31,149
Mike started to bring
in directors

398
00:17:31,151 --> 00:17:32,650
who were unknown at the time,
399
00:17:32,652 --> 00:17:35,920
like David Fincher,
Paul Thomas Anderson,

400
00:17:35,922 --> 00:17:38,656
you know, Mike really
gave these guys their start.

401
00:17:38,658 --> 00:17:41,893
I think New Line started to
go through an identity crisis,

402
00:17:41,895 --> 00:17:44,062
because, you know,
with all due respect,

403
00:17:44,064 --> 00:17:47,865
when you're used to having
Robert Englund in the commissary

404
00:17:47,867 --> 00:17:49,901
metaphorically and now you've
got Robert De Niro

405
00:17:49,903 --> 00:17:52,036
and Dustin Hoffman
with Wag the Dog,

406
00:17:52,038 --> 00:17:53,971
there was this sort of euphoria

407
00:17:53,973 --> 00:17:57,041
that now the minors are
playing with the majors.

408
00:17:57,043 --> 00:17:59,944
So suddenly, they're remaking
The Island of Dr. Moreau,

409
00:17:59,946 --> 00:18:02,747
but they want to turn it
into an art film.

410
00:18:02,749 --> 00:18:06,617
I wasn't particularly
enthusiastic
411
00:18:06,619 --> 00:18:08,086
about the project, frankly.

412
00:18:08,088 --> 00:18:09,954
Mike DeLuca had in it,

413
00:18:09,956 --> 00:18:14,959
was interested in it and
sort of liked classic horror.

414
00:18:14,961 --> 00:18:16,994
It all left me pretty cold.

415
00:18:16,996 --> 00:18:20,131
Pressman had me going and
meet the New Line people

416
00:18:20,133 --> 00:18:24,702
and wanted to get me on
the picture as the producer.

417
00:18:24,704 --> 00:18:26,971
So we had, I think,

418
00:18:26,973 --> 00:18:29,207
basically just one meeting
in my office.

419
00:18:29,209 --> 00:18:33,744
I did meet Richard Stanley
at that point in time.

420
00:18:37,150 --> 00:18:39,117
I didn't really know
what to make of him,

421
00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:42,153
and he showed up in a hat
and white linen suit,

422
00:18:42,155 --> 00:18:45,690
said that's what he's going
to wear for the whole picture,

423
00:18:45,692 --> 00:18:47,709
never take it off.

424
00:18:47,710 --> 00:18:49,727
I had no doubt going into it
that Richard would be fine.

425
00:18:49,729 --> 00:18:52,763
I thought he was very smart.

426
00:18:52,765 --> 00:18:55,700
He's an odd character,

427
00:18:55,702 --> 00:18:59,437
but I've worked with many
odd characters as directors.

428
00:18:59,439 --> 00:19:04,675
I thought that Stanley was
a somewhat unusual guy.

429
00:19:04,677 --> 00:19:08,012
He almost got away with
not doing anything goofy,

430
00:19:08,014 --> 00:19:10,148
and then he did do
one thing goofy.

431
00:19:10,150 --> 00:19:15,119
When my assistant came in and
offered everybody refreshments,

432
00:19:15,121 --> 00:19:19,023
he said, "Yes, I would
like a cup of coffee."

433
00:19:19,025 --> 00:19:20,825
"How do you take it?"

434
00:19:20,827 --> 00:19:23,161
And he said either
three or four sugars,

435
00:19:23,163 --> 00:19:25,997
and when I heard that, I said,

436
00:19:25,999 --> 00:19:27,765
"There's something
going on here

437
00:19:27,767 --> 00:19:31,769
that I don't think
I completely understand,

438
00:19:31,771 --> 00:19:34,172
but nobody takes four sugars
in a cup of copy

439
00:19:34,174 --> 00:19:38,176
and walks out
as a solid citizen.

440
00:19:38,178 --> 00:19:42,780
He was like me,
an absolute stranger to L.A.,

441
00:19:42,782 --> 00:19:45,049
nothing in common
with anyone here.

442
00:19:45,051 --> 00:19:48,786
I mean, I think that's really
why we became friends,

443
00:19:48,788 --> 00:19:51,022
just instantly we had
a good rapport.

444
00:19:51,024 --> 00:19:52,490
I think when you're an artist

445
00:19:52,492 --> 00:19:55,826
and you have worked for years
with no budget,

446
00:19:55,828 --> 00:19:57,929
and when finally
you get to do it the way

447
00:19:57,931 --> 00:19:59,931
you've always known you can,

448
00:19:59,933 --> 00:20:02,266
you know to the detail
what you're going to do

449
00:20:02,268 --> 00:20:04,302
and how you're going to do it.

450
00:20:04,304 --> 00:20:06,837
And the really first thing
came down to who

451
00:20:06,839 --> 00:20:08,339
was going to be Dr. Moreau,

452
00:20:08,341 --> 00:20:12,343
and Ed figured a way of
getting to Marlon Brando.

453
00:20:13,513 --> 00:20:19,283
Someone had the idea of Brando
playing the role of Dr. Moreau,

454
00:20:19,285 --> 00:20:21,185
which changed the whole
character of the movie

455
00:20:21,187 --> 00:20:24,922
and increased the budget
enormously.

456
00:20:24,924 --> 00:20:26,157
We had just made
a film with him

457
00:20:26,159 --> 00:20:29,260
where he was already
totally impossible.

458
00:20:29,262 --> 00:20:34,765
So I was pretty incensed
with DeLuca for choosing.

459
00:20:34,767 --> 00:20:36,100
Marlon Brando in another film.

460
00:20:36,102 --> 00:20:38,336
There was no particular
reason to have him,
461
00:20:38,338 --> 00:20:40,538
and he was an incredible
pain in the neck.

462
00:20:40,540 --> 00:20:42,873
The very next thing
I heard was that,

463
00:20:42,875 --> 00:20:46,344
yes, Brando was prepared
to be Dr. Moreau,

464
00:20:46,346 --> 00:20:49,914
the money was in escrow,
and that the film was green lit.

465
00:20:49,916 --> 00:20:52,550
It was going to be directed
by Roman Polanksi,

466
00:20:52,552 --> 00:20:54,318
which came completely
out of the left field.

467
00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:55,786
I hadn't seen that coming.

468
00:20:55,788 --> 00:20:58,789
I responded by firing all guns

469
00:20:58,791 --> 00:21:02,159
and demanding
that I have the right

470
00:21:02,161 --> 00:21:04,128
to at least one meeting
with Marlon Brando,

471
00:21:04,130 --> 00:21:05,830
that I had written
the damn script.

472
00:21:05,832 --> 00:21:07,932
Apparently, he was
very unhappy about this.
473
00:21:07,934 --> 00:21:09,834
I was told that by Mike DeLuca,

474
00:21:09,836 --> 00:21:12,036
the chappy from New Line
just before the meeting

475
00:21:12,038 --> 00:21:15,039
that Brando was going to really
rake me over the coals.

476
00:21:15,041 --> 00:21:17,275
And I remember feeling a bit
confused as to why...

477
00:21:17,277 --> 00:21:19,143
What Brando and everyone
had it in with me for.

478
00:21:19,145 --> 00:21:21,279
Certainly, New Line
couldn't wait to get rid of me.

479
00:21:21,281 --> 00:21:23,414
Knowing that the odds
were stacked against me,

480
00:21:23,416 --> 00:21:26,017
I resorted to witchcraft.

481
00:21:26,019 --> 00:21:28,152
At that point in time,

482
00:21:28,154 --> 00:21:31,255
I was friendly with this
warlock chappy in England,

483
00:21:31,257 --> 00:21:34,592
Dr. James Featherstone,
commonly known as "Skip."

484
00:21:34,594 --> 00:21:36,894
So Skip had been shown
to demonstrate his ability

485
00:21:36,896 --> 00:21:38,062
to fix things,

486
00:21:38,064 --> 00:21:39,430
to do invisible mending before.

487
00:21:39,432 --> 00:21:41,866
So I said, "My God, Skip,
you've got to help me.

488
00:21:41,868 --> 00:21:43,601
You've got to save my movie."

489
00:21:43,603 --> 00:21:46,103
At the exact same time,
I went into the meeting

490
00:21:46,105 --> 00:21:48,339
on the other side of the world,
Skip convened his coven,

491
00:21:48,341 --> 00:21:51,175
cut his arm, drew a sigil
and did some sort of routine

492
00:21:51,177 --> 00:21:53,444
to fix it and make it all,
all right.

493
00:21:53,446 --> 00:21:56,013
Simultaneously,
I was driven with the big,

494
00:21:56,015 --> 00:21:57,982
old limo that was part
of the contract.

495
00:21:57,984 --> 00:21:59,450
Brando's house was at
the top of Mulholland,

496
00:21:59,452 --> 00:22:02,186
on the left; Jack Nicholson's
house is on the right.

497
00:22:02,188 --> 00:22:05,990
Brando's house was surrounded by
a very dense bamboo enclosure,
498
00:22:05,992 --> 00:22:08,192
which screened the house
from the road.

499
00:22:08,194 --> 00:22:11,062
The bamboos were
full of CCTV cameras,

500
00:22:11,064 --> 00:22:13,097
and eventually,
the gates slid open,

501
00:22:13,099 --> 00:22:15,333
and I was admitted
into the compound.

502
00:22:15,335 --> 00:22:17,401
He had these trained
Dobermans padding around

503
00:22:17,403 --> 00:22:19,136
and which were trained to attack

504
00:22:19,138 --> 00:22:21,205
anything he pointed his
laser pencil at,

505
00:22:21,207 --> 00:22:24,241
because I have fond memories of
Brando drunk pointing at things

506
00:22:24,243 --> 00:22:26,911
with his laser pencil and
getting the attack dogs

507
00:22:26,913 --> 00:22:29,280
to attack the little red dot.

508
00:22:29,282 --> 00:22:32,950
New Line sent a lady named
Ruth Vitale with me.

509
00:22:32,952 --> 00:22:36,354
I stayed pretty quiet during
the first part of the meeting.
510
00:22:36,356 --> 00:22:43,160
Ruth was sweating and
found it very stuffy in there,

511
00:22:43,162 --> 00:22:46,931
and Brando turned on
the air-conditioning.

512
00:22:46,933 --> 00:22:49,967
She remarked at one point that
"If you turn that up any higher,

513
00:22:49,969 --> 00:22:52,236
I'll fall asleep,"
and he kept doing it,

514
00:22:52,238 --> 00:22:56,907
and after about 15 minutes
or so Ruth was fast asleep,

515
00:22:56,909 --> 00:22:59,477
at which point we
began the conversation.

516
00:22:59,479 --> 00:23:04,081
So I'd done enough research
to be able to engage him on,

517
00:23:04,083 --> 00:23:08,252
I guess, environmental
and scientific grounds.

518
00:23:08,254 --> 00:23:09,920
And then there's the
whole weird.

519
00:23:09,922 --> 00:23:11,989
Sir Henry Morton Stanley
connection

520
00:23:11,991 --> 00:23:14,458
which feeds back into
the character of Kurtz

521
00:23:14,460 --> 00:23:16,661
to begin with.
522
00:23:16,662 --> 00:23:18,863
He was still pretty
interested in Kurtz.

523
00:23:18,864 --> 00:23:21,065
So we were able to slide
backwards into the gestations

524
00:23:21,067 --> 00:23:23,267
of the character, the initial
argument between.

525
00:23:23,269 --> 00:23:25,136
Conrad and Wells,

526
00:23:25,137 --> 00:23:27,004
and he was extremely nice
to me during the meeting.

527
00:23:27,006 --> 00:23:29,407
I was never really sure why
he took a shine to me

528
00:23:29,409 --> 00:23:30,775
the way he did.

529
00:23:30,776 --> 00:23:32,142
It was very confusing for
New Line because

530
00:23:32,145 --> 00:23:33,944
it was not the outcome
they'd been expecting,

531
00:23:33,946 --> 00:23:35,513
and it was confusing
for Ruth Vitale

532
00:23:35,515 --> 00:23:37,314
because she had
slept through it.

533
00:23:37,316 --> 00:23:38,549
There's a very strong
possibility

534
00:23:38,551 --> 00:23:40,284
that it was may have
been voodoo

535
00:23:40,286 --> 00:23:42,953
or some kind
of magical interference

536
00:23:42,955 --> 00:23:44,689
on Skip's behalf,

537
00:23:44,690 --> 00:23:46,424
but the next thing I knew
Roman Polanski was out,

538
00:23:46,426 --> 00:23:49,527
and Brando was only going to
do the movie if I was onboard.

539
00:23:51,330 --> 00:23:54,131
Brando's a big name,
but he's not big box office.

540
00:23:54,133 --> 00:23:56,333
So then it was necessary for
us to bring a box office draw.

541
00:23:56,335 --> 00:23:58,269
So we immediately
went after Bruce Willis

542
00:23:58,271 --> 00:24:00,971
for the role of the castaway.

543
00:24:00,973 --> 00:24:03,107
Bruce was looking for
something different to do

544
00:24:03,109 --> 00:24:04,141
at that point in time.

545
00:24:04,143 --> 00:24:06,177
It was immediately
pre-Sixth Sense

546
00:24:06,179 --> 00:24:07,745
and really liked the script,
547
00:24:07,746 --> 00:24:09,312
and like everyone else,
wanted to work with Brando.

548
00:24:09,315 --> 00:24:11,749
One of the serendipity things
is I ran into James Woods

549
00:24:11,751 --> 00:24:13,317
at a restaurant,

550
00:24:13,319 --> 00:24:15,453
got on well with James Woods

551
00:24:15,455 --> 00:24:18,222
and gave him the script.

552
00:24:18,224 --> 00:24:21,292
Next thing you know, James Woods
was in for Montgomery.

553
00:24:21,294 --> 00:24:23,461
We had pretty much
the dream cast,

554
00:24:23,463 --> 00:24:26,063
which was Marlon Brando,
Bruce Willis, and James Woods.

555
00:24:26,065 --> 00:24:28,466
We then set out to
find the island.

556
00:24:28,468 --> 00:24:31,202
After a lot of globetrotting,

557
00:24:31,204 --> 00:24:34,071
I ended up in far-north
Queensland,

558
00:24:34,073 --> 00:24:36,373
and I chose Cape Tribulation,

559
00:24:36,375 --> 00:24:39,310
because there's a huge
triangular mountain/volcano

560
00:24:39,312 --> 00:24:40,578
thing in the middle of it all,

561
00:24:40,580 --> 00:24:42,480
which I figured I could use
to anchor together

562
00:24:42,482 --> 00:24:44,281
the geography of the island.

563
00:24:44,283 --> 00:24:46,217
I found a way of selecting
the different locations

564
00:24:46,219 --> 00:24:47,351
so the volcano mountain

565
00:24:47,353 --> 00:24:49,086
was always vaguely
in the background

566
00:24:49,088 --> 00:24:51,121
and matched into another atoll

567
00:24:51,123 --> 00:24:53,123
so that we could create
the illusion

568
00:24:53,125 --> 00:24:54,792
that it was all one place.

569
00:24:54,794 --> 00:24:56,527
Simultaneously, a colossal

570
00:24:56,529 --> 00:24:58,796
makeup effects effort
was going on

571
00:24:58,798 --> 00:25:01,198
where we had the attention
of all the kids

572
00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:02,566
at the Stan Winston studios.
573
00:25:02,568 --> 00:25:04,034
I was one of the few,

574
00:25:04,036 --> 00:25:06,303
if not the only person
in the studio,

575
00:25:06,305 --> 00:25:08,072
who knew who Richard was.

576
00:25:08,074 --> 00:25:09,206
You know, I had seen Hardware.

577
00:25:09,208 --> 00:25:10,808
I had seen Dust Devil,
and, you know,

578
00:25:10,810 --> 00:25:14,378
I was interested in his quirky
little movies he was making,

579
00:25:14,380 --> 00:25:16,614
and he came in with these
very psychedelic drawings of,

580
00:25:16,616 --> 00:25:19,483
you know, animal people running
around with machine guns

581
00:25:19,485 --> 00:25:22,119
and hospital scrubs
and everything

582
00:25:22,121 --> 00:25:25,189
and very colorful and very,
like, out there,

583
00:25:25,191 --> 00:25:28,259
and we had a team of folks

584
00:25:28,261 --> 00:25:30,461
that set out to design
the characters.

585
00:25:30,463 --> 00:25:33,531
Crash McCreery does these
amazing detailed pencils,

586
00:25:33,533 --> 00:25:35,566
and he did the Sayer of the Law.

587
00:25:35,568 --> 00:25:38,202
He did Lo-Mai.

588
00:25:38,204 --> 00:25:42,606
I did designs for Buffalo Man
and the pig-ladies.

589
00:25:42,608 --> 00:25:45,609
Everybody chipped in and
just bashed ideas around

590
00:25:45,611 --> 00:25:49,380
until we settled on things.

591
00:25:54,220 --> 00:25:56,153
He was, you know,
right off the bat,

592
00:25:56,155 --> 00:25:58,856
he was showing me
the storyboards

593
00:25:58,858 --> 00:26:01,392
and the character designs
from Stan Winston,

594
00:26:01,394 --> 00:26:06,630
and he was so,
so excited and so passionate

595
00:26:06,632 --> 00:26:09,667
and it had been so many years
in the making at that point.

596
00:26:09,669 --> 00:26:11,535
We talked about the character,
and he said,

597
00:26:11,537 --> 00:26:13,704
"You know, it's actually,
I want to... you know,
598
00:26:13,706 --> 00:26:18,342
the story is that he is
Brando's favorite.

599
00:26:18,344 --> 00:26:20,761
He is the master dog.

600
00:26:20,762 --> 00:26:23,179
Basically, he's the only
one that understands art.

601
00:26:23,182 --> 00:26:24,315
He knows Shakespeare.

602
00:26:24,317 --> 00:26:26,183
He knows how to recite poems,"

603
00:26:26,185 --> 00:26:27,217
and I got really excited,

604
00:26:27,219 --> 00:26:29,253
because I thought
"God, you know,

605
00:26:29,255 --> 00:26:32,456
this is like actually the
best part in the movie."

606
00:26:32,458 --> 00:26:34,224
In the meantime,

607
00:26:34,226 --> 00:26:37,895
New Line tried in different
ways to contain the material.

608
00:26:37,897 --> 00:26:40,698
I remember being called into
an emergency meeting

609
00:26:40,700 --> 00:26:43,434
of which they were really
going to draw the line

610
00:26:43,436 --> 00:26:46,604
and try to get me to
humanize the cat-lady.

611
00:26:46,606 --> 00:26:48,505
When Prendick
initially seduces her,

612
00:26:48,507 --> 00:26:50,274
she's got six nipples

613
00:26:50,276 --> 00:26:52,476
and her pubes kind of grow
all over her thighs

614
00:26:52,478 --> 00:26:53,611
and up her chest and stuff,

615
00:26:53,613 --> 00:26:55,746
and there's this
celebrated moment

616
00:26:55,748 --> 00:26:58,482
where he's working his way down
from one nipple to the next

617
00:26:58,484 --> 00:27:01,752
and realizes along the way
that she's not human,

618
00:27:01,754 --> 00:27:04,755
which really upset them,
really upset Ruth Vitale.

619
00:27:04,757 --> 00:27:07,625
She said that it would upset
menopausal women

620
00:27:07,627 --> 00:27:09,226
all over America.

621
00:27:09,228 --> 00:27:10,928
We went through a couple
of successive drafts

622
00:27:10,930 --> 00:27:13,664
with Walon Green,
writer of The Wild Bunch,
623
00:27:13,666 --> 00:27:16,700
at which point I could
justifiably say that,

624
00:27:16,702 --> 00:27:18,535
even leaving myself
out of the equation,

625
00:27:18,537 --> 00:27:21,238
the finished product was
from the combined talents

626
00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:23,374
who brought the world
The Wild Bunch,

627
00:27:23,376 --> 00:27:25,376
Apocalypse Now,
and The Time Machine.

628
00:27:25,378 --> 00:27:28,245
It was a script we were
extremely confident in,

629
00:27:28,247 --> 00:27:32,449
that we thought would be some
sort of milestone in the genre.

630
00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:36,387
We'd shot some
background footage

631
00:27:36,389 --> 00:27:38,255
that was going to work
on monitors,

632
00:27:38,257 --> 00:27:42,693
and we spent a day in a hospital
doing bits and pieces.

633
00:27:42,695 --> 00:27:44,595
There was a scene
with Barbara Steele,

634
00:27:44,597 --> 00:27:47,665
which was filmed in
Los Angeles.
635
00:27:47,667 --> 00:27:49,767
Barbara Steele
and an orangutan.

636
00:27:49,769 --> 00:27:52,569
Just a very low-key day
with a small crew,

637
00:27:52,571 --> 00:27:57,241
and I could just tell by
the way that he was shooting,

638
00:27:57,243 --> 00:27:59,443
what he was shooting,
how he was relating to the crew

639
00:27:59,445 --> 00:28:05,315
that... once he had actors
and a big crew,

640
00:28:05,317 --> 00:28:07,251
it might have some problems,

641
00:28:07,253 --> 00:28:11,321
and we all sort of said "uh-oh"
to each other silently,

642
00:28:11,323 --> 00:28:13,657
because we were all
supportive of him

643
00:28:13,659 --> 00:28:16,560
and wanted him to do well.

644
00:28:16,562 --> 00:28:19,763
I think Richard was in
a rather swish initially,

645
00:28:19,765 --> 00:28:23,333
but when it was suggested
that I go over to Los Angeles

646
00:28:23,335 --> 00:28:25,302
and work with him in hotel,

647
00:28:25,304 --> 00:28:27,838
I think they then decided
they'd actually have to move

648
00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:29,473
him to a slightly cheaper hotel.

649
00:28:29,475 --> 00:28:33,277
So they said, "You know,
as a savings, Richard,

650
00:28:33,279 --> 00:28:36,580
you know, we'd like to put you
in the Oakwood Apartments.

651
00:28:36,582 --> 00:28:39,583
You know, it's a lot cheaper,
and you'll be able to cook,

652
00:28:39,585 --> 00:28:42,720
and do you mind?"
And he said, "That's fine."

653
00:28:42,722 --> 00:28:46,423
A small but telling problem
was that I don't actually drive.

654
00:28:46,425 --> 00:28:48,692
I'd been living in London
for 20 years

655
00:28:48,694 --> 00:28:50,427
and was suddenly
plumped down in the city

656
00:28:50,429 --> 00:28:53,797
were there was no such thing
as public transport.

657
00:28:54,667 --> 00:28:56,667
This issue of trying
to get from A to B

658
00:28:56,669 --> 00:28:58,635
continued throughout
the production.

659
00:28:58,637 --> 00:29:00,270
Meetings would happen
without me,

660
00:29:00,272 --> 00:29:01,705
no one telling me
they were going on

661
00:29:01,707 --> 00:29:04,742
and point in fact I became
increasingly paranoid.

662
00:29:04,744 --> 00:29:06,744
Thinking that I was being

663
00:29:06,746 --> 00:29:08,846
deliberately kept out
of the meetings.

664
00:29:08,848 --> 00:29:11,615
About 2:00 in the morning
of that same day,

665
00:29:11,617 --> 00:29:15,352
I got a call from Richard
saying it's an emergency.

666
00:29:15,354 --> 00:29:17,054
"I have to move.

667
00:29:17,056 --> 00:29:20,390
I can't stay in that place
one minute longer,".

668
00:29:20,392 --> 00:29:22,826
And I said, "Where are you?"
He said, "I'm in Hollywood.

669
00:29:22,828 --> 00:29:26,530
I've walked from Burbank
to Hollywood,

670
00:29:26,532 --> 00:29:29,433
and I don't know where to go
and what to do."

671
00:29:29,435 --> 00:29:31,301
And I said,
"Where are you in Hollywood?"

672
00:29:31,303 --> 00:29:32,669
He says, "I don't know."

673
00:29:32,671 --> 00:29:37,107
So I think that is when
I said to myself "uh-oh".

674
00:29:38,878 --> 00:29:42,412
A number of things went wrong
in the preproduction period.

675
00:29:42,414 --> 00:29:44,882
Really,
the beginning of the end,

676
00:29:44,884 --> 00:29:47,484
the death null was um...

677
00:29:47,486 --> 00:29:50,354
When Bruce divorced Demi,

678
00:29:50,356 --> 00:29:52,856
and decided for
various complicated,

679
00:29:52,858 --> 00:29:54,691
personal, legal reasons

680
00:29:54,693 --> 00:29:58,362
that he could not leave America
for the next six months.

681
00:29:58,364 --> 00:30:01,665
I then made
another strategic error.

682
00:30:01,667 --> 00:30:03,734
I met Val Kilmer.

683
00:30:05,104 --> 00:30:07,905
Val Kilmer was a big star then.

684
00:30:07,907 --> 00:30:12,843
So the film, all of a sudden,
became a $35 million movie,

685
00:30:12,845 --> 00:30:16,446
which at that time was like
$70 million today.

686
00:30:16,448 --> 00:30:22,419
So it was a big movie which
was far greater in its demands

687
00:30:22,421 --> 00:30:23,787
and its ambition.

688
00:30:23,789 --> 00:30:26,690
All of which worked okay
until I was urgently summoned

689
00:30:26,692 --> 00:30:29,793
from the island to a meeting
with Val in Tokyo,

690
00:30:29,795 --> 00:30:33,463
where Val was for the
Batman Forever premier.

691
00:30:33,465 --> 00:30:35,432
Val was then at the
height of his powers,

692
00:30:35,434 --> 00:30:37,434
surrounded by adoring
Japanese fans

693
00:30:37,436 --> 00:30:39,536
and behaving, I thought,

694
00:30:39,538 --> 00:30:41,939
very arrogantly indeed
towards them.

695
00:30:41,941 --> 00:30:45,843
And Val had decided that his
life was too busy to devote

696
00:30:45,845 --> 00:30:49,880
as long we needed him
for to do Dr. Moreau.

697
00:30:49,882 --> 00:30:53,550
Val demanded 40 percent
fewer shooting days.

698
00:30:53,552 --> 00:30:55,485
I was told
in no uncertain terms

699
00:30:55,487 --> 00:30:56,887
that after the
Bruce Willis debacle

700
00:30:56,889 --> 00:30:58,722
that if Val left the ship,

701
00:30:58,724 --> 00:31:00,991
New Line would probably
close the project down,

702
00:31:00,993 --> 00:31:03,160
and we'd go back
and turn around.

703
00:31:03,162 --> 00:31:04,895
At this stage I was already
building the big house

704
00:31:04,897 --> 00:31:06,997
on the island and was
determined to go ahead.

705
00:31:06,999 --> 00:31:09,700
I knew that we had to
somehow solve this.

706
00:31:09,702 --> 00:31:13,871
I had a very bad dream that
night in the hotel in Tokyo.

707
00:31:13,873 --> 00:31:15,973
I remembered one of those
nights waking up

708
00:31:15,975 --> 00:31:18,876
and feeling that there
was something in the room

709
00:31:18,878 --> 00:31:20,577
sitting on my chest

710
00:31:20,579 --> 00:31:22,813
and that sense of being
unable to scream or breath

711
00:31:22,815 --> 00:31:24,514
and something banging
on the door...

712
00:31:24,516 --> 00:31:25,816
bam, bam, bam, bam, bam...

713
00:31:25,818 --> 00:31:27,517
The door seemed to be
trembling and shivering,

714
00:31:27,519 --> 00:31:29,686
and yet at the same time,
I was really being crushed

715
00:31:29,688 --> 00:31:30,754
or suffocated, in the bed.

716
00:31:30,756 --> 00:31:32,723
It was a very unpleasant
nightmare,

717
00:31:32,725 --> 00:31:36,593
what they call the old hag
or nocturnal sleep paralysis.

718
00:31:36,595 --> 00:31:40,464
Richard came back,
and he seemed a bit flustered,

719
00:31:40,466 --> 00:31:43,467
but he wouldn't tell me
what he was flustered about.

720
00:31:43,469 --> 00:31:47,638
So I think he'd been getting
a bit of a hard time from Val.
721
00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:49,506
Val calls up Mike DeLuca
and says,

722
00:31:49,508 --> 00:31:52,042
"I want to talk to you,"

723
00:31:52,043 --> 00:31:54,577
and he sets a breakfast for
DeLuca at the Bel Air Hotel.

724
00:31:54,580 --> 00:31:57,481
Val is sitting there. Val says,

725
00:31:57,483 --> 00:31:59,850
"I'm very busy and
I don't have a lot of time;

726
00:31:59,852 --> 00:32:02,719
So don't talk to me.
Just listen."

727
00:32:02,721 --> 00:32:05,856
And he goes on to say,
"I know I took this role,

728
00:32:05,858 --> 00:32:07,624
but I don't like
the role anymore."

729
00:32:07,626 --> 00:32:11,795
I then came up with
the idea of talking Val

730
00:32:11,797 --> 00:32:16,466
into switching roles with the
James Woods' character,

731
00:32:16,468 --> 00:32:18,068
to no longer being
the lead man,

732
00:32:18,070 --> 00:32:21,672
but playing the part of the
Moreau's apprentice

733
00:32:21,674 --> 00:32:23,624
or his sidekick instead,

734
00:32:23,625 --> 00:32:25,575
which automatically gave him
40 percent fewer shooting days.

735
00:32:25,577 --> 00:32:27,811
It meant that we had to say
goodbye to James Woods,

736
00:32:27,813 --> 00:32:29,246
which was very unfortunate.

737
00:32:29,248 --> 00:32:31,648
We then needed a
new leading man,

738
00:32:31,650 --> 00:32:34,818
and we ended up with an
individual named Rob Morrow

739
00:32:34,820 --> 00:32:36,853
who was then hot from Quiz Show

740
00:32:36,855 --> 00:32:39,856
and from a television show
called Northern Exposure.

741
00:32:39,858 --> 00:32:42,259
I was planning on taking
the summer off,

742
00:32:42,261 --> 00:32:44,528
and I kind of got a sudden call

743
00:32:44,530 --> 00:32:46,930
from my agent at the time,
Arnold Rifkin,

744
00:32:46,932 --> 00:32:49,967
and there were this there movie
they were doing...

745
00:32:49,969 --> 00:32:52,569
I was familiar with the
H.G. Wells story,
746
00:32:52,571 --> 00:32:56,506
you know, and so as soon as
they said it, I was intrigued.

747
00:32:56,508 --> 00:32:58,775
You know, next thing I know,
I was flying down to Cairns

748
00:32:58,777 --> 00:33:00,878
to shoot the movie.

749
00:33:00,879 --> 00:33:02,980
I was doing the budget
with some production people

750
00:33:02,982 --> 00:33:04,715
from New Line,

751
00:33:04,717 --> 00:33:07,851
and when we got to the
director section of it,

752
00:33:07,853 --> 00:33:10,721
as a half-joke I said,

753
00:33:10,723 --> 00:33:13,557
"Well, we better put in
a contingency

754
00:33:13,559 --> 00:33:15,993
of a million and a half
for another director,

755
00:33:15,995 --> 00:33:18,929
because I don't think
this is going to work out."

756
00:33:18,931 --> 00:33:22,833
I guess I thought that I
could always run to Brando

757
00:33:22,835 --> 00:33:25,302
for backup
if I got into trouble.

758
00:33:25,304 --> 00:33:28,071
What I suggested and
what they agreed with

759
00:33:28,073 --> 00:33:32,609
is we go down to Australia
way far in advance

760
00:33:32,611 --> 00:33:34,111
and just basically live there

761
00:33:34,113 --> 00:33:38,715
and let him settle in and
get used to the place

762
00:33:38,717 --> 00:33:41,952
and wander around and
not have a lot of pressure.

763
00:33:48,961 --> 00:33:51,828
There was no television or
radio or phones or anything.

764
00:33:51,830 --> 00:33:56,166
There was just
absolute pristine beauty.

765
00:33:56,168 --> 00:33:58,068
I thought Richard's script
was fantastic.

766
00:33:58,070 --> 00:34:01,772
And here was this guy
with long, black hair,

767
00:34:01,774 --> 00:34:05,042
a white Panama hat,
a white linen suit,

768
00:34:05,044 --> 00:34:10,714
and I believe sand shoes,
carrying a carpet bag,

769
00:34:10,716 --> 00:34:12,049
and that was all his luggage.

770
00:34:12,051 --> 00:34:14,885
This is a guy who's coming
to direct our film

771
00:34:14,887 --> 00:34:16,720
for months and months
and months.

772
00:34:16,722 --> 00:34:18,855
We knew as soon
as we met the guy,

773
00:34:18,857 --> 00:34:21,825
hello, we've got something
different coming on here.

774
00:34:21,827 --> 00:34:23,727
I know that when I was
originally asked

775
00:34:23,729 --> 00:34:25,729
to go over to Cairns,

776
00:34:25,731 --> 00:34:27,064
part of the whole idea,
I think,

777
00:34:27,066 --> 00:34:30,200
it was felt that Richard
was feeling quite isolated

778
00:34:30,202 --> 00:34:32,702
and that within
the storyboard process,

779
00:34:32,704 --> 00:34:35,806
he'd actually have somebody
he knew quite well

780
00:34:35,808 --> 00:34:37,007
who he could work with

781
00:34:37,009 --> 00:34:39,910
and sort of act
or sort of solve

782
00:34:39,912 --> 00:34:42,179
the stresses
he may have been under.

783
00:34:43,215 --> 00:34:47,017
We then started going after
the beast-people.

784
00:34:47,019 --> 00:34:50,821
Hands down, the worst audition
that I had ever done,

785
00:34:50,823 --> 00:34:53,757
had ever been involved in,

786
00:34:53,758 --> 00:34:56,692
had to walk around making
stupid animal noises...

787
00:34:56,695 --> 00:34:59,062
pigs, all that kind of stuff,

788
00:34:59,064 --> 00:35:01,731
um, I said these stupid lines.

789
00:35:01,733 --> 00:35:04,000
There was just no kind of
process as an actor

790
00:35:04,002 --> 00:35:05,702
that you can get your
teeth into.

791
00:35:05,704 --> 00:35:07,404
I rang my agent straightaway
afterwards and said,

792
00:35:07,406 --> 00:35:09,739
"Don't ever sent me for
anything like that again.

793
00:35:09,741 --> 00:35:11,842
That was shit.

794
00:35:11,843 --> 00:35:13,944
This is not acting,
blah, blah, blah, blah."

795
00:35:13,946 --> 00:35:19,249
Then I got a phone call a couple
of... about two weeks later

796
00:35:19,251 --> 00:35:22,853
from the actual makeup,
Stan Winston's makeup crew,

797
00:35:22,855 --> 00:35:27,891
saying, "We need you in
tomorrow for a plaster cast

798
00:35:27,893 --> 00:35:29,426
and da-da, da, da-da."

799
00:35:29,428 --> 00:35:30,894
And I got the part.

800
00:35:46,011 --> 00:35:49,779
Everyone in the cast was
a peculiar shape or size.

801
00:35:49,781 --> 00:35:51,681
You know, there were
very tall people

802
00:35:51,683 --> 00:35:53,083
playing animals that were tall.

803
00:35:53,085 --> 00:35:55,051
There were short people
playing animals that were short.

804
00:35:55,053 --> 00:35:57,287
There was fat people,
thin people.

805
00:35:57,289 --> 00:36:00,824
The prosthetics then enhanced
their particular physicality's.

806
00:36:00,826 --> 00:36:03,059
The pig-women had their
real breasts out

807
00:36:03,061 --> 00:36:05,762
and then a sows
three other pairs of breasts

808
00:36:05,764 --> 00:36:07,297
prosthetically underneath
their own,

809
00:36:07,299 --> 00:36:10,700
and there was some very
bizarre looking creature around.

810
00:36:10,702 --> 00:36:12,035
We had the shortest
man on earth,

811
00:36:12,037 --> 00:36:13,037
Nelson de la Rosa,

812
00:36:13,038 --> 00:36:15,105
who we came across in
the daytime TV show

813
00:36:15,107 --> 00:36:17,107
in Santo Domingo,
Dancing in the Mahow Mahow.

814
00:36:17,109 --> 00:36:23,180
A friend of ours was watching
some Spanish talent show

815
00:36:23,182 --> 00:36:25,182
and saw him,

816
00:36:25,184 --> 00:36:26,983
and he had this little act
that he would do.

817
00:36:26,985 --> 00:36:28,318
He'd go on stage and dance.

818
00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:30,887
We saw him,
and we were like, wow,

819
00:36:30,889 --> 00:36:33,857
he would be great to
do monster makeup on.
820
00:36:33,859 --> 00:36:36,793
So called up his agent,
and me and a friend of mine

821
00:36:36,795 --> 00:36:39,129
got to go to the
Dominican Republic

822
00:36:39,131 --> 00:36:41,865
to life cast him,
to body cast him.

823
00:36:41,867 --> 00:36:45,168
Come to find out like he was
a huge celebrity over there,

824
00:36:45,170 --> 00:36:47,270
like Michael Jackson celebrity.

825
00:36:47,272 --> 00:36:50,907
And, yeah, we just spent
the day in our hotel room

826
00:36:50,909 --> 00:36:53,877
body casting him
and head casting him,

827
00:36:53,879 --> 00:36:56,746
and he was so excited
to do this movie,

828
00:36:56,748 --> 00:37:01,551
but I think he was expecting
to be like a main monster.

829
00:37:13,832 --> 00:37:17,133
Richard was focusing
on the creatures.

830
00:37:17,135 --> 00:37:20,237
He was a great student
of anthropology.

831
00:37:20,239 --> 00:37:24,107
We had a dehumanizing process
that we were working on,
832
00:37:24,109 --> 00:37:27,277
something that we came up with,
with a guy called Peter Elliott

833
00:37:27,279 --> 00:37:30,880
who was the animal behaviorist
of Gorillas in the Mist

834
00:37:30,882 --> 00:37:32,782
and various other
gorilla movies.

835
00:37:32,784 --> 00:37:35,986
And we started a training
program to train our extras

836
00:37:35,988 --> 00:37:39,055
and our beast-people to
act like proper animals.

837
00:37:39,057 --> 00:37:42,292
This went on for actually
months before

838
00:37:42,294 --> 00:37:44,294
the movie was due to shoot.

839
00:37:44,296 --> 00:37:48,231
I'd start by getting them
to look at footage

840
00:37:48,233 --> 00:37:51,001
and rehearsing them
as the real animals,

841
00:37:51,003 --> 00:37:52,068
on all fours,

842
00:37:52,070 --> 00:37:53,837
like pigs being real pigs

843
00:37:53,839 --> 00:37:55,238
and the fact that
they're rooting

844
00:37:55,240 --> 00:37:56,973
and the sounds they make

845
00:37:56,975 --> 00:37:59,809
and getting to know
as much as possible

846
00:37:59,811 --> 00:38:01,011
about the real animal,

847
00:38:01,013 --> 00:38:02,245
and we'd have stuff like...

848
00:38:05,384 --> 00:38:08,985
The most immediately
visual one, I guess,

849
00:38:08,987 --> 00:38:10,320
is the guy playing the hyena.

850
00:38:10,322 --> 00:38:12,322
If you look at their
backbone and everything,

851
00:38:12,324 --> 00:38:14,591
they've got that sort of
primeval thing

852
00:38:14,593 --> 00:38:18,028
which gave him that sort of
lovely hunchback,

853
00:38:18,030 --> 00:38:19,596
which gave him that shape,

854
00:38:19,598 --> 00:38:24,434
and it gave him a nice arc
to the way he used his head.

855
00:38:24,436 --> 00:38:28,238
I think they were initially
a little apprehensive

856
00:38:28,240 --> 00:38:30,173
but once we started rehearsals,

857
00:38:30,175 --> 00:38:32,909
they threw themselves into it,
completely.

858
00:38:32,911 --> 00:38:36,846
Also, we were working with the
local aboriginal community

859
00:38:36,848 --> 00:38:38,915
and with the
Trobriand islanders.

860
00:38:38,917 --> 00:38:42,185
I wanted to make certain the
locals didn't come to hate us.

861
00:38:42,187 --> 00:38:44,921
So I wanted to make certain
that we gave a lot of work

862
00:38:44,923 --> 00:38:48,325
to the local community and
appointed the Buffalo Man,

863
00:38:48,327 --> 00:38:50,994
it was a guy called
David Hudson,

864
00:38:50,996 --> 00:38:55,932
as the main go-between with
the aboriginal community.

865
00:39:02,240 --> 00:39:04,107
He was very interested
in who I was

866
00:39:04,109 --> 00:39:06,910
and aboriginal language,
and the didgeridoo,

867
00:39:06,912 --> 00:39:08,945
and just culture in general.

868
00:39:08,947 --> 00:39:11,915
You've got to understand
where this bloke's coming from.

869
00:39:11,917 --> 00:39:14,017
He comes from London.

870
00:39:14,019 --> 00:39:16,886
He's in now rain forest country.

871
00:39:16,888 --> 00:39:18,355
He's on the Great Barrier Reef,

872
00:39:18,357 --> 00:39:21,925
but we all got on very well
Richard and I,

873
00:39:21,927 --> 00:39:24,427
he was very,
very easy to work with.

874
00:39:24,429 --> 00:39:27,297
His direction was precise.

875
00:39:27,299 --> 00:39:30,233
He was definitely very
passionate about the picture.

876
00:39:30,235 --> 00:39:32,369
He showed me all the props,
I mean, "Look at this.

877
00:39:32,371 --> 00:39:34,237
You know, this is my movie.
Isn't it cool?"

878
00:39:34,239 --> 00:39:35,972
When people say he's crazy,

879
00:39:35,974 --> 00:39:39,075
I actually experienced
Richard as really a nice,

880
00:39:39,077 --> 00:39:41,628
warmhearted guy,

881
00:39:41,629 --> 00:39:44,180
like a kid that was so happy
that his dream came true.

882
00:39:44,182 --> 00:39:46,349
He was like a kid
in a candy store.

883
00:39:47,352 --> 00:39:49,736
He was great.

884
00:39:49,737 --> 00:39:52,121
He was affable, and he
was clearly enthusiastic.

885
00:39:52,124 --> 00:39:53,356
He was young. He was green.

886
00:39:53,358 --> 00:39:55,458
He was so happy, you know,

887
00:39:55,460 --> 00:39:58,128
just was grinning ear
to ear and just like.

888
00:39:58,130 --> 00:39:59,996
"Oh, I can't wait
to get started."

889
00:39:59,998 --> 00:40:03,433
It was really... that was
the best part

890
00:40:03,435 --> 00:40:05,502
of that film, definitely.

891
00:40:05,504 --> 00:40:07,270
I could see that he liked
what I was doing

892
00:40:07,272 --> 00:40:14,144
during the rehearsal
and um, he... to me,

893
00:40:14,146 --> 00:40:18,314
actually, it seemed that he
knew exactly what he wanted,

894
00:40:18,316 --> 00:40:21,017
like, what kind of look
he wanted for the movie.
895
00:40:21,019 --> 00:40:25,722
He rented a house out in
the suburbs of Cairns

896
00:40:25,724 --> 00:40:27,290
in north Queensland,

897
00:40:27,292 --> 00:40:29,726
a fabulous house,
like a tree house.

898
00:40:29,728 --> 00:40:34,097
It was all wood with
branches sprouting out

899
00:40:34,099 --> 00:40:37,167
and walkways going here
and a fantastic place,

900
00:40:37,169 --> 00:40:39,202
but he would hardly
ever come out of it.

901
00:40:39,204 --> 00:40:42,038
He wouldn't really interact
with us in the normal way

902
00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:43,373
he would do in pre-production.

903
00:40:43,375 --> 00:40:46,242
He would come on surveys
and talk to people,

904
00:40:46,244 --> 00:40:47,977
but as a leader
and as a director,

905
00:40:47,979 --> 00:40:51,080
he really didn't get involved.

906
00:40:51,082 --> 00:40:52,449
He stayed in his house.

907
00:40:52,451 --> 00:40:55,084
We'd have to drag him
to look at locations

908
00:40:55,086 --> 00:40:58,054
and even meetings.

909
00:40:58,056 --> 00:40:59,456
He wouldn't come to meetings,

910
00:40:59,458 --> 00:41:02,459
and Tim Zinneman, the producer,

911
00:41:02,461 --> 00:41:05,395
used to send me around
to try and drag him back,

912
00:41:05,397 --> 00:41:08,465
because I had the closest
rapport with him, I guess.

913
00:41:08,467 --> 00:41:11,134
We were friends.

914
00:41:11,136 --> 00:41:13,570
I really liked the guy a lot,
but I kept saying to him,

915
00:41:13,572 --> 00:41:16,039
"Hey, Richard, you've got
to go to meetings

916
00:41:16,041 --> 00:41:17,407
if you're going to make
this movie," and he...

917
00:41:17,409 --> 00:41:19,042
"Well, can't they come
around here?"

918
00:41:19,044 --> 00:41:20,577
and I'd say, "No, it
doesn't work that way.

919
00:41:20,579 --> 00:41:23,112
You've got to come to
the studio and talk."

920
00:41:23,114 --> 00:41:24,380
He would take a scene

921
00:41:24,382 --> 00:41:27,183
and then he would have
the sketch artist

922
00:41:27,185 --> 00:41:30,220
do the drawings for the scene

923
00:41:30,222 --> 00:41:32,255
and have them Xerox'd,

924
00:41:32,257 --> 00:41:34,190
and then he'd give them
to the crew

925
00:41:34,192 --> 00:41:35,792
as a way of communicating,

926
00:41:35,794 --> 00:41:39,295
as opposed to having
production meetings.

927
00:41:39,297 --> 00:41:42,532
I think he did have visions,

928
00:41:42,534 --> 00:41:46,236
whether they were clear,
I'm not so sure.

929
00:41:46,238 --> 00:41:48,171
He would probably say he did,

930
00:41:48,173 --> 00:41:52,108
perhaps I misinterpreted
some of what he was saying,

931
00:41:52,110 --> 00:41:55,078
but I never thought
they were exactly clear.

932
00:41:55,080 --> 00:41:58,348
What I was lead to believe
was that they were pretty much

933
00:41:58,350 --> 00:42:00,350
behind him, you know,

934
00:42:00,352 --> 00:42:02,652
and he knew that they were
nervous about his youth

935
00:42:02,654 --> 00:42:06,256
and the fact that this was
such a big film.

936
00:42:06,258 --> 00:42:08,224
I think we managed
to live the dream

937
00:42:08,226 --> 00:42:10,059
for a surprising amount of time.

938
00:42:10,061 --> 00:42:13,396
None of us had any idea
what ended up...

939
00:42:13,398 --> 00:42:14,531
what was coming.

940
00:42:18,537 --> 00:42:20,336
I guess the beginning
of the end

941
00:42:20,338 --> 00:42:23,540
was Marlon's daughter,
Cheyenne, committed suicide.

942
00:42:23,542 --> 00:42:25,408
Brando was then on
a project in Ireland

943
00:42:25,410 --> 00:42:27,410
called Divine Rapture,

944
00:42:27,412 --> 00:42:31,214
which he was to come directly
from that set to Dr. Moreau.

945
00:42:31,216 --> 00:42:33,383
Divine Rapture closed down,
946
00:42:33,385 --> 00:42:35,852
never to resume shooting,
was never finished.

947
00:42:35,854 --> 00:42:39,689
Brando was understandably
extremely upset,

948
00:42:39,691 --> 00:42:43,426
because his entire family was
self-destructing around him.

949
00:42:43,428 --> 00:42:46,362
Not knowing whether he
would make it for Day 1,

950
00:42:46,364 --> 00:42:48,331
in fact, knowing he
wouldn't make it for Day 1

951
00:42:48,333 --> 00:42:50,366
and whether he'd ever be able
to show up as Moreau,

952
00:42:50,368 --> 00:42:52,502
obviously,
it threw the entire future

953
00:42:52,504 --> 00:42:54,203
of the project into doubt.

954
00:42:55,273 --> 00:42:56,573
We figured the only thing
we could do

955
00:42:56,575 --> 00:42:59,442
was to maybe shoot
the scenes in the water

956
00:42:59,444 --> 00:43:01,578
and to start with
the boat scenes

957
00:43:01,580 --> 00:43:03,546
and the stuff that happens
before they get to the island
958
00:43:03,548 --> 00:43:05,315
in the hope that by
the time we island

959
00:43:05,317 --> 00:43:07,216
and got to the lab scenes,

960
00:43:07,218 --> 00:43:10,453
well, then a Dr. Moreau
would be found.

961
00:43:10,455 --> 00:43:13,256
Up until the time I left,
everything was still in place,

962
00:43:13,258 --> 00:43:14,390
but Richard had already said

963
00:43:14,392 --> 00:43:16,259
that he felt then
that the project

964
00:43:16,261 --> 00:43:17,627
was going to be
taken away from him.

965
00:43:17,629 --> 00:43:19,896
I no longer had any real power.

966
00:43:19,898 --> 00:43:21,431
I didn't have any money
in the project

967
00:43:21,433 --> 00:43:22,599
and if Brando wasn't
going to show up,

968
00:43:22,601 --> 00:43:24,634
I couldn't bring Brando
to the project.

969
00:43:24,636 --> 00:43:26,502
The closer we got
to production,

970
00:43:26,504 --> 00:43:29,172
the more isolated
he made himself

971
00:43:29,174 --> 00:43:31,374
and the more unavailable
he made himself.

972
00:43:31,376 --> 00:43:33,276
It was clear quickly
that he might have been

973
00:43:33,278 --> 00:43:34,744
in over his head.

974
00:43:34,746 --> 00:43:36,613
You know,
not because of anything,

975
00:43:36,615 --> 00:43:41,217
except a lot of forces that
were not aligned for him.

976
00:43:43,521 --> 00:43:45,655
Things began to darken
around the island.

977
00:43:45,657 --> 00:43:47,223
Things started to go wrong.

978
00:43:47,225 --> 00:43:49,692
My PA got bit by
a poisonous spider

979
00:43:49,694 --> 00:43:52,261
that was living in a web
underneath a lamp shade.

980
00:43:52,263 --> 00:43:54,364
She reached in to switch
the lamp shade on,

981
00:43:54,366 --> 00:43:57,533
and it bit her hand,
which caused her flesh to melt.

982
00:43:57,535 --> 00:43:58,501
It was incurable.
983
00:43:58,503 --> 00:44:02,505
Back in London, Skip,
the soothy warlock

984
00:44:02,507 --> 00:44:04,507
who had first fixed
the whole thing for me

985
00:44:04,509 --> 00:44:05,642
during the Brando meeting,

986
00:44:05,644 --> 00:44:08,378
he was a pretty
brilliant biochemist.

987
00:44:08,380 --> 00:44:11,214
Skip believed that the clay wall
in his laboratory

988
00:44:11,216 --> 00:44:12,482
had been too thin,

989
00:44:12,483 --> 00:44:13,749
that he had accidentally
become irradiated

990
00:44:13,752 --> 00:44:15,451
during his experiments,

991
00:44:15,453 --> 00:44:17,654
but what happened was that his
bones started to crumble.

992
00:44:17,656 --> 00:44:20,289
One morning his hip dislocated,

993
00:44:20,291 --> 00:44:22,258
and his leg literally popped
out of the socket.

994
00:44:22,260 --> 00:44:23,559
In hospital when they operated,

995
00:44:23,561 --> 00:44:26,229
he then caught
necrotizing fasciitis,

996
00:44:26,231 --> 00:44:28,531
this flesh-eating parasite.

997
00:44:28,533 --> 00:44:32,268
During that time every single
one of Skip's fixes came undone.

998
00:44:32,270 --> 00:44:33,970
Over in Ireland,
when I phoned my mother

999
00:44:33,972 --> 00:44:35,805
to tell her what was going on,

1000
00:44:35,807 --> 00:44:37,707
her house had been
just been struck by lightning,

1001
00:44:37,709 --> 00:44:39,776
and three fire balls had
rolled through the lounge.

1002
00:44:39,778 --> 00:44:42,612
One jumped in the telephone,
one jumped in the Hi-Fi system,

1003
00:44:42,614 --> 00:44:44,547
and she says the other
one went out the cat door.

1004
00:44:44,549 --> 00:44:46,616
Shortly before, her next-door
neighbors claimed they saw

1005
00:44:46,618 --> 00:44:49,285
a hyena run across the road.

1006
00:44:49,287 --> 00:44:51,754
Again, a hyena in Ireland
doesn't make any kind of sense.

1007
00:44:51,756 --> 00:44:53,690
I noticed for the first time
that the accommodation
1008
00:44:53,692 --> 00:44:56,359
where we were staying
had hyena print wallpaper.

1009
00:44:56,361 --> 00:44:58,561
That the wallpaper
was kind of looking at me

1010
00:44:58,563 --> 00:45:01,464
with a hungry
kind of look in its eye.

1011
00:45:01,466 --> 00:45:04,434
The relationship with Val
also became tense.

1012
00:45:04,436 --> 00:45:06,569
This started with different
attempts to read the script.

1013
00:45:06,571 --> 00:45:08,438
We all met at Richard's house,

1014
00:45:08,440 --> 00:45:10,506
and we're trying it
do this first scene.

1015
00:45:10,508 --> 00:45:12,575
So I start, you know,
being all feared

1016
00:45:12,577 --> 00:45:14,610
and this like Tempest thing,

1017
00:45:14,612 --> 00:45:16,646
and Val is just there
sitting there,

1018
00:45:16,648 --> 00:45:18,081
smoking a cigarette,

1019
00:45:18,883 --> 00:45:20,583
"Wait, is this it?
No. Wait, wait.

1020
00:45:20,585 --> 00:45:23,453
We can always cut it down,
but he's still talking.

1021
00:45:23,455 --> 00:45:24,487
Okay, okay.

1022
00:45:24,489 --> 00:45:26,389
Is this it? Is this it?

1023
00:45:26,391 --> 00:45:27,841
He's saying all that?

1024
00:45:27,842 --> 00:45:29,292
He's saying all... and this
the first scene in the movie,

1025
00:45:29,294 --> 00:45:30,493
and he's saying all that?

1026
00:45:30,495 --> 00:45:31,728
Okay. Okay."

1027
00:45:31,730 --> 00:45:34,263
So I already know
that something like,

1028
00:45:34,265 --> 00:45:35,331
he didn't like it.

1029
00:45:35,332 --> 00:45:36,398
He did not like that the movie
would start with me

1030
00:45:36,401 --> 00:45:38,835
doing The Tempest,
and he's like "Richard, look.

1031
00:45:38,837 --> 00:45:41,437
I don't understand why
this character M'Ling

1032
00:45:41,439 --> 00:45:43,406
has to be in the first
scenes anyhow.

1033
00:45:43,408 --> 00:45:45,508
I don't get it."

1034
00:45:45,509 --> 00:45:47,609
And Richard was like
"Well, he's your assistant."

1035
00:45:47,612 --> 00:45:49,645
"But look at his...
look at the makeup.

1036
00:45:49,647 --> 00:45:50,813
I mean,
he looks like a monster.

1037
00:45:50,815 --> 00:45:52,749
I don't buy it,
and you know what,

1038
00:45:52,751 --> 00:45:54,484
I don't need an assistant."

1039
00:45:54,486 --> 00:45:56,719
And Richard stood his
ground and he said like,

1040
00:45:56,721 --> 00:45:57,587
"No, it's in the script."

1041
00:45:57,589 --> 00:45:59,606
By the time Kilmer
changed parts

1042
00:45:59,607 --> 00:46:01,624
and took on this other part
of the drug-fucked assistant

1043
00:46:01,626 --> 00:46:05,495
to Marlon Brando's Dr. Moreau,

1044
00:46:05,497 --> 00:46:09,499
he was playing up
a bit on the set.

1045
00:46:09,501 --> 00:46:12,602
He was just kind of a bit
rude and abrasive.
1046
00:46:12,604 --> 00:46:15,738
He... that was his
character, though,

1047
00:46:15,740 --> 00:46:20,443
so ergo maybe that was the way
he prepared to be an asshole,

1048
00:46:20,445 --> 00:46:22,378
to, you know
act like one off camera.

1049
00:46:22,380 --> 00:46:25,715
So we started having strange,
petty disagreements.

1050
00:46:26,918 --> 00:46:28,818
We were shooting
on a pier dock,

1051
00:46:28,820 --> 00:46:30,586
and it was one of these
scenes that had

1052
00:46:30,588 --> 00:46:33,389
endless been sketched
and re-sketched.

1053
00:46:33,391 --> 00:46:35,358
Richard says
"Okay. So let's do this,"

1054
00:46:35,360 --> 00:46:36,726
and Kilmer said,
"Okay. One second.

1055
00:46:36,728 --> 00:46:38,611
One second.

1056
00:46:38,612 --> 00:46:40,495
I would like to know how you're
going to cut this together."

1057
00:46:40,498 --> 00:46:41,697
And Richard said,
"Well, you know,
1058
00:46:41,699 --> 00:46:44,500
the Prendick's character,
he's in the ship,

1059
00:46:44,502 --> 00:46:46,102
and he's going to
get hit on the head.

1060
00:46:46,104 --> 00:46:48,538
We don't know who hit him,
and we just cut to black.

1061
00:46:48,540 --> 00:46:50,439
Camera goes back,
and you look at him,

1062
00:46:50,441 --> 00:46:51,808
and you're like "What
are you doing on my ship?"

1063
00:46:51,810 --> 00:46:53,409
or something like that,
you know.

1064
00:46:53,411 --> 00:46:55,545
And then Val,
always with a cigarette,

1065
00:46:55,547 --> 00:46:58,481
always really super cool.

1066
00:46:58,483 --> 00:47:01,484
I'm not even being sarcastic.

1067
00:47:01,486 --> 00:47:03,820
He was always really cool,
you know, just.

1068
00:47:03,822 --> 00:47:05,688
"Yeah.

1069
00:47:05,690 --> 00:47:07,824
That's not going to work, man."

1070
00:47:07,826 --> 00:47:11,594
So Richard, you know,
"It's like a classic thing.

1071
00:47:11,596 --> 00:47:13,629
Someone gets hit,
and we cut to black,

1072
00:47:13,631 --> 00:47:17,466
and then there's
going to be a time jump."

1073
00:47:17,468 --> 00:47:20,369
"Nah, that's not
going to cut together."

1074
00:47:20,371 --> 00:47:22,672
Richard went to give him
some direction

1075
00:47:22,674 --> 00:47:24,774
and Val said,

1076
00:47:24,776 --> 00:47:27,977
"Richard, directors stand
behind the cameras,

1077
00:47:27,979 --> 00:47:29,912
actors are in front
of the camera,

1078
00:47:29,914 --> 00:47:32,815
now go stand
behind the camera."

1079
00:47:32,817 --> 00:47:35,518
And I was sitting,
listening to this,

1080
00:47:35,520 --> 00:47:37,854
and I could I'm like,
"Oh my god."

1081
00:47:37,856 --> 00:47:41,457
I really felt for Richard
because I thought this is...

1082
00:47:41,459 --> 00:47:43,492
this is not really...
1083
00:47:43,494 --> 00:47:45,561
I mean, this is not about
the shoot anymore.

1084
00:47:45,563 --> 00:47:46,863
This is a power game.

1085
00:47:46,865 --> 00:47:50,700
I think at that point Richard
just completely lost it

1086
00:47:50,702 --> 00:47:52,735
and forgot all about
the sketches

1087
00:47:52,737 --> 00:47:55,938
and really couldn't...

1088
00:47:55,940 --> 00:47:58,441
He was having a hard time
getting through the day.

1089
00:47:58,443 --> 00:47:59,842
I think it was like,
late in the movie,

1090
00:47:59,844 --> 00:48:01,394
the scene we were shooting.

1091
00:48:01,395 --> 00:48:02,945
I was like, all these mutants
were coming around,

1092
00:48:02,947 --> 00:48:05,915
and I was having to shoot them
and fight my way out.

1093
00:48:05,917 --> 00:48:07,950
And I just remember
being on the beach,

1094
00:48:07,952 --> 00:48:11,237
and I'm coming through.

1095
00:48:11,238 --> 00:48:14,523
And I think I remember, no one
was really telling me anything.

1096
00:48:14,525 --> 00:48:16,626
They would just kind of
be like "Okay. Go out.

1097
00:48:16,628 --> 00:48:20,830
Work your way up there,"
and, you know,

1098
00:48:20,832 --> 00:48:23,733
then I just would find myself
just kind of

1099
00:48:23,735 --> 00:48:26,769
making up stuff to do.

1100
00:48:26,771 --> 00:48:29,472
He probably would have
needed a good first AD

1101
00:48:29,474 --> 00:48:31,774
that does all these
things for him

1102
00:48:31,776 --> 00:48:34,043
so that he can have his vision

1103
00:48:34,045 --> 00:48:37,446
so that he doesn't have to get
into these fights, you know.

1104
00:48:37,448 --> 00:48:39,916
But then nobody helped him.

1105
00:48:39,918 --> 00:48:43,586
That as my instinct always
to try to find the constituency

1106
00:48:43,588 --> 00:48:45,588
that would support him,

1107
00:48:45,589 --> 00:48:47,589
and ultimately,
I found that there was no one.
1108
00:48:47,592 --> 00:48:50,860
Reports started coming
back from set,

1109
00:48:50,862 --> 00:48:53,796
which was near Brisbane
or someplace like that,

1110
00:48:53,798 --> 00:48:57,767
that Val Kilmer was sitting down

1111
00:48:57,769 --> 00:49:00,069
or somebody was sitting down
and wouldn't get up.

1112
00:49:00,071 --> 00:49:02,405
The buzz is just, you know,

1113
00:49:02,406 --> 00:49:04,740
you walk through the halls
and "Did you hear about"...

1114
00:49:04,742 --> 00:49:06,876
"Oh my god, did you hear that
Richard Stanley climbed

1115
00:49:06,878 --> 00:49:09,979
into a tree today and
wouldn't come down?"

1116
00:49:09,981 --> 00:49:14,583
What? This was... wait.
Back the gravy train up.

1117
00:49:14,585 --> 00:49:18,788
When did he supposedly climb
this tree and not come down?

1118
00:49:18,790 --> 00:49:21,490
At the end of the shooting day,

1119
00:49:21,492 --> 00:49:24,660
he climbed a tree
and wouldn't come down,

1120
00:49:24,662 --> 00:49:26,696
after shooting a long shoot day

1121
00:49:26,698 --> 00:49:29,565
and needing to get up at 5:00
a.m. and shoot the next day?

1122
00:49:29,567 --> 00:49:32,001
No, I'm going to stay in a tree.
That's insane.

1123
00:49:32,003 --> 00:49:33,502
I think basically
they all said,

1124
00:49:33,504 --> 00:49:35,972
"Look, he's the star,
basically.

1125
00:49:35,974 --> 00:49:40,076
He's what we what... we hope
that we're going to make back

1126
00:49:40,078 --> 00:49:41,844
our money because Kilmer is in

1127
00:49:41,846 --> 00:49:45,581
it and now that's part
of the budget, basically.

1128
00:49:45,583 --> 00:49:47,083
And it doesn't matter
who directs it.

1129
00:49:47,085 --> 00:49:48,718
It's not about the vision.

1130
00:49:48,720 --> 00:49:51,120
It's about the name
and the stars."

1131
00:49:51,122 --> 00:49:54,023
I remember looking at the,
overseeing the boat the day

1132
00:49:54,025 --> 00:49:55,825
before the shoot
was meant to happen,
1133
00:49:55,827 --> 00:49:59,128
and Murray Boyd,
the Australian location manager,

1134
00:49:59,130 --> 00:50:01,964
reassured me about the weather,
saying, "Don't worry, mate.

1135
00:50:01,966 --> 00:50:04,000
It's going to be flat
as a millpond."

1136
00:50:04,002 --> 00:50:07,937
Anyway, of course, on cue,
we were hit by a hurricane.

1137
00:50:10,842 --> 00:50:12,141
It started to rain.

1138
00:50:12,143 --> 00:50:14,944
They called a wrap
and let's get off the beach

1139
00:50:14,946 --> 00:50:16,796
and move out of here,

1140
00:50:16,797 --> 00:50:18,647
and I noticed that the creek
was starting to rise

1141
00:50:18,649 --> 00:50:22,318
and that the rain got heavier
and heavier and heavier.

1142
00:50:22,320 --> 00:50:26,022
And I thought, "It couldn't rise
that much, could it?"

1143
00:50:26,024 --> 00:50:27,723
Well, it did,

1144
00:50:27,725 --> 00:50:30,059
and four hours later

1145
00:50:30,061 --> 00:50:33,062
the set was completely
up to Pacific Ocean.

1146
00:50:35,333 --> 00:50:37,600
We were floundering around
on the sea with Richard,

1147
00:50:37,602 --> 00:50:39,335
not really knowing
what was going on

1148
00:50:39,337 --> 00:50:40,970
or maybe was knowing
what was going on

1149
00:50:40,972 --> 00:50:46,642
but not able to convey his
directing to the right people.

1150
00:50:46,644 --> 00:50:47,810
It became increasingly obvious

1151
00:50:47,812 --> 00:50:49,845
that we couldn't really
do anything;

1152
00:50:49,847 --> 00:50:53,582
That the only weather-cover sets
that we had that were completed

1153
00:50:53,584 --> 00:50:54,850
were Moreau's laboratory

1154
00:50:54,852 --> 00:50:57,720
and the interiors of
Moreau's house,

1155
00:50:57,722 --> 00:50:58,938
but we didn't have Moreau.

1156
00:50:58,939 --> 00:51:00,155
We couldn't retreat into
the weather-cover set.

1157
00:51:00,158 --> 00:51:06,662
Rob Morrow was in the
captain's cabin of the ship,
1158
00:51:06,664 --> 00:51:10,633
talking by a radio phone
to his agent in L.A.

1159
00:51:10,635 --> 00:51:14,003
screaming to "Get me off
this laming picture."

1160
00:51:14,005 --> 00:51:16,339
In those four days,

1161
00:51:16,340 --> 00:51:18,674
I started to sending SOS's
to my lawyer saying.

1162
00:51:18,676 --> 00:51:20,009
"This is looking weird.

1163
00:51:20,011 --> 00:51:22,044
I mean, there's bad stuff
going on here.

1164
00:51:22,046 --> 00:51:25,081
There's bad vibes
between people."

1165
00:51:25,083 --> 00:51:26,916
He was calling me
from Brisbane,

1166
00:51:26,918 --> 00:51:28,818
and he said, "We
don't know each other,

1167
00:51:28,820 --> 00:51:30,219
and I'm very happy to
be working with you,

1168
00:51:30,221 --> 00:51:32,788
et cetera, et cetera," just
kind of a little introduction,

1169
00:51:32,790 --> 00:51:34,924
and then all of a sudden
he almost broke down.
1170
00:51:34,926 --> 00:51:38,060
He said,
"This is totally insane.

1171
00:51:38,062 --> 00:51:40,830
I cannot, cannot continue.

1172
00:51:40,832 --> 00:51:43,966
You... I don't know what to do.

1173
00:51:43,968 --> 00:51:47,837
I want to get to my family
in the United States.

1174
00:51:47,839 --> 00:51:50,840
I can't stand this.
It's complete insanity.

1175
00:51:50,842 --> 00:51:53,709
Would you please, please,
please let me out of this?"

1176
00:51:53,711 --> 00:51:55,878
I think there was a part
of Mike DeLuca

1177
00:51:55,880 --> 00:51:57,847
that was amused by this.

1178
00:51:57,849 --> 00:52:02,918
I think there was a part of
several people's attitude.

1179
00:52:02,920 --> 00:52:05,721
"Let's just see how far
this can go."

1180
00:52:07,725 --> 00:52:09,692
Richard was really bad
on these days.

1181
00:52:09,694 --> 00:52:11,427
He was being hammered
by the DP,

1182
00:52:11,429 --> 00:52:13,896
and everyone was down on him,
and he was extremely nervous.

1183
00:52:13,898 --> 00:52:16,015
He was yelling at me.

1184
00:52:16,016 --> 00:52:18,133
The day was just going by
and nothing's really happening

1185
00:52:18,136 --> 00:52:22,738
and finally I see Richard
walking around

1186
00:52:22,740 --> 00:52:24,173
and I'm like "Hey, Richard,
what's going on?"

1187
00:52:24,175 --> 00:52:27,009
And he's frantically
smoking his cigarette, right,

1188
00:52:27,011 --> 00:52:30,980
and he's like "You know,
I must be seen every day

1189
00:52:30,982 --> 00:52:33,716
to be attempting to
film something,"

1190
00:52:33,718 --> 00:52:35,751
and that was what he said,
and he walked away.

1191
00:52:35,753 --> 00:52:39,121
And I was like
"What's happening here?"

1192
00:52:39,123 --> 00:52:40,089
You know.

1193
00:52:41,259 --> 00:52:43,926
The order finally come back
from New Line

1194
00:52:43,928 --> 00:52:48,797
down to... down to us to wait.
1195
00:52:48,799 --> 00:52:51,033
Basically, the production
was put on hold,

1196
00:52:51,035 --> 00:52:54,770
which was the prelude
to the end.

1197
00:52:54,772 --> 00:52:58,741
I happened to be at a
restaurant where Val was

1198
00:52:58,743 --> 00:53:00,276
at another table.

1199
00:53:00,278 --> 00:53:03,112
And he sort of summoned me over

1200
00:53:03,114 --> 00:53:07,116
and started saying how
this wasn't working for him

1201
00:53:07,118 --> 00:53:12,054
and, you know, something
serious had to happen.

1202
00:53:12,056 --> 00:53:16,258
And I must say I did agree
because it wasn't working,

1203
00:53:16,260 --> 00:53:24,260
and so I then called
Mike DeLuca at New Line

1204
00:53:24,969 --> 00:53:28,137
and woke him up at 4:00
in the morning or something

1205
00:53:28,139 --> 00:53:30,773
and told him my sad story.

1206
00:53:30,775 --> 00:53:33,876
And he was kind of
screaming at me,

1207
00:53:33,878 --> 00:53:36,045
and he said, "Well, what
do you want me to do?"

1208
00:53:36,047 --> 00:53:38,814
And I said,
"You better look at the footage

1209
00:53:38,816 --> 00:53:40,749
and draw your own conclusions,

1210
00:53:40,751 --> 00:53:44,053
but my view is you need
to make a change."

1211
00:53:50,161 --> 00:53:53,329
I had to let Richard go.

1212
00:53:53,331 --> 00:53:55,831
That was the only time
in my career

1213
00:53:55,833 --> 00:53:57,933
that I ever had the
responsibility

1214
00:53:57,935 --> 00:53:59,168
of changing a director,

1215
00:53:59,170 --> 00:54:00,970
and it was very difficult.

1216
00:54:00,972 --> 00:54:03,806
It wasn't handled well at all.

1217
00:54:03,808 --> 00:54:07,243
Sort of the call went
to his agent

1218
00:54:07,245 --> 00:54:11,814
and was done that way, sort of.

1219
00:54:11,816 --> 00:54:14,216
Not the manly way,
you might say.

1220
00:54:14,218 --> 00:54:15,551
They had to do it, I suppose.

1221
00:54:15,553 --> 00:54:18,854
I kind of felt like
I was on his side,

1222
00:54:18,856 --> 00:54:21,156
and I could feel that they had
as well and thought.

1223
00:54:21,158 --> 00:54:24,627
"I'd better be careful, or
they'll be firing me as well."

1224
00:54:27,265 --> 00:54:29,198
Fairuza,
realizing what happened,

1225
00:54:29,200 --> 00:54:32,067
leapt up and gave an
amazing speech to Tim,

1226
00:54:32,069 --> 00:54:33,569
the line producer,

1227
00:54:33,571 --> 00:54:36,071
which explained to him
exactly why

1228
00:54:36,073 --> 00:54:39,975
it would be a disaster
beyond belief

1229
00:54:39,977 --> 00:54:41,143
if they went down that route.

1230
00:54:41,145 --> 00:54:43,846
I remember thinking.

1231
00:54:43,848 --> 00:54:47,216
"No. This isn't real.

1232
00:54:47,218 --> 00:54:49,151
There's some misunderstanding.

1233
00:54:49,153 --> 00:54:50,919
They're going to work it out."

1234
00:54:50,921 --> 00:54:52,354
"Don't panic, Richard."

1235
00:54:52,356 --> 00:54:54,290
In the course of it all,

1236
00:54:54,292 --> 00:54:58,561
taking it a bit too far,

1237
00:54:58,562 --> 00:55:02,831
she threatened to cut her own
heart out with a sushi knife

1238
00:55:02,833 --> 00:55:06,168
if New Line closed
the project down.

1239
00:55:06,170 --> 00:55:08,070
And I said, "Well, I'm walking.

1240
00:55:08,072 --> 00:55:09,004
I'm not staying.

1241
00:55:09,006 --> 00:55:11,307
There's no reason
for me to be here."

1242
00:55:12,877 --> 00:55:14,910
She ran out of
the sushi restaurant

1243
00:55:14,912 --> 00:55:16,979
and jumped in the limo
parked outside

1244
00:55:16,981 --> 00:55:19,214
and told the driver
to take her to Sydney.

1245
00:55:19,216 --> 00:55:22,084
She had insufficient grasp
of the geography of Australia,

1246
00:55:22,086 --> 00:55:24,620
I think, to know that Sydney
was on the opposite side

1247
00:55:24,622 --> 00:55:26,188
of the continent.

1248
00:55:26,190 --> 00:55:28,390
I may have. I may have.

1249
00:55:28,392 --> 00:55:31,060
I don't... I don't remember
how I got there.

1250
00:55:31,062 --> 00:55:34,330
And the driver then drove her
clear across the country.

1251
00:55:34,332 --> 00:55:36,865
And he was a guy named Lewis

1252
00:55:36,867 --> 00:55:39,068
who had previously been
on the art department,

1253
00:55:39,070 --> 00:55:41,937
who had been fired
after some kind of punch up

1254
00:55:41,939 --> 00:55:43,689
in the art department

1255
00:55:43,690 --> 00:55:45,440
and had gotten back onto
the project as a driver.

1256
00:55:45,443 --> 00:55:48,444
I was out of a job by the time
I had my second job.

1257
00:55:48,446 --> 00:55:49,912
I had three jobs,

1258
00:55:49,914 --> 00:55:51,246
the second was the
project running.
1259
00:55:51,248 --> 00:55:55,651
I got sacked from that because
while it was all in limbo,

1260
00:55:55,653 --> 00:56:00,089
Fairuza had contacted me
and said,

1261
00:56:00,091 --> 00:56:02,157
you know, "What are you doing?

1262
00:56:02,159 --> 00:56:03,459
Do you want to come to Sidney?"

1263
00:56:03,461 --> 00:56:05,661
I'm like "Sure. Let's go."

1264
00:56:05,663 --> 00:56:09,164
And when I got back
the production didn't know;

1265
00:56:09,166 --> 00:56:13,202
So I had committed
some film faux pa.

1266
00:56:13,204 --> 00:56:18,307
I just remember feeling
absolutely

1267
00:56:18,309 --> 00:56:21,977
just bewildered and terrible.

1268
00:56:21,979 --> 00:56:24,446
I felt terrible for him,
and I did.

1269
00:56:24,448 --> 00:56:28,117
I felt like this was
the greatest injustice,

1270
00:56:28,119 --> 00:56:30,686
and we should call
the Hollywood Reporter,

1271
00:56:30,688 --> 00:56:33,455
and everyone should know
that this is what they're doing,

1272
00:56:33,457 --> 00:56:37,092
and, you know,
because he was my friend.

1273
00:56:37,094 --> 00:56:38,394
I went and saw him
at his house,

1274
00:56:38,396 --> 00:56:40,462
and he was in the
middle of the room,

1275
00:56:40,464 --> 00:56:44,133
just sitting there,
paper spread out everywhere,

1276
00:56:44,135 --> 00:56:46,435
and it was a mess.

1277
00:56:46,437 --> 00:56:48,437
He was very paranoid.

1278
00:56:48,439 --> 00:56:50,139
He was very freaked out.

1279
00:56:50,141 --> 00:56:55,444
I don't think he was sleeping,
I mean, beyond upset.

1280
00:56:55,446 --> 00:56:58,046
He had become quite
immersed in the whole project,

1281
00:56:58,048 --> 00:57:01,183
to the point where he was
living and breathing Moreau

1282
00:57:01,185 --> 00:57:03,419
and then literally
just have that murdered.

1283
00:57:03,421 --> 00:57:05,954
I think he went
a little bit mad.
1284
00:57:05,956 --> 00:57:08,257
Who wouldn't have
a complete mental breakdown

1285
00:57:08,259 --> 00:57:10,259
at that point
if that happened to you?

1286
00:57:10,261 --> 00:57:12,361
You know what I mean?

1287
00:57:12,363 --> 00:57:15,197
Because he was
really, really manic.

1288
00:57:15,199 --> 00:57:19,435
I went back to my headquarters
and started shredding documents.

1289
00:57:19,437 --> 00:57:21,136
I was a little vindictive.

1290
00:57:21,138 --> 00:57:23,238
I'd also wanted to make it
particularly hard them

1291
00:57:23,240 --> 00:57:25,174
to make that film.

1292
00:57:25,176 --> 00:57:29,244
In my mind, I was going
to leave with him

1293
00:57:29,246 --> 00:57:31,413
and that lawyers
were going to be hired

1294
00:57:31,415 --> 00:57:34,016
and that all the actors
would walk,

1295
00:57:34,018 --> 00:57:36,251
and we would shut
the production down,

1296
00:57:36,253 --> 00:57:38,353
because everyone
would be loyal to him.

1297
00:57:38,355 --> 00:57:42,191
New Line eventually offered
to pay me my full fee

1298
00:57:42,193 --> 00:57:44,326
just to shut up and go away.

1299
00:57:44,328 --> 00:57:46,295
In return for which
I had to agree

1300
00:57:46,297 --> 00:57:50,199
if the project was revived,
not to come within,

1301
00:57:50,201 --> 00:57:54,036
I think, 40 kilometers
of the location.

1302
00:57:54,038 --> 00:57:56,605
We waited for ages for Richard
to come out of his bungalow.

1303
00:57:56,607 --> 00:57:58,474
I had been told from
the production office

1304
00:57:58,476 --> 00:58:00,576
just to make sure that
he gets on this plane.

1305
00:58:00,578 --> 00:58:05,447
Yeah, I remember that,
dropping him at the airport

1306
00:58:05,449 --> 00:58:07,416
like I thought I'd been told
was to make sure

1307
00:58:07,418 --> 00:58:12,287
he gets on the plane;
So he was there, on time.

1308
00:58:12,289 --> 00:58:14,590
But the next morning
I got a phone call saying.

1309
00:58:14,592 --> 00:58:16,558
"Where the hell is
Richard Stanley?"

1310
00:58:19,196 --> 00:58:20,596
I think he had a ticket home
from them,

1311
00:58:20,598 --> 00:58:22,064
and he didn't use it,

1312
00:58:22,066 --> 00:58:24,032
and they knew nobody
was on the plane.

1313
00:58:24,034 --> 00:58:26,235
He was supposed to be
on the plane out of there,

1314
00:58:26,237 --> 00:58:27,369
and he wasn't.

1315
00:58:27,371 --> 00:58:29,805
Suddenly,
he was this missing person.

1316
00:58:29,806 --> 00:58:32,240
So they're just assuming... we
totally fucked this person over

1317
00:58:32,243 --> 00:58:35,244
so that must mean there must
be some revenge motive

1318
00:58:35,246 --> 00:58:37,112
to do something.

1319
00:58:37,114 --> 00:58:38,647
I think he made a few threats
on his way out.

1320
00:58:38,649 --> 00:58:40,349
I think he had, yeah.
1321
00:58:40,351 --> 00:58:44,553
I had been told that some
of his aboriginal friends

1322
00:58:44,555 --> 00:58:49,625
had placed rocks around the
location to wish us bad luck.

1323
00:58:49,627 --> 00:58:51,326
A casual remark by Grace Walker

1324
00:58:51,328 --> 00:58:52,427
during one of the reckies

1325
00:58:52,429 --> 00:58:54,429
about how if New Line
tries to throw us out of here,

1326
00:58:54,431 --> 00:58:56,098
we could always blow
the whole place up,

1327
00:58:56,100 --> 00:58:58,300
had found its way back
to New Line

1328
00:58:58,302 --> 00:59:00,569
who were actually frightened
that we might try and blow up

1329
00:59:00,571 --> 00:59:04,206
the set or sabotage the
production in some way.

1330
00:59:04,208 --> 00:59:06,542
And we heard that
Richard Stanley

1331
00:59:06,544 --> 00:59:09,211
had not worked out.

1332
00:59:09,213 --> 00:59:12,381
So, for most of us here,
what does that mean for us?

1333
00:59:12,383 --> 00:59:14,082
Are we going to
get a new director?

1334
00:59:14,084 --> 00:59:15,284
What does that mean?

1335
00:59:15,286 --> 00:59:17,252
Production shut down
for a couple of weeks.

1336
00:59:17,254 --> 00:59:19,888
They didn't send us home.

1337
00:59:19,889 --> 00:59:22,523
We just sat around and repaired
things or painted more pieces

1338
00:59:22,526 --> 00:59:25,694
or whatever and waited for
production to resume.

1339
00:59:25,696 --> 00:59:27,462
We had millions
of dollars invested,

1340
00:59:27,464 --> 00:59:30,432
and it wasn't like we
were a really big company.

1341
00:59:30,434 --> 00:59:32,568
So we had to continue with it.

1342
00:59:32,570 --> 00:59:34,703
And that's generally
my spirit anyhow.

1343
00:59:34,705 --> 00:59:37,105
No matter how hard
things are, finish it up,

1344
00:59:37,107 --> 00:59:38,574
and then see what happens.

1345
00:59:38,576 --> 00:59:42,210
They had to have the same cast
because of the makeup effects.
1346
00:59:42,212 --> 00:59:43,478
They did life cast everyone.

1347
00:59:43,480 --> 00:59:46,148
They couldn't actually
recast the leads;

1348
00:59:46,150 --> 00:59:49,217
So they had to try to hold the
original actors to contract.

1349
00:59:49,219 --> 00:59:53,221
My representation said,
"You'll never work again.

1350
00:59:53,223 --> 00:59:54,723
Not only will they sue you

1351
00:59:54,725 --> 00:59:57,359
and garnish your wages
for the next 20 years,

1352
00:59:57,361 --> 01:00:01,196
but they will ensure
that you don't ever work again

1353
01:00:01,198 --> 01:00:04,333
in this industry,
and they'll tarnish your name.

1354
01:00:04,335 --> 01:00:06,168
They'll destroy your
reputation, you know,

1355
01:00:06,170 --> 01:00:08,537
because you're not
allowed to just walk

1356
01:00:08,539 --> 01:00:10,339
on a multi-million dollar
picture."

1357
01:00:10,341 --> 01:00:12,541
You know, it wasn't just
what happened to Richard.

1358
01:00:12,543 --> 01:00:15,577
That was the beginning
of the nightmare.

1359
01:00:20,351 --> 01:00:22,551
We met John Frankenheimer

1360
01:00:22,553 --> 01:00:25,220
at just a general
meeting kind of thing.

1361
01:00:25,222 --> 01:00:27,389
He was an
incredibly talented guy,

1362
01:00:27,391 --> 01:00:31,193
but he also had a few films
that were not successful.

1363
01:00:31,195 --> 01:00:32,928
He was sort of in
the discard pile

1364
01:00:32,930 --> 01:00:34,463
and was looking for again.

1365
01:00:34,465 --> 01:00:36,348
All the other directors
turned it down.

1366
01:00:36,349 --> 01:00:38,232
They went to Philip Hoffman.
He turned it down.

1367
01:00:38,235 --> 01:00:39,751
They asked some other people.

1368
01:00:39,752 --> 01:00:41,268
They're like, "How much time
do we have to prepare this?

1369
01:00:41,271 --> 01:00:42,371
One week?

1370
01:00:42,372 --> 01:00:43,472
And we're working
with Kilmer and Brando?
1371
01:00:43,474 --> 01:00:46,508
We have one week
for this script,

1372
01:00:46,510 --> 01:00:48,577
and have no vision?"
It's like, "No."

1373
01:00:48,579 --> 01:00:50,512
I worked with John for

1374
01:00:50,514 --> 01:00:52,948
basically the last
decade of his life,

1375
01:00:52,950 --> 01:00:56,318
and he was...

1376
01:00:56,320 --> 01:01:00,622
I don't know. He was an old
school guy who was...

1377
01:01:00,624 --> 01:01:03,225
He was a good filmmaker,
a very good director.

1378
01:01:03,227 --> 01:01:04,760
While we were together,
everything he did,

1379
01:01:04,762 --> 01:01:08,530
he got an award for,
except for Moreau.

1380
01:01:08,532 --> 01:01:12,234
He had a reputation for being
an enormously talented

1381
01:01:12,236 --> 01:01:14,670
wrangler of difficult actors

1382
01:01:14,672 --> 01:01:17,305
and had worked with some of the
most difficult actors around.

1383
01:01:17,307 --> 01:01:19,274
I mean, his background was
he knew how to make a movie.

1384
01:01:19,276 --> 01:01:22,511
That's all he cared about.

1385
01:01:22,512 --> 01:01:25,747
A movie about monsters
wasn't exactly John's...

1386
01:01:25,749 --> 01:01:27,416
John would probably
not have picked that one out

1387
01:01:27,418 --> 01:01:30,318
if they said,
"Here. Ten movies,

1388
01:01:30,320 --> 01:01:31,586
which one do you
want to direct?"

1389
01:01:31,588 --> 01:01:33,422
This one would not
have been on the list.

1390
01:01:33,424 --> 01:01:35,691
Later on, actually, I asked him

1391
01:01:35,693 --> 01:01:37,325
why he actually did the movie,

1392
01:01:37,327 --> 01:01:40,328
because we all knew that
he didn't like the script.

1393
01:01:40,330 --> 01:01:43,465
And so he told me that when
they offered him the movie,

1394
01:01:43,467 --> 01:01:46,001
he said to his wife,
"So what can we do?"

1395
01:01:46,003 --> 01:01:51,006
and his wife said, "Well, you
just ask them for something that

1396
01:01:51,008 --> 01:01:56,578
either they would not agree to
or we're really happy people."

1397
01:01:56,580 --> 01:01:58,346
So he asked, as far as I know,

1398
01:01:58,348 --> 01:02:00,816
he asked for a three-picture
deal and a lot of money.

1399
01:02:00,818 --> 01:02:02,551
We're going to fly to
Australia and do this movie.

1400
01:02:02,553 --> 01:02:04,352
Well, get out a map.
Where is this?

1401
01:02:04,354 --> 01:02:08,724
And I got a rainfall map,
and I'm thinking rain?

1402
01:02:08,726 --> 01:02:10,759
I'm an AD. I've got to shoot,

1403
01:02:10,761 --> 01:02:13,328
and I'm looking,
and it's color-coded,

1404
01:02:13,330 --> 01:02:15,363
and it gets bluer
as it gets to be rain,

1405
01:02:15,365 --> 01:02:17,365
and then there's this one dot,

1406
01:02:17,367 --> 01:02:22,404
little pencil,
the size of an eraser head,

1407
01:02:22,406 --> 01:02:24,573
purple, as dark as
it possibly could be,
1408
01:02:24,575 --> 01:02:27,342
and I looked closely at the map,
and that's where we were going.

1409
01:02:27,344 --> 01:02:29,878
And I mean,
it was a lot of water.

1410
01:02:29,880 --> 01:02:31,646
So I thought,
well, that's interesting.

1411
01:02:31,648 --> 01:02:35,050
We're going out to see the set
and we leave the hotel

1412
01:02:35,052 --> 01:02:37,319
the first day,
we're driving out,

1413
01:02:37,321 --> 01:02:40,355
and I'm looking at my watch
and thinking,

1414
01:02:40,357 --> 01:02:43,759
well, this is a half hour,
40, 55 minutes

1415
01:02:43,761 --> 01:02:45,327
on these little roads.

1416
01:02:45,329 --> 01:02:47,629
I mean, five minutes
away from the hotel,

1417
01:02:47,631 --> 01:02:48,730
and we're in jungle.

1418
01:02:48,732 --> 01:02:50,899
You're looking at jungle.

1419
01:02:50,901 --> 01:02:54,803
But 55 miles away,
you're also looking at jungle.

1420
01:02:54,805 --> 01:02:57,672
When you're in the jungle,
what do you see? Jungle.

1421
01:02:57,674 --> 01:03:01,777
And it's like... okay.

1422
01:03:01,779 --> 01:03:03,378
Well, we had to plant
some of this too,

1423
01:03:03,380 --> 01:03:06,515
because it's a
banana plantation, oh god.

1424
01:03:06,517 --> 01:03:08,450
So they had actually
gone to the jungle

1425
01:03:08,452 --> 01:03:10,318
and then planted some jungle

1426
01:03:10,320 --> 01:03:12,821
and then built this thing
an hour away from the hotel.

1427
01:03:12,823 --> 01:03:14,523
Every day an hour driving.

1428
01:03:14,525 --> 01:03:17,659
So it's two hours out
of my day to get there.

1429
01:03:17,661 --> 01:03:18,660
And they said,
"Why did you do that?

1430
01:03:18,662 --> 01:03:21,530
Well when it's clear,
and you look up there,

1431
01:03:21,532 --> 01:03:22,497
you can see this mountain.

1432
01:03:22,499 --> 01:03:25,100
It's the highest mountain
in Australia."
1433
01:03:25,102 --> 01:03:27,435
"Really? Okay."

1434
01:03:27,437 --> 01:03:30,572
That mountain was visible
for about an hour and a half

1435
01:03:30,574 --> 01:03:31,706
the whole time we were there.

1436
01:03:31,708 --> 01:03:32,808
And when it did come out,

1437
01:03:32,810 --> 01:03:35,811
we had to dig a hole this deep
to put the camera in,

1438
01:03:35,813 --> 01:03:37,712
because it was so close
to the mountain.

1439
01:03:37,714 --> 01:03:40,949
It was, like, all of it wrong,
all of it wrong, useless.

1440
01:03:40,951 --> 01:03:43,618
I was always getting flack
about how far

1441
01:03:43,620 --> 01:03:44,920
I'd built the set from town

1442
01:03:44,922 --> 01:03:46,922
and how far everyone
had to travel each day

1443
01:03:46,924 --> 01:03:49,875
and blah, blah,

1444
01:03:49,876 --> 01:03:52,827
but I'd searched for months to
find this particular location

1445
01:03:52,830 --> 01:03:54,496
that we carved out.
1446
01:03:54,498 --> 01:03:56,665
We had carved it out
of the rain forest.

1447
01:03:58,969 --> 01:04:01,570
We had one week to prep.

1448
01:04:01,572 --> 01:04:04,973
One we week had to get
to meet everybody, basically,

1449
01:04:04,975 --> 01:04:06,675
and to see what was going on.

1450
01:04:06,677 --> 01:04:08,560
They said
I had to come to dinner,

1451
01:04:08,561 --> 01:04:10,444
and that our director...
our new director was here.

1452
01:04:10,447 --> 01:04:15,517
And this older gentleman
in director gear

1453
01:04:15,519 --> 01:04:18,587
with this jungle hat on
came into the restaurant.

1454
01:04:18,589 --> 01:04:19,955
And at one point
during the dinner,

1455
01:04:19,957 --> 01:04:20,922
I actually asked him.

1456
01:04:20,924 --> 01:04:22,724
"So, what's your take
on this this story?

1457
01:04:22,726 --> 01:04:25,160
Is there a certain vision?"

1458
01:04:25,162 --> 01:04:30,465
and he's like "Marco, vision,
that's an overused word.

1459
01:04:30,467 --> 01:04:31,766
I'm telling you,
it's not about a vision.

1460
01:04:31,768 --> 01:04:34,002
It's about, I'm trying to tell
a story here, okay."

1461
01:04:34,004 --> 01:04:38,006
"I mean, yeah, how are you
going to tell this story?"

1462
01:04:38,008 --> 01:04:41,810
"Oh, we're going to see.
I brought in my own writer."

1463
01:04:41,812 --> 01:04:43,879
So I'm like, okay, it's
going to be a different movie,

1464
01:04:43,881 --> 01:04:46,181
I guess, now.

1465
01:04:46,182 --> 01:04:48,482
Initially, he's like "Listen,
I've just been brought in.

1466
01:04:48,485 --> 01:04:51,453
I don't what's going on.
I'm just a director.

1467
01:04:51,455 --> 01:04:54,022
I'm here to try to do a job.

1468
01:04:54,024 --> 01:04:56,591
I need all the help
I can get from you,

1469
01:04:56,593 --> 01:04:58,627
you know, just be on my side,

1470
01:04:58,629 --> 01:05:03,431
and we'll get through this",
type thing.
1471
01:05:03,433 --> 01:05:06,935
Within three or four days,

1472
01:05:06,937 --> 01:05:10,705
that had changed
to name calling,

1473
01:05:10,707 --> 01:05:13,808
and it changed to
being screamed at.

1474
01:05:13,810 --> 01:05:15,844
This man hated my guts.

1475
01:05:15,846 --> 01:05:17,979
But Frankenheimer was a freak.

1476
01:05:17,981 --> 01:05:20,098
He was a real freak.

1477
01:05:20,099 --> 01:05:22,216
I was on a production run and
had to drop some new script

1478
01:05:22,219 --> 01:05:24,486
around his place
one night and, you know,

1479
01:05:24,488 --> 01:05:26,788
they gave me the script,
and I knew where he lived.

1480
01:05:26,790 --> 01:05:29,524
Driven straight to his place,
knocked on the door.

1481
01:05:29,526 --> 01:05:32,027
Frankenheimer came to
the door, and he's like.

1482
01:05:32,029 --> 01:05:34,629
"Oliver, you're late."

1483
01:05:34,631 --> 01:05:37,265
So I was like all right.
"All right, dude.
1484
01:05:38,535 --> 01:05:39,668
Here's your script, man."

1485
01:05:39,670 --> 01:05:41,736
The first week
we went pretty slow

1486
01:05:41,738 --> 01:05:43,571
because we were still
sorting things out.

1487
01:05:43,573 --> 01:05:47,709
Script pages were coming in
on the fax from the U.S.,

1488
01:05:47,711 --> 01:05:49,010
and then we finally
brought out a writer

1489
01:05:49,012 --> 01:05:50,278
and then another writer.

1490
01:05:50,279 --> 01:05:51,545
There was a writer there
all the time being like,

1491
01:05:51,548 --> 01:05:52,614
"Why don't we..."

1492
01:05:52,616 --> 01:05:54,883
"Oh, that's a great idea.
Yeah, let's do that."

1493
01:05:54,885 --> 01:05:57,252
"Oh god, here we go again."

1494
01:05:57,253 --> 01:05:59,620
It was really... John had to
decide... had to figure out

1495
01:05:59,623 --> 01:06:02,991
how the story could be shaped
into a story he wanted to tell,

1496
01:06:02,993 --> 01:06:06,861
and it was not what the
previous director had planned.

1497
01:06:06,863 --> 01:06:08,563
It was always drifting away

1498
01:06:08,565 --> 01:06:13,101
from what Richard's ideas
for the story were.

1499
01:06:13,103 --> 01:06:15,603
He came to the set
and he said to everyone,

1500
01:06:15,605 --> 01:06:18,907
"Look, I did this
a couple times in my life.

1501
01:06:18,909 --> 01:06:20,875
I came in, you know,
somebody else got fired,

1502
01:06:20,877 --> 01:06:21,943
and I rescued their movie.

1503
01:06:21,945 --> 01:06:25,647
And it turned... both
times it turned out well.

1504
01:06:25,649 --> 01:06:26,948
So let's see how this one goes."

1505
01:06:26,950 --> 01:06:28,550
No bull shit.
Let's not muck around.

1506
01:06:28,552 --> 01:06:30,585
Let's get it happening.

1507
01:06:30,587 --> 01:06:34,289
Little did he know... he...
Things...

1508
01:06:34,291 --> 01:06:37,659
Nothing really changed
in terms of efficiency
1509
01:06:37,661 --> 01:06:38,893
when he got there.

1510
01:06:38,895 --> 01:06:41,563
I was only meant to be there
three, four weeks.

1511
01:06:41,565 --> 01:06:43,898
I was there for like six months.

1512
01:06:43,900 --> 01:06:45,800
It was great.

1513
01:06:53,010 --> 01:06:55,910
If I knew this was going
to be totally insane,

1514
01:06:55,912 --> 01:06:58,713
and that we were
going to be hugely lucky

1515
01:06:58,715 --> 01:06:59,914
if we just finished a film

1516
01:06:59,916 --> 01:07:01,850
with a beginning,
middle, and an end.

1517
01:07:01,852 --> 01:07:03,585
Everyone knew it was
a total tough shoot,

1518
01:07:03,587 --> 01:07:05,304
and it was a tough shoot.

1519
01:07:05,305 --> 01:07:07,022
There was a lot of friction
between the actors,

1520
01:07:07,024 --> 01:07:10,825
some of the actors, and John,

1521
01:07:10,827 --> 01:07:15,997
mainly because of John's
behavior towards them.
1522
01:07:15,999 --> 01:07:18,066
John is... can be very strong,

1523
01:07:18,068 --> 01:07:22,771
and if he has a disliking
towards someone,

1524
01:07:22,773 --> 01:07:24,939
he would just let 'em have it.

1525
01:07:24,941 --> 01:07:28,176
He was kind of a little bit
of a tyrant that way.

1526
01:07:28,178 --> 01:07:29,911
He was that way in
all the movies he did.

1527
01:07:29,913 --> 01:07:32,397
It wasn't just this one.

1528
01:07:32,398 --> 01:07:34,882
He's really, really one of the
last old school screamers.

1529
01:07:34,885 --> 01:07:36,785
You know, he would
bark out his orders,

1530
01:07:36,787 --> 01:07:38,620
and he was just
this rough, tough guy,

1531
01:07:38,622 --> 01:07:39,788
and you could imitate him.

1532
01:07:39,790 --> 01:07:41,156
Things are going to
change around here.

1533
01:07:41,158 --> 01:07:43,508
"Man, you're on Camera 1,

1534
01:07:43,509 --> 01:07:45,859
and Camera 2, you better be
ready to catch it the second..."
1535
01:07:45,862 --> 01:07:47,729
"And then you're got
to throw the torch,

1536
01:07:47,731 --> 01:07:49,664
and the whole thing
goes up into flames."

1537
01:07:49,666 --> 01:07:51,032
He wanted people
to do their jobs,

1538
01:07:51,034 --> 01:07:54,803
you know, and that... from the
guys doing to the lighting

1539
01:07:54,805 --> 01:07:58,173
to guys doing the special
effects makeup to the actors.

1540
01:07:58,175 --> 01:08:01,609
And he was heavy handed
with the Australian crew,

1541
01:08:01,611 --> 01:08:05,613
which he would loudly
denounce at lunch and say

1542
01:08:05,615 --> 01:08:07,949
it was the worst crew
he had ever seen

1543
01:08:07,951 --> 01:08:10,185
and he wanted his
American crew.

1544
01:08:10,187 --> 01:08:11,653
And the crew,

1545
01:08:11,655 --> 01:08:13,621
which they do a lot
in a lot of shoots

1546
01:08:13,623 --> 01:08:15,690
and still do is
make up crew t-shirts.
1547
01:08:15,692 --> 01:08:17,659
The t-shirt had on it,
as a quote

1548
01:08:17,661 --> 01:08:20,728
which was a quote from the movie
one of the dialogs of film.

1549
01:08:20,730 --> 01:08:22,630
"You don't have to obey
these bastards.

1550
01:08:22,632 --> 01:08:24,099
They're not gods."

1551
01:08:26,403 --> 01:08:29,671
He had no idea
what a didgeridoo was

1552
01:08:29,673 --> 01:08:31,973
or what the instrument meant,

1553
01:08:31,975 --> 01:08:33,908
because at one stage
he called me, and he says,

1554
01:08:33,910 --> 01:08:37,812
"David, I want you to
get that dickeridoo,

1555
01:08:37,814 --> 01:08:39,914
and I want you to
smash him over the head."

1556
01:08:39,916 --> 01:08:44,652
I said, "John, I'm not going
to do that with a didgeridoo.

1557
01:08:44,654 --> 01:08:47,856
This... a didgeridoo is a
sacred instrument to me

1558
01:08:47,858 --> 01:08:49,157
and to aboriginal peoples.

1559
01:08:49,159 --> 01:08:51,059
He didn't seem like
he particularly

1560
01:08:51,061 --> 01:08:52,694
wanted to be either.

1561
01:08:52,696 --> 01:08:53,895
I know he didn't,

1562
01:08:53,897 --> 01:08:55,964
but he was there because
he wanted to work with.

1563
01:08:55,966 --> 01:08:58,833
Marlon Brando,
like everybody did.

1564
01:09:00,770 --> 01:09:03,438
Basically, he was hired
to work for two weeks,

1565
01:09:03,440 --> 01:09:06,174
and so I said, "But, you know,
you have to absolutely

1566
01:09:06,176 --> 01:09:08,176
be here on this date."

1567
01:09:08,178 --> 01:09:11,012
Of course, not only
did he not show up,

1568
01:09:11,014 --> 01:09:14,215
he was nowhere to be found,
and none of his lawyer,

1569
01:09:14,217 --> 01:09:17,218
agents, or anybody
knew where he was,

1570
01:09:17,220 --> 01:09:19,654
purportedly.

1571
01:09:19,655 --> 01:09:22,089
And then then about a week
after he was due to report,
1572
01:09:22,092 --> 01:09:24,893
he did show up,

1573
01:09:24,895 --> 01:09:28,129
and then John was
uncharacteristically

1574
01:09:28,131 --> 01:09:29,797
very nervous.

1575
01:09:29,799 --> 01:09:31,900
And everybody's all
"Marlon's coming to the set.

1576
01:09:31,902 --> 01:09:32,967
He's coming to the set."

1577
01:09:32,969 --> 01:09:35,036
An hour goes by.

1578
01:09:35,038 --> 01:09:36,037
"He's coming. Get ready.

1579
01:09:36,039 --> 01:09:37,622
Have everything ready."

1580
01:09:37,623 --> 01:09:39,206
And Frankenheimer was like
"Have the cameras ready."

1581
01:09:39,209 --> 01:09:40,975
And then I don't hear
from him until about

1582
01:09:40,977 --> 01:09:42,911
3:00 in the afternoon.

1583
01:09:42,913 --> 01:09:46,114
He said, "Well, I'm ready.
Ready to shoot," so "Fine."

1584
01:09:46,116 --> 01:09:49,717
And I look
and out of the jungle this...
1585
01:09:49,719 --> 01:09:51,953
this... this...

1586
01:09:51,955 --> 01:09:54,255
I couldn't really tell
what was going on,

1587
01:09:54,257 --> 01:09:57,058
but this person emerges
out of...

1588
01:09:57,060 --> 01:10:00,195
because we were in the middle
of this banana plantation.

1589
01:10:00,197 --> 01:10:01,963
This really thick jungle.

1590
01:10:01,965 --> 01:10:04,732
In the scene he was
in a palanquin.

1591
01:10:04,734 --> 01:10:06,968
He was supposed to
be being brought in.

1592
01:10:06,970 --> 01:10:09,070
I thought maybe it was
one of the creatures

1593
01:10:09,072 --> 01:10:10,772
or something that I hadn't seen

1594
01:10:10,774 --> 01:10:12,340
that was like a
different design,

1595
01:10:12,342 --> 01:10:16,511
and it was Marlon.

1596
01:10:16,513 --> 01:10:18,079
Release him.

1597
01:10:20,016 --> 01:10:21,316
Release him.
1598
01:10:21,318 --> 01:10:25,253
And he was in a...

1599
01:10:28,325 --> 01:10:30,525
Looked like cheese cloth,

1600
01:10:30,527 --> 01:10:33,127
like a very, very thin linen

1601
01:10:33,129 --> 01:10:36,798
that he'd wrapped around
himself like a diaper.

1602
01:10:36,800 --> 01:10:39,267
He covered himself
in white paint.

1603
01:10:39,269 --> 01:10:42,070
Don't you feel the heat?

1604
01:10:42,072 --> 01:10:43,171
Because I do.

1605
01:10:43,173 --> 01:10:45,173
I can't... I can't tolerate
the sun.

1606
01:10:45,175 --> 01:10:47,141
It was explained that

1607
01:10:47,143 --> 01:10:49,077
the white face
was kind of a makeup

1608
01:10:49,079 --> 01:10:51,546
that he only wore
out in the sun.

1609
01:10:51,548 --> 01:10:55,883
So I talked to Frankenheimer
and asked

1610
01:10:55,885 --> 01:10:57,919
if the dialect he used
was also something
1611
01:10:57,921 --> 01:10:59,254
that he would change,

1612
01:10:59,256 --> 01:11:02,957
interior and exterior, and
Brando was a ham operator.

1613
01:11:02,959 --> 01:11:04,859
He was listening
to our phone call,

1614
01:11:04,861 --> 01:11:08,830
and he said, "If you
want to direct the film,

1615
01:11:08,832 --> 01:11:10,999
when I showed up on the set.
If you want to direct the film,"

1616
01:11:11,001 --> 01:11:15,136
he banned me from the set
for questioning this.

1617
01:11:15,138 --> 01:11:20,174
The whole white-faced
thing was...

1618
01:11:20,176 --> 01:11:24,012
Was that mad
or was that genius?

1619
01:11:24,014 --> 01:11:28,216
Because the whole whiteface,
wearing sun glasses

1620
01:11:28,218 --> 01:11:30,418
meant that Marlon Brando's
stand-in

1621
01:11:30,420 --> 01:11:33,321
could do quite a lot of
the picture for him.

1622
01:11:33,323 --> 01:11:35,323
Brando is in the palanquin

1623
01:11:35,325 --> 01:11:37,225
and he says, "You know, John,

1624
01:11:37,227 --> 01:11:41,162
I think we need some peacock
feathers behind my head.

1625
01:11:41,164 --> 01:11:44,399
Wouldn't it look better if we
had some peacock feathers?"

1626
01:11:44,401 --> 01:11:48,069
And out of the corner of my
eye, I see the art director,

1627
01:11:48,071 --> 01:11:51,039
who's a wonderful guy
who could do anything,

1628
01:11:51,041 --> 01:11:53,141
running like hell to his car.

1629
01:11:53,143 --> 01:11:55,176
And so everybody
then sat around again,

1630
01:11:55,178 --> 01:11:57,178
and we're waiting for
peacock feathers

1631
01:11:57,180 --> 01:11:58,846
in the middle of nowhere,

1632
01:11:58,848 --> 01:12:01,282
and then about
20 minutes later, the...

1633
01:12:01,284 --> 01:12:05,253
Gracie, I think, was his name...
came roaring back in,

1634
01:12:05,255 --> 01:12:08,189
holding up the peacock feathers.

1635
01:12:08,191 --> 01:12:10,058
And I said, "Where the
hell did you get those from?"
1636
01:12:10,060 --> 01:12:12,994
And he had found a peacock
that was on the road,

1637
01:12:12,996 --> 01:12:16,130
out by a farm somewhere,
he'd remembered seeing it,

1638
01:12:16,132 --> 01:12:21,302
and he leapt on the peacock
and pulled all the feathers out.

1639
01:12:22,138 --> 01:12:24,906
He was just delighted
by everyone,

1640
01:12:24,908 --> 01:12:27,108
expressed all kinds of glee

1641
01:12:27,110 --> 01:12:29,043
at seeing all these
wonderful faces

1642
01:12:29,045 --> 01:12:30,411
and the heads and the monsters,

1643
01:12:30,413 --> 01:12:32,480
and he wanted to meet
everybody so...

1644
01:12:32,482 --> 01:12:34,115
I mean, everybody.

1645
01:12:34,117 --> 01:12:35,950
I was dressed as a feral pig.

1646
01:12:35,952 --> 01:12:37,485
Someone else was
dressed as a goat.

1647
01:12:37,487 --> 01:12:39,087
Someone else was a bison.

1648
01:12:39,089 --> 01:12:41,389
Someone else was
dressed as a monkey.

1649
01:12:41,391 --> 01:12:43,991
So we although we feel
we met Marlon Brando,

1650
01:12:43,993 --> 01:12:47,995
he, I'm sure, just met a number
of grotesque animals

1651
01:12:47,997 --> 01:12:49,230
that he wouldn't recognize again

1652
01:12:49,232 --> 01:12:51,999
and shook trotters
and paws and claws with us.

1653
01:12:52,001 --> 01:12:54,035
A typical day with Marlon.

1654
01:12:54,037 --> 01:12:56,904
Marlon would arrive... he
would arrive at 9:00 o'clock,

1655
01:12:56,906 --> 01:12:58,272
and he would go into the trailer

1656
01:12:58,274 --> 01:13:00,942
and then John would go in there
and start talking to him,

1657
01:13:00,944 --> 01:13:03,978
and the executives would
stand around in a circle

1658
01:13:03,980 --> 01:13:06,114
and scour and scowl

1659
01:13:06,116 --> 01:13:09,150
and look down and
not know what to do.

1660
01:13:09,152 --> 01:13:12,920
Hours went by, maybe an hour,
half an hour before lunch,

1661
01:13:12,922 --> 01:13:14,389
they would come out,
and they would tour the set,

1662
01:13:14,391 --> 01:13:16,524
and talked about the scene
we're about to shoot,

1663
01:13:16,526 --> 01:13:19,227
and Marlon would amend
a bunch of things.

1664
01:13:19,229 --> 01:13:21,963
I remember Frankenheimer
trying to talk to him

1665
01:13:21,965 --> 01:13:23,164
about the scene,

1666
01:13:23,166 --> 01:13:26,534
and Marlon saying
"No, no, no, no, no.

1667
01:13:26,536 --> 01:13:29,504
Instead of it being
about violence

1668
01:13:29,506 --> 01:13:32,206
and all this pain
and suffering,

1669
01:13:32,208 --> 01:13:35,276
I think that all that
animal-people

1670
01:13:35,278 --> 01:13:36,244
should get together,

1671
01:13:36,246 --> 01:13:38,312
and there should be a
grand celebration,

1672
01:13:38,314 --> 01:13:39,981
like a Bar Mitzvah,"

1673
01:13:39,983 --> 01:13:43,050
and I thought he's
fucking with them.

1674
01:13:43,052 --> 01:13:45,420
He was always playing
with the idea of being hot,

1675
01:13:45,422 --> 01:13:47,272
and overheated.

1676
01:13:47,273 --> 01:13:49,123
He wanted an ice bucket
on top of his head.

1677
01:13:49,125 --> 01:13:49,991
Frankenheimer says,

1678
01:13:49,993 --> 01:13:51,559
"What?
An ice bucket on your head?"

1679
01:13:51,561 --> 01:13:52,393
He said, "Yes.

1680
01:13:52,395 --> 01:13:54,162
Something to keep my head warm,

1681
01:13:54,164 --> 01:13:56,564
because it is so hot,
you know."

1682
01:13:56,566 --> 01:13:58,566
So Johnny, the prop guy,
found a...

1683
01:13:58,568 --> 01:14:00,234
it was a sauce pan
or something,

1684
01:14:00,236 --> 01:14:01,436
and we cut
the bottom out of it,

1685
01:14:01,438 --> 01:14:03,471
and it fitted on his
head perfectly.

1686
01:14:03,473 --> 01:14:07,275
And then Fairuza Balk's
character tips the ice in.

1687
01:14:07,277 --> 01:14:09,043
No one ever knew
that he wanted ice

1688
01:14:09,045 --> 01:14:11,412
or an ice bucket on his head
so we had to make it quickly.

1689
01:14:11,414 --> 01:14:14,515
You had to just keep
taking away problems

1690
01:14:14,517 --> 01:14:17,985
that he created in order
to put the work off

1691
01:14:17,987 --> 01:14:20,154
and then finally
you got the work.

1692
01:14:20,156 --> 01:14:22,056
This one day I said,
"Can we talk?"

1693
01:14:22,058 --> 01:14:23,391
And he said,
"What is it, dear?"

1694
01:14:23,393 --> 01:14:25,159
And I said, "I don't know.

1695
01:14:25,161 --> 01:14:30,164
Just in terms of our
characters and how they relate.

1696
01:14:30,166 --> 01:14:33,334
I'd like to have some
time to do that."

1697
01:14:33,336 --> 01:14:36,771
And he said, "No.

1698
01:14:36,773 --> 01:14:40,074
This is all insane.

1699
01:14:40,076 --> 01:14:42,210
I'm getting paid.

1700
01:14:42,212 --> 01:14:44,612
You're getting paid.

1701
01:14:44,614 --> 01:14:48,115
None of the scripts
make sense; So why worry?

1702
01:14:48,117 --> 01:14:50,284
You know, just relax.
Just do what you're doing.

1703
01:14:50,286 --> 01:14:53,054
You're beautiful,
don't worry about it.

1704
01:14:53,056 --> 01:14:55,089
And I said, "But I mean,
how the characters relate.

1705
01:14:55,091 --> 01:14:56,791
Isn't there?"

1706
01:14:56,793 --> 01:14:59,026
"Nah, I didn't
read the script."

1707
01:14:59,028 --> 01:15:02,096
He never would learn his lines,

1708
01:15:02,098 --> 01:15:05,032
and he had Caroline,
his assistant,

1709
01:15:05,034 --> 01:15:10,338
read lines from the trailer
into this little ear piece.

1710
01:15:10,340 --> 01:15:16,110
And I remember one time a
take was going rather smoothly,

1711
01:15:16,112 --> 01:15:18,246
and then he stopped in
the middle of it said,

1712
01:15:18,248 --> 01:15:21,382
"God damn it, Caroline,
I told you not to act."

1713
01:15:21,384 --> 01:15:23,551
Frankenheimer actually
called me at one point.

1714
01:15:23,553 --> 01:15:26,220
Again, it was one of those
"You don't know me,

1715
01:15:26,222 --> 01:15:28,456
but I have to talk to
the head of the company."

1716
01:15:28,458 --> 01:15:30,291
I said, "What is it?"

1717
01:15:30,293 --> 01:15:33,828
He said, "This is
complete insanity here,

1718
01:15:33,830 --> 01:15:36,464
and I have to tell you
I've dealt with some very,

1719
01:15:36,466 --> 01:15:38,267
very difficult actors
in my life,

1720
01:15:38,268 --> 01:15:41,068
but I have never ever
dealt with somebody

1721
01:15:41,070 --> 01:15:43,104
like Marlon Brando.

1722
01:15:43,106 --> 01:15:46,407
We're driving and
he stops the car and says,

1723
01:15:46,409 --> 01:15:48,843
"Let's fuck Bob Shaye."

1724
01:15:48,845 --> 01:15:52,480
And I said... this is
John saying to me.

1725
01:15:52,482 --> 01:15:53,548
"Well, why?

1726
01:15:53,550 --> 01:15:54,515
He seems like
a pretty nice guy,

1727
01:15:54,517 --> 01:15:56,067
why should we do that?"

1728
01:15:56,068 --> 01:15:57,618
He said, "Well, he doesn't
know what he's doing,

1729
01:15:57,620 --> 01:16:01,155
and what I think we should do is
just close down the production,

1730
01:16:01,157 --> 01:16:05,159
and you and I are going
to rewrite the script

1731
01:16:05,161 --> 01:16:07,695
and we'll spend six or eight
weeks rewriting it,

1732
01:16:07,697 --> 01:16:11,465
because I have some ideas
about how Dr. Moreau

1733
01:16:11,467 --> 01:16:13,467
should be wearing
a hat all the time

1734
01:16:13,469 --> 01:16:15,469
and at the end of the movie,
he takes off his hat,

1735
01:16:15,471 --> 01:16:19,106
and he's actually dolphin.
1736
01:16:19,108 --> 01:16:21,642
So then I knew
we were in serious,

1737
01:16:21,644 --> 01:16:23,878
serious bad shape.

1738
01:16:23,880 --> 01:16:28,182
John referred to Brando
as a genius;

1739
01:16:28,184 --> 01:16:30,518
After the movie, he didn't.

1740
01:16:30,520 --> 01:16:33,688
Brando looked at me
and was like, "Oh, okay.

1741
01:16:33,690 --> 01:16:37,358
So you are the
German actor; Right?"

1742
01:16:37,360 --> 01:16:39,627
"Yes, I'm the German actor."

1743
01:16:39,629 --> 01:16:42,163
"I do talk some German.

1744
01:16:50,139 --> 01:16:52,640
I had no idea...
Not German; Right?

1745
01:16:52,642 --> 01:16:56,143
So I said,
"Mr. Brando, I'm sorry.

1746
01:16:56,145 --> 01:16:57,612
I did not understand that."

1747
01:16:57,614 --> 01:16:59,513
He said,
"You are German; Right?"

1748
01:16:59,515 --> 01:17:02,483
"Yes, I'm German,."
1749
01:17:07,490 --> 01:17:11,492
"Ah, 'katze' is cat
and 'dach' is roof;

1750
01:17:11,494 --> 01:17:13,527
So you are talking about

1751
01:17:13,529 --> 01:17:16,230
the cat on the hot tin roof;
Right?"

1752
01:17:16,232 --> 01:17:17,465
"No.

1753
01:17:23,373 --> 01:17:25,473
"Ah, okay. I got it."

1754
01:17:25,475 --> 01:17:27,208
And I have no idea what
he was talking about.

1755
01:17:27,210 --> 01:17:28,643
And then Zinnemann said,

1756
01:17:28,645 --> 01:17:30,378
"I think what he's talking
about is, you know,

1757
01:17:30,380 --> 01:17:33,347
it's better to kill two birds
with a stone, whatever.

1758
01:17:33,349 --> 01:17:34,649
He made something up.

1759
01:17:34,651 --> 01:17:36,217
I don't think know, and
Brando's like "Exactly.

1760
01:17:36,219 --> 01:17:38,519
He talks better
German than you."

1761
01:17:38,521 --> 01:17:39,954
"Mr. Brando,
we need you on the set."
1762
01:17:39,956 --> 01:17:41,489
"I've got to go now."

1763
01:17:41,491 --> 01:17:42,902
Last time I talked to him.

1764
01:17:42,903 --> 01:17:44,314
Never talked to
him again; Right?

1765
01:17:44,315 --> 01:17:45,726
And the next thing I heard
actually is that he actually

1766
01:17:45,728 --> 01:17:49,797
did something very similar
to Nelson de la Rosa.

1767
01:17:49,799 --> 01:17:51,632
"Oh, you're the Spanish actor?"

1768
01:17:51,634 --> 01:17:53,567
"Si, Se�or."

1769
01:17:53,569 --> 01:17:55,736
"So I do speak some Spanish.

1770
01:17:59,709 --> 01:18:00,775
"Si, Se�or."

1771
01:18:00,777 --> 01:18:02,994
I love this guy.

1772
01:18:02,995 --> 01:18:05,212
I want this guy in every scene,
every scene with me,

1773
01:18:05,214 --> 01:18:06,414
every scene."

1774
01:18:06,416 --> 01:18:08,616
Zinnemann, "Sorry, Mr. Brando.

1775
01:18:08,618 --> 01:18:11,819
No, we can't do that
because he is not an actor."

1776
01:18:11,821 --> 01:18:14,689
"I teach him how to act."

1777
01:18:14,691 --> 01:18:17,258
"Okay, you know, but he
doesn't speak English."

1778
01:18:17,260 --> 01:18:19,293
"Ah, just dub him."

1779
01:18:19,295 --> 01:18:22,563
"I mean, but you know,

1780
01:18:22,565 --> 01:18:26,000
Marco Hofschneider is in
every scene with you."

1781
01:18:26,002 --> 01:18:29,503
"Well, I guess we just
have to change the script,

1782
01:18:29,505 --> 01:18:30,571
and that was it.

1783
01:18:30,573 --> 01:18:32,373
He took my part away.

1784
01:18:32,375 --> 01:18:33,774
I mean, Brando gave
him the part, but man,

1785
01:18:33,776 --> 01:18:36,310
you know, I was I thought
I had a problem with Kilmer.

1786
01:18:36,312 --> 01:18:39,246
No, I had a problem with the
smallest man in the world,

1787
01:18:39,248 --> 01:18:41,248
and I lost to him.

1788
01:18:41,250 --> 01:18:42,650
That's something.

1789
01:18:43,586 --> 01:18:46,487
So Nelson was about
17 inches or something.

1790
01:18:46,489 --> 01:18:48,823
I think he stood this high.

1791
01:18:48,825 --> 01:18:54,328
Anyway,
he talked like this as well

1792
01:18:56,466 --> 01:19:00,601
and he would draw you pictures.

1793
01:19:00,603 --> 01:19:03,671
And the pictures were
really kind of childlike.

1794
01:19:03,673 --> 01:19:06,273
He would say
these things to us,

1795
01:19:06,275 --> 01:19:07,775
and his sister would interpret,

1796
01:19:07,777 --> 01:19:10,878
and sometimes his sister
would just shake her head

1797
01:19:10,880 --> 01:19:13,347
and say "I'm not," and I said,

1798
01:19:13,349 --> 01:19:16,050
"You cannot... you're not
here to censor what he says,

1799
01:19:16,052 --> 01:19:18,686
because he was 27
years old or something,

1800
01:19:18,688 --> 01:19:22,623
and I said,
"You just need to interpret

1801
01:19:22,625 --> 01:19:25,459
so that he's part of
whatever's happening,"

1802
01:19:25,461 --> 01:19:26,694
and she said,

1803
01:19:26,696 --> 01:19:29,396
"Nelson wants to know
what you're doing later.

1804
01:19:29,398 --> 01:19:32,366
Do want to come
around to his room?"

1805
01:19:32,368 --> 01:19:35,536
"Okay.
We might just... you can censor.

1806
01:19:35,538 --> 01:19:36,771
That's fine."

1807
01:19:36,773 --> 01:19:37,738
Very popular with the ladies.

1808
01:19:37,740 --> 01:19:39,740
They loved having him
up on their laps.

1809
01:19:39,742 --> 01:19:42,576
It was great fun going out with
him to Cairns in the nightclubs.

1810
01:19:42,578 --> 01:19:44,879
They'd be out queueing up
and looking for ID for people,

1811
01:19:44,881 --> 01:19:47,915
and then they'd see him,
and on he'd go,

1812
01:19:47,917 --> 01:19:51,418
but you'd have to kind of
dance in a circle around him

1813
01:19:51,420 --> 01:19:52,787
so that he didn't get
trodden on.

1814
01:19:52,789 --> 01:19:56,357
We would go out,
and we'd go dancing and stuff,

1815
01:19:56,359 --> 01:20:02,663
and he'd get down but yeah,
he was very sexual.

1816
01:20:02,665 --> 01:20:04,832
But even Nelson started
acting up,

1817
01:20:04,834 --> 01:20:07,368
once Marlon decided
he loved him.

1818
01:20:07,370 --> 01:20:11,539
We were standing in
the elevator at one point,

1819
01:20:11,541 --> 01:20:13,841
and I said, "Hey, Nelson.
How was your day?"

1820
01:20:13,843 --> 01:20:15,643
"Shut up,"

1821
01:20:15,645 --> 01:20:18,679
and he actually hit me
in the nuts.

1822
01:20:18,681 --> 01:20:21,816
And I'm like "Oh, fuck,"
and I can't do anything.

1823
01:20:21,818 --> 01:20:25,352
It's like if somebody would see
you like kicking the smallest

1824
01:20:25,354 --> 01:20:26,954
man in the world around,
you're in trouble.

1825
01:20:26,956 --> 01:20:28,956
He started getting lines
written for him,

1826
01:20:28,958 --> 01:20:34,428
and he started getting the same
costume as Marlon was wearing.

1827
01:20:34,430 --> 01:20:35,663
That was all Marlon,

1828
01:20:35,665 --> 01:20:38,866
saying, "I want to get him
as my sidekick."

1829
01:20:38,868 --> 01:20:43,537
The guy who I had making all
the props, he was a genius.

1830
01:20:43,539 --> 01:20:47,775
He built this beautiful little
grand piano that we sat on top

1831
01:20:47,777 --> 01:20:51,579
of the grand piano
that Brando was playing,

1832
01:20:51,581 --> 01:20:53,848
and they played.

1833
01:20:56,986 --> 01:20:59,453
I think it's one of the
greatest scenes ever.

1834
01:20:59,455 --> 01:21:02,556
And I think that's when the
whole Mini-Me thing developed,

1835
01:21:02,558 --> 01:21:04,892
which has gone into South Park,

1836
01:21:04,894 --> 01:21:07,828
with Marlon
adopting this little guy.

1837
01:21:07,830 --> 01:21:09,230
I said, "You know,

1838
01:21:09,231 --> 01:21:10,631
you really get along with him,"
and he said,

1839
01:21:10,633 --> 01:21:12,933
"Well, I'm telling you
this movie,

1840
01:21:12,935 --> 01:21:18,405
nobody's going to care about
anything except this young man,

1841
01:21:18,407 --> 01:21:22,476
because he's fascinating.
He is just human artwork.

1842
01:21:22,478 --> 01:21:25,579
You know, I will say
that in Richard's defense

1843
01:21:25,581 --> 01:21:30,551
any day it's like, Marlon Brando
and Val Kilmer

1844
01:21:30,553 --> 01:21:34,622
were there to mess with the film
as much as possible.

1845
01:21:34,624 --> 01:21:37,458
Marlon was there with his
legendary contempt

1846
01:21:37,460 --> 01:21:38,926
for what he does for a living,

1847
01:21:38,928 --> 01:21:41,695
but he was a little more
fun about it

1848
01:21:41,697 --> 01:21:43,831
and he was also
respectful to all of us.

1849
01:21:43,833 --> 01:21:47,968
Val was best described
by someone

1850
01:21:47,970 --> 01:21:50,037
as a prep school bully.

1851
01:21:50,039 --> 01:21:52,907
In the makeup room,
he came to me and he's like,

1852
01:21:52,909 --> 01:21:54,708
"You know,
I saw Europa, Europa.

1853
01:21:54,710 --> 01:21:57,511
You're a very good actor.
I like what you did there."

1854
01:21:57,513 --> 01:21:58,979
And I was like,
"Oh, nice. Thank you."

1855
01:21:58,981 --> 01:22:01,715
"Yeah, just to make
one thing clear, yeah.

1856
01:22:01,717 --> 01:22:04,752
If it's ever going to be
between you and me,

1857
01:22:04,754 --> 01:22:07,521
it's going to be me,"

1858
01:22:07,523 --> 01:22:10,457
and then he walked away.

1859
01:22:10,459 --> 01:22:12,893
Val was next to the camera,
and he was sitting in a chair,

1860
01:22:12,895 --> 01:22:14,662
and then he sort of
started to squat down,

1861
01:22:14,664 --> 01:22:17,798
and he was off camera,
and he was doing his lines

1862
01:22:17,800 --> 01:22:21,702
and the focus puller
was right next to him,

1863
01:22:21,704 --> 01:22:23,771
and this guy had... I mean
we were in the jungle

1864
01:22:23,773 --> 01:22:25,806
for whatever, eight weeks

1865
01:22:25,808 --> 01:22:29,076
and his hair, his side burns

1866
01:22:29,078 --> 01:22:31,578
had grown, you know,
he hadn't been trimming;

1867
01:22:31,580 --> 01:22:35,049
So they were scraggly,
and the guy's sitting there,

1868
01:22:35,051 --> 01:22:38,953
and Val was smoking
a cigarette,

1869
01:22:38,955 --> 01:22:45,059
and he starts to burn the
ends of this guy's hair,

1870
01:22:45,061 --> 01:22:46,694
during the take.

1871
01:22:46,696 --> 01:22:49,730
I think that one
of the triggers

1872
01:22:49,732 --> 01:22:55,703
that sort of started the crew to
really not put up with any shit,

1873
01:22:55,705 --> 01:22:56,637
so to speak.

1874
01:22:56,639 --> 01:22:58,272
Marlon, I guess,
did not like Kilmer,

1875
01:22:58,274 --> 01:22:59,940
was not a fan anyway.

1876
01:22:59,942 --> 01:23:04,044
There was one scene where
Marlon and Kilmer

1877
01:23:04,046 --> 01:23:05,679
were going to be together.

1878
01:23:05,681 --> 01:23:07,881
Val sits down,
tries to talk to him.

1879
01:23:07,883 --> 01:23:10,050
He says, "So have you
been out on the reef?"

1880
01:23:10,052 --> 01:23:12,886
And Brando just looks
at him and says.

1881
01:23:12,888 --> 01:23:17,992
"The reef? I own a reef.

1882
01:23:17,994 --> 01:23:20,294
I've got reefs
coming out of ass."

1883
01:23:20,296 --> 01:23:22,730
And that was it. That was
their whole conversation.

1884
01:23:22,732 --> 01:23:24,932
Kilmer didn't like Brando.
Brando didn't like Kilmer.

1885
01:23:24,934 --> 01:23:27,001
They all didn't like
Frankenheimer.

1886
01:23:27,003 --> 01:23:28,535
Frankenheimer didn't like them.

1887
01:23:28,537 --> 01:23:30,070
When Frankenheimer
was on the set one day,
1888
01:23:30,072 --> 01:23:33,707
I remember him saying to
a few of us standing around,

1889
01:23:33,709 --> 01:23:36,977
"If I was to direct a film
called The Life of Val Kilmer,

1890
01:23:36,979 --> 01:23:38,579
I wouldn't have
that prick in it."

1891
01:23:38,581 --> 01:23:41,782
Well, Frankenheimer
was equally powerless

1892
01:23:41,784 --> 01:23:44,318
to wrangle these massive egos.

1893
01:23:44,320 --> 01:23:47,154
I think he started getting
depressed at some points.

1894
01:23:47,156 --> 01:23:48,889
I would go and cheer him up.

1895
01:23:48,891 --> 01:23:50,891
On night shoots,
I would go find him,

1896
01:23:50,893 --> 01:23:53,160
and we would chat a little bit.

1897
01:23:53,162 --> 01:23:55,629
We had a late call.
It was a night shoot.

1898
01:23:55,631 --> 01:23:57,064
We got everybody,
all the beast-people,

1899
01:23:57,066 --> 01:23:58,632
in their makeups.

1900
01:23:58,634 --> 01:24:00,768
We're all truckin' out to set.

1901
01:24:00,770 --> 01:24:04,605
We're out, sitting around,
and we're sitting around,

1902
01:24:04,607 --> 01:24:07,775
and we're sitting around,
and nothing's happening.

1903
01:24:07,777 --> 01:24:10,811
Finally, we corral the AP,
and we're just like,

1904
01:24:10,813 --> 01:24:13,113
"What's happening?
What's going?"

1905
01:24:13,115 --> 01:24:18,919
He's like "Well, Marlon
won't come out of his trailer

1906
01:24:18,921 --> 01:24:21,588
until Val comes out
of his trailer,

1907
01:24:21,590 --> 01:24:24,058
and Val won't come out
of his trailer

1908
01:24:24,060 --> 01:24:26,193
until Marlon
comes out of his trailer,

1909
01:24:26,195 --> 01:24:29,696
and we're like "Oh, you've
got to be kidding me?"

1910
01:24:29,698 --> 01:24:32,099
The actors were disheartened.

1911
01:24:32,101 --> 01:24:34,935
We had three-and-a-half
hour makeups.

1912
01:24:34,937 --> 01:24:36,637
You didn't know if they
were going to be shot,

1913
01:24:36,639 --> 01:24:38,605
but you still had to do
your best work,

1914
01:24:38,607 --> 01:24:41,075
because we couldn't leave any
edges up or anything like that.

1915
01:24:41,077 --> 01:24:43,644
You still had to put
in a major effort,

1916
01:24:43,646 --> 01:24:47,648
and then the actors go out
in the sun and get shot.

1917
01:24:47,650 --> 01:24:48,715
Sometimes they didn't get
shot at all. Did they?

1918
01:24:48,717 --> 01:24:50,617
Most of the time
they didn't get shot.

1919
01:24:50,619 --> 01:24:52,753
For days and days when you're
sitting around in a tent

1920
01:24:52,755 --> 01:24:55,122
waiting for Brando and Kilmer
to decide whether they're

1921
01:24:55,124 --> 01:24:56,824
going to shoot anything
that day.

1922
01:24:56,826 --> 01:24:59,626
Night shoots would finish
with huge alcohols,

1923
01:24:59,628 --> 01:25:01,095
and bottles of spirits.

1924
01:25:01,097 --> 01:25:02,613
At 7:00 in the morning,
1925
01:25:02,614 --> 01:25:04,130
we were retiring back to
someone's room for the morning.

1926
01:25:04,133 --> 01:25:07,668
We were being paid above minimum
to work on a major feature film.

1927
01:25:07,670 --> 01:25:09,837
We were paid very
healthy per diems

1928
01:25:09,839 --> 01:25:11,805
to stay in a very nice hotel.

1929
01:25:11,807 --> 01:25:13,006
And I remember
with my per diems.

1930
01:25:13,008 --> 01:25:15,909
One week, I bought a
huge Scalextric racetrack,

1931
01:25:15,911 --> 01:25:18,946
and other people were buying
equally ridiculous things,

1932
01:25:18,948 --> 01:25:21,982
and every person's room
towards the end

1933
01:25:21,984 --> 01:25:24,718
became like a different
place to go visit

1934
01:25:24,720 --> 01:25:26,186
and a different place
to go and play.

1935
01:25:26,188 --> 01:25:29,790
We'd quite often
would make up films

1936
01:25:29,792 --> 01:25:34,094
or sing songs or
a lot of chess playing.
1937
01:25:34,096 --> 01:25:35,729
There was lot of sex going on

1938
01:25:35,731 --> 01:25:36,997
between people who
shouldn't be having sex.

1939
01:25:36,999 --> 01:25:38,799
There was a lot of drugs around.

1940
01:25:38,801 --> 01:25:41,135
Yeah, I smoked a lot of pot.

1941
01:25:41,137 --> 01:25:43,437
It was a party most of
the time, you know,

1942
01:25:43,439 --> 01:25:45,038
interrupted to go out,

1943
01:25:45,040 --> 01:25:46,874
put costumes on
and do some madness

1944
01:25:46,876 --> 01:25:49,076
that wasn't scripted,
and as it went on,

1945
01:25:49,078 --> 01:25:51,778
it descended into more
and more kind of madness.

1946
01:25:51,780 --> 01:25:53,013
I think that we actually forgot

1947
01:25:53,015 --> 01:25:55,816
that we had
normal lives elsewhere.

1948
01:25:55,818 --> 01:26:00,220
This became our normality.

1949
01:26:16,472 --> 01:26:20,107
At one time I had ten extras.
1950
01:26:20,109 --> 01:26:23,177
As soon as John arrived,
and his comment,

1951
01:26:23,179 --> 01:26:26,914
I think, was "I can't make
this picture with ten extras.

1952
01:26:26,916 --> 01:26:28,315
I want a hundred."

1953
01:26:28,317 --> 01:26:31,051
And suddenly it was like
"Oh my god."

1954
01:26:31,053 --> 01:26:34,855
They advertised
for feral's and hippies

1955
01:26:34,857 --> 01:26:36,323
and people with amputations

1956
01:26:36,325 --> 01:26:39,026
and anything they could
work with to make like,

1957
01:26:39,028 --> 01:26:40,861
a bunch of monsters.

1958
01:26:40,863 --> 01:26:42,829
They were the hippies.
They had dropped out.

1959
01:26:42,831 --> 01:26:44,515
They were living on the dole.

1960
01:26:44,516 --> 01:26:46,200
They were living in the woods,
just sleeping in the woods.

1961
01:26:46,202 --> 01:26:48,202
They were all sleeping
with each other,

1962
01:26:48,204 --> 01:26:50,070
dreadlocks, unwashed,
1963
01:26:50,072 --> 01:26:52,139
tattoos, piercings everywhere.

1964
01:26:52,141 --> 01:26:54,241
They were
The Island of Dr. Moreau.

1965
01:26:54,243 --> 01:26:57,344
So there'd be lots of guitars.

1966
01:26:57,346 --> 01:26:59,947
There'd be fire eaters
and people on stilts

1967
01:26:59,949 --> 01:27:04,117
and people spinning discs,
and they were all on acid.

1968
01:27:04,119 --> 01:27:06,353
It was the wildest thing
I'd ever seen.

1969
01:27:06,355 --> 01:27:09,323
It was like we had our own
little freak show circus

1970
01:27:09,325 --> 01:27:11,325
at base camp all the time.

1971
01:27:11,327 --> 01:27:12,893
It was great.

1972
01:27:20,369 --> 01:27:22,836
I got back in.
I was working as an extra now

1973
01:27:22,838 --> 01:27:25,939
so I was working with
this friend of mine, Dano.

1974
01:27:25,941 --> 01:27:27,841
He was part of the
household we were living in,

1975
01:27:27,843 --> 01:27:32,246
and basically, Dano, he would
just come and go from Cairns

1976
01:27:32,248 --> 01:27:35,115
and sort of spend his times
about and making didgeridoos.

1977
01:27:35,117 --> 01:27:37,351
He was back from
this fruit farm,

1978
01:27:37,353 --> 01:27:39,786
this organic fruit farm,
out in the tablelands.

1979
01:27:39,788 --> 01:27:41,121
He just sort of said,
"Oh, yeah.

1980
01:27:41,123 --> 01:27:43,123
This guy out there,
this crazy guy

1981
01:27:43,125 --> 01:27:47,828
that's just raving about how
Val Kilmer's ruined his life,

1982
01:27:47,830 --> 01:27:50,230
and he's just out there
smoking loads of pot",

1983
01:27:50,232 --> 01:27:53,233
and I was going, "what",
and all of a sudden,

1984
01:27:53,235 --> 01:27:55,068
I was listening to what
he was saying and going,

1985
01:27:55,070 --> 01:27:56,270
"just say that again",
and I saying,

1986
01:27:56,272 --> 01:27:57,938
"Oh, fuck,
he's talking about Richard."

1987
01:27:57,940 --> 01:27:59,139
During that time,
I ended up staying

1988
01:27:59,141 --> 01:28:01,241
on a huge chunk of rainforest

1989
01:28:01,243 --> 01:28:03,277
owned by this farmer who
had lost the use of his legs,

1990
01:28:03,279 --> 01:28:06,280
a place called the Mary River,
which was a very nice spot,

1991
01:28:06,282 --> 01:28:08,348
no crocodiles, Halcyon weather,

1992
01:28:08,350 --> 01:28:12,252
coconuts, cassava, yam,
and fish in the river.

1993
01:28:12,254 --> 01:28:14,588
So, yeah,
I got left in isolation.

1994
01:28:14,590 --> 01:28:18,258
And then one night saw a light
in the forest further down river

1995
01:28:18,260 --> 01:28:21,028
and realized that there
were other people down there,

1996
01:28:21,030 --> 01:28:22,963
camping down there.

1997
01:28:22,964 --> 01:28:24,897
And the next morning
I walked down the river,

1998
01:28:24,900 --> 01:28:27,301
and discovered that
they were extras from.

1999
01:28:27,303 --> 01:28:28,969
The Island of Dr. Moreau.
2000
01:28:28,971 --> 01:28:30,604
I was like, "Dude,
we've got to go and get him,

2001
01:28:30,606 --> 01:28:32,072
because everyone
is looking for him."

2002
01:28:32,074 --> 01:28:33,173
We walk up this river.

2003
01:28:33,175 --> 01:28:34,892
There is a big cast-iron bathtub

2004
01:28:34,893 --> 01:28:36,610
sort of by the side of the river
with a fire underneath it;

2005
01:28:36,612 --> 01:28:39,613
So someone was heating up
some water to have a bath,

2006
01:28:39,615 --> 01:28:41,181
and it's Richard.

2007
01:28:41,183 --> 01:28:43,350
Dano and I just kind of
walked up said,

2008
01:28:43,352 --> 01:28:46,219
"Dude, what are you doing?"
and "Come with us."

2009
01:28:46,221 --> 01:28:47,421
I explained that if I did that,

2010
01:28:47,423 --> 01:28:49,306
I would be breaking contract

2011
01:28:49,307 --> 01:28:51,190
and that would mean that
New Line could technically

2012
01:28:51,193 --> 01:28:52,192
refuse to pay me a dime,
2013
01:28:52,194 --> 01:28:54,227
and I was currently in
negotiation with them,

2014
01:28:54,229 --> 01:28:55,862
and it could be a bad idea,

2015
01:28:55,864 --> 01:28:57,964
but I did want to see
what was going on.

2016
01:28:57,966 --> 01:29:00,017
I was curious.

2017
01:29:00,018 --> 01:29:02,069
So he basically jumped in
the car and back to Cairns.

2018
01:29:02,071 --> 01:29:05,005
No one from the house let the
secret out that he was there,

2019
01:29:05,007 --> 01:29:06,473
that was all pretty tight,

2020
01:29:06,475 --> 01:29:10,077
because we knew we were
sitting on something sort of

2021
01:29:10,079 --> 01:29:12,012
like, we knew something was
going to happen with Richard,

2022
01:29:12,014 --> 01:29:15,215
just being who he is
and the situation he was in.

2023
01:29:15,217 --> 01:29:18,018
It was like, "Okay, let's just
sit back and watch

2024
01:29:18,020 --> 01:29:19,953
what this maniac
is going to do."

2025
01:29:19,955 --> 01:29:24,257
I'd come home with a script
with the new color pages in it

2026
01:29:24,259 --> 01:29:28,962
and amendments, and Richard
was there waiting for me

2027
01:29:28,964 --> 01:29:30,130
with a massive joint

2028
01:29:30,132 --> 01:29:33,266
and sort of ripped
into the damage

2029
01:29:33,268 --> 01:29:35,302
they'd done to his script,
you know.

2030
01:29:35,304 --> 01:29:37,371
And then he throws
a wobbly to me.

2031
01:29:37,373 --> 01:29:39,373
He says to me "Dave," he says,

2032
01:29:39,375 --> 01:29:41,108
"I want to get onto the set."

2033
01:29:41,110 --> 01:29:42,509
And I was going.

2034
01:29:42,511 --> 01:29:45,045
"And how do you envision that,
Richard?"

2035
01:29:45,047 --> 01:29:47,013
He says to me,

2036
01:29:47,015 --> 01:29:53,086
"Well, I want you to teach me
how to walk in a fashion

2037
01:29:53,088 --> 01:29:55,722
so that I'm just
one of the extras."
2038
01:29:57,459 --> 01:30:01,228
I ended up borrowing
Lewis's dog-man outfit,

2039
01:30:01,230 --> 01:30:03,697
which is a some kind
of Stan Winston original

2040
01:30:03,699 --> 01:30:06,700
now 20 years on fallen prey to

2041
01:30:06,702 --> 01:30:09,536
the leprosy that afflicts
foam latex.

2042
01:30:09,538 --> 01:30:12,172
But yeah, it was a full head,
dog man-mask,

2043
01:30:12,174 --> 01:30:16,076
and it came with a
chilaba and claws.

2044
01:30:16,078 --> 01:30:19,012
He got changed in the van
so that no one saw him,

2045
01:30:19,014 --> 01:30:21,114
and we all sort of got
out with our costumes on,

2046
01:30:21,116 --> 01:30:24,084
these latex beast masks
and everything.

2047
01:30:24,086 --> 01:30:26,286
And then we sort of like...
maybe we just sat there and

2048
01:30:26,288 --> 01:30:29,523
smoked like a big fat joint
for good luck

2049
01:30:29,525 --> 01:30:35,262
and away he went and sort
of merged into the people.
2050
01:30:35,264 --> 01:30:38,131
It got so hot
when we were working.

2051
01:30:38,133 --> 01:30:40,200
So I was trying to give them
breaks as often as I could,

2052
01:30:40,202 --> 01:30:42,436
and they would pull the head
back and drink some water.

2053
01:30:42,438 --> 01:30:44,237
And there was this guy,
one of them,

2054
01:30:44,239 --> 01:30:46,223
that would never do it.

2055
01:30:46,224 --> 01:30:48,208
I kept watching him, and he
would never take his head off,

2056
01:30:48,210 --> 01:30:49,509
and I thought
"That guy's nuts."

2057
01:30:49,511 --> 01:30:52,746
I started to think,
"Well, he's going to just die."

2058
01:30:52,748 --> 01:30:55,415
There were 300 extras
in this tent,

2059
01:30:55,417 --> 01:30:58,218
but Richard was the only one
that wasn't taking his mask off.

2060
01:30:58,220 --> 01:30:59,453
He was the bull dog-man,

2061
01:30:59,455 --> 01:31:01,455
and he did this great job
of jumping around

2062
01:31:01,457 --> 01:31:04,324
and doing this weird stuff,
and I looked to him and said,

2063
01:31:04,326 --> 01:31:06,259
"That was really great,"
and he goes "Oh, thank you."

2064
01:31:06,261 --> 01:31:09,029
"I really enjoyed watching you,
it was a nice job."

2065
01:31:09,031 --> 01:31:11,031
and he said, "Oh, thank you."

2066
01:31:11,033 --> 01:31:13,400
and he had a completely
different accent

2067
01:31:13,402 --> 01:31:15,235
than anybody else.

2068
01:31:15,237 --> 01:31:17,037
And then I started to wonder.

2069
01:31:17,039 --> 01:31:19,172
And I think that once
that rumor started,

2070
01:31:19,174 --> 01:31:22,075
that Richard Stanley was
in the background that,

2071
01:31:22,077 --> 01:31:24,244
I think, that just sort of
grew into stories

2072
01:31:24,246 --> 01:31:26,213
about Richard Stanley
and how he wanted

2073
01:31:26,215 --> 01:31:27,247
to sabotage the shoot.

2074
01:31:27,249 --> 01:31:31,051
I did hear about it.
2075
01:31:31,053 --> 01:31:34,588
Look, maybe, I don't know.

2076
01:31:34,590 --> 01:31:36,523
It was the tropics, and
maybe he went a bit tropo.

2077
01:31:36,525 --> 01:31:38,091
They'd been shitting
themselves leading up to that

2078
01:31:38,093 --> 01:31:40,093
thinking Richard's
out there somewhere,

2079
01:31:40,095 --> 01:31:44,264
and they imagined him doing some
sort of sabotage sort of thing.

2080
01:31:44,266 --> 01:31:46,433
But when it came to it,
there was no...

2081
01:31:46,435 --> 01:31:49,302
You know, we just drove
into set with him in the car.

2082
01:31:49,304 --> 01:31:51,538
There was no security really.

2083
01:31:51,540 --> 01:31:55,075
There were a whole lot
of extras on set this night,

2084
01:31:55,077 --> 01:31:58,245
and it was where we
were meant to be lighting.

2085
01:31:58,247 --> 01:32:00,380
Dr. Moreau's character
on the pyre.

2086
01:32:00,382 --> 01:32:03,350
Richard was on set.

2087
01:32:03,352 --> 01:32:04,818
He was standing at the
back of the set,

2088
01:32:04,820 --> 01:32:08,121
next to a load of cans
that said "gasoline".

2089
01:32:08,123 --> 01:32:09,656
So he was, in effect,
standing behind

2090
01:32:09,658 --> 01:32:12,325
this huge arsenal of petrol.

2091
01:32:12,327 --> 01:32:15,128
With a monster mask,
the first thing somebody does,

2092
01:32:15,130 --> 01:32:16,396
probably one of the prop guys.

2093
01:32:16,398 --> 01:32:18,832
"Okay. Hey, you over there.
Here's a torch.

2094
01:32:18,834 --> 01:32:20,400
You go over there."

2095
01:32:20,402 --> 01:32:21,601
As a beast person on set,

2096
01:32:21,603 --> 01:32:24,838
I was constantly there
and being directed to

2097
01:32:24,840 --> 01:32:27,407
take up a hatchet
and smash the furniture

2098
01:32:27,409 --> 01:32:29,442
or to douse the place
in gasoline,

2099
01:32:29,444 --> 01:32:31,177
much of what I was doing
as a beast person
2100
01:32:31,179 --> 01:32:33,413
was capering up and down
and being destructive

2101
01:32:33,415 --> 01:32:35,849
and vindictive in
the background,

2102
01:32:35,851 --> 01:32:37,851
but as it was part of
the movie, it was okay.

2103
01:32:37,853 --> 01:32:39,452
See, if he really was tropo,

2104
01:32:39,454 --> 01:32:42,856
he could have burned
the whole set down,

2105
01:32:42,858 --> 01:32:44,157
then and there.

2106
01:32:44,159 --> 01:32:47,294
That would have been
crazy cool.

2107
01:32:52,200 --> 01:32:54,434
And I had the privileged
position of being able to see

2108
01:32:54,436 --> 01:32:55,869
what was going on
but at the same time

2109
01:32:55,871 --> 01:32:57,470
the very nightmarish position

2110
01:32:57,472 --> 01:33:00,440
of discovering that I was now
one of the beast people

2111
01:33:00,442 --> 01:33:02,676
on The Island of Dr. Moreau,

2112
01:33:02,678 --> 01:33:07,414
that I had completed a full arc
from creative figure to dog.

2113
01:33:12,454 --> 01:33:15,322
Fortunately,
John Frankenheimer was

2114
01:33:15,324 --> 01:33:19,426
unbelievably professional,
a real trooper kind of guy.

2115
01:33:19,428 --> 01:33:21,695
He really understood
what the issues were

2116
01:33:21,697 --> 01:33:26,466
and did wrangle Marlo

2117
01:33:26,468 --> 01:33:32,172
and all these other maniacs
pretty well,

2118
01:33:32,174 --> 01:33:34,054
and at least we
came out with a film.

2119
01:33:35,177 --> 01:33:36,242
We lost money on the film.

2120
01:33:36,244 --> 01:33:37,644
I don't recall how much,

2121
01:33:37,646 --> 01:33:40,347
but not as much as
we would have lost

2122
01:33:40,349 --> 01:33:42,182
if we didn't have a film at all.

2123
01:33:42,184 --> 01:33:45,352
My hopes were really high,
you know,

2124
01:33:45,354 --> 01:33:47,721
major picture, great role.

2125
01:33:47,723 --> 01:33:54,361
I really thought this is cool.
It's going to be great.

2126
01:33:54,363 --> 01:33:57,497
And I was very disappointed
by all the things that happened.

2127
01:33:57,499 --> 01:34:02,502
I mean, basically,
they gave me a great part.

2128
01:34:02,504 --> 01:34:07,474
I had a director that liked me
and that respected me to,

2129
01:34:07,476 --> 01:34:12,512
you know, to basically three
or four scenes in the movie.

2130
01:34:14,516 --> 01:34:17,550
What people choose to do
in the name of politics,

2131
01:34:17,552 --> 01:34:20,687
which is basically
in the name of money,

2132
01:34:20,689 --> 01:34:23,724
there are no morals.

2133
01:34:23,725 --> 01:34:26,760
There are no...
There's no integrity at all.

2134
01:34:26,762 --> 01:34:30,263
They'd sell their child
down the river for money.

2135
01:34:30,265 --> 01:34:32,532
I'm damn curious to...

2136
01:34:32,534 --> 01:34:35,568
I wish we could go back in time
or have an alternate universe

2137
01:34:35,570 --> 01:34:37,671
where Richard
gets to direct his movie.

2138
01:34:37,673 --> 01:34:41,307
I think if Richard had made
the film for $8 million

2139
01:34:41,309 --> 01:34:47,280
with good actors and people
that were under his direction,

2140
01:34:47,282 --> 01:34:49,416
he's a good director.

2141
01:34:49,418 --> 01:34:51,551
I think he's a very bright guy.

2142
01:34:51,553 --> 01:34:52,552
He had a lot of good ideas.

2143
01:34:52,554 --> 01:34:56,456
I don't think that he
could handle a big...

2144
01:34:56,458 --> 01:34:58,358
At that point, a big crew.

2145
01:34:58,360 --> 01:35:00,493
I'm sure there is a place
for Richard Stanley

2146
01:35:00,495 --> 01:35:05,699
with a terrific
independent company,

2147
01:35:05,701 --> 01:35:09,302
backed by people who
really believed in him.

2148
01:35:09,304 --> 01:35:12,372
Basically, after Moreau,
he vanished in the wilderness,

2149
01:35:12,374 --> 01:35:15,275
and I didn't know
what became of him.

2150
01:35:15,277 --> 01:35:16,810
I never heard from him again.

2151
01:35:16,812 --> 01:35:19,779
I often wondered what
happened to Richard Stanley.

2152
01:35:25,487 --> 01:35:27,587
The perception of me in
Hollywood at that point in time

2153
01:35:27,589 --> 01:35:29,289
was I no longer existed.

2154
01:35:29,291 --> 01:35:31,558
My agent never returned
any of my phone calls

2155
01:35:31,560 --> 01:35:33,426
from the time the main
decision was made

2156
01:35:33,428 --> 01:35:34,828
to remove me from the project.

2157
01:35:34,830 --> 01:35:37,664
You know, when you get
really, really hurt like that,

2158
01:35:37,666 --> 01:35:41,801
you're so gun shy
about ever putting yourself

2159
01:35:41,803 --> 01:35:45,371
in that kind of a
position again.

2160
01:35:45,373 --> 01:35:47,807
I saw him in London
a couple of years later,

2161
01:35:47,809 --> 01:35:49,426
and I remember him saying,

2162
01:35:49,427 --> 01:35:51,044
"I don't know if I'll ever make
another movie again.
2163
01:35:51,046 --> 01:35:52,645
I don't think I will.

2164
01:35:52,647 --> 01:35:55,482
I can't even bear the idea
of being behind the camera.

2165
01:35:55,484 --> 01:35:58,418
I just... it makes
me want to scream."

2166
01:35:58,420 --> 01:35:59,619
Marlon Brando told me

2167
01:35:59,621 --> 01:36:03,056
that everyone in the
industry were hyenas.

2168
01:36:03,058 --> 01:36:05,391
That I should try to steer
clear of them

2169
01:36:05,393 --> 01:36:07,427
and try to make a better
life for myself.

2170
01:36:12,868 --> 01:36:15,735
Like the lead character
in Dr. Moreau,

2171
01:36:15,737 --> 01:36:19,773
I've found myself
increasingly unable to fit in

2172
01:36:19,775 --> 01:36:23,409
with the so-called real world,

2173
01:36:23,411 --> 01:36:26,846
and I find myself much
happier away from people

2174
01:36:26,848 --> 01:36:28,915
and up the mountain
where I am now.

2175
01:36:28,917 --> 01:36:32,552
I eventually moved to Monts�gur
in the French Pyrenees,

2176
01:36:32,554 --> 01:36:36,389
the scene of the last stand
of the Cathars in 1244,

2177
01:36:36,391 --> 01:36:39,659
who were a bunch of pagans
and heretics

2178
01:36:39,661 --> 01:36:42,395
who were basically slaughtered
by the outside world.

2179
01:36:42,397 --> 01:36:44,664
The various nation-states,
basically formed up

2180
01:36:44,666 --> 01:36:47,834
and decided to crush the weird
ones that didn't really fit in.

2181
01:36:47,836 --> 01:36:50,353
To a large extent,

2182
01:36:50,354 --> 01:36:52,871
we're still able to perform
our strange experiments.

2183
01:36:52,874 --> 01:36:54,741
We're still able to shoot.

2184
01:36:54,743 --> 01:36:56,442
I'd like to continue,

2185
01:36:56,444 --> 01:36:58,444
and maybe make something
a little bit longer.

2186
01:36:58,446 --> 01:37:00,880
Maybe next time around,
I won't feature dog-men.

2187
01:37:00,882 --> 01:37:03,683
Maybe I won't have a whole
lost civilization

2188
01:37:03,685 --> 01:37:06,820
or try to completely
monkey wrench

2189
01:37:06,822 --> 01:37:10,490
21st century culture and
technology in the same way,

2190
01:37:10,492 --> 01:37:12,458
maybe something
a little bit more modest

2191
01:37:12,460 --> 01:37:17,897
but still red and tooth and claw
would seem in order.

2192
01:37:32,547 --> 01:37:35,448
You know,
it's part of my youth.

2193
01:37:35,450 --> 01:37:36,983
That's how I see it,

2194
01:37:36,984 --> 01:37:38,517
that it was like,
a crazy chapter

2195
01:37:38,520 --> 01:37:42,655
that became some lunatic movie

2196
01:37:42,657 --> 01:37:46,593
that's known as one of
the worst films ever made.

2197
01:37:46,595 --> 01:37:51,865
Yeah, that's not a
source of pride for me.

2198
01:37:51,867 --> 01:37:55,635
I'm proud to be involved in
one of the worst movies ever.

2199
01:37:55,637 --> 01:37:58,605
It's awesome to see how much
effort goes into making
2200
01:37:58,607 --> 01:38:02,475
an absolute stinker, you know.

2201
01:38:02,477 --> 01:38:03,676
Rock n' roll.