RIP Val Kilmer

quote:

---

Was it the throat cancer?

---

quote:

---

1996's The Island of Dr. Moreau is one of the most infamously troubled productions in Hollywood history, and legendary filmmaker John Frankenheimer was hired last-minute after original director Richard Stanley was fired for failing to keep the production on track.

The director's primary motivation for signing on - aside from money, of course - was to work with Marlon Brando, though in order to do so, he had to suffer through a continually tense working relationship with the notoriously difficult Val Kilmer.

Kilmer, who had just learned that his wife had filed for divorce, was a routinely volatile presence during the six-month shoot, to the extent that Frankenheimer famously told him, "Your problem is you confuse the size of your paycheck with the size of your talent."

Furthermore, when Kilmer wrapped shooting, the director reportedly implored his crew, "Now get that bastard off my set", and vowed never to be associated with the actor again. We sure hope Brando was worth it, John.

---

quote:

---

Everyone will cover the classics but I’d add Wonderland, The Ghost and the Darkness and The Saint as low key bangers in a great filmography.

---