History Trivia / TheIslandOfDrMoreau1996

* WagTheDirector: Both Creator/MarlonBrando and Creator/ValKilmer did this. And it was worse before Creator/JohnFrankenheimer joined the production!
** Brando at one point conceived of an entire alternate backstory and ending for Moreau -- he would never be seen without a hat of some kind, until it would be knocked off during the climax and reveal he himself was a human-dolphin hybrid with a blowhole. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Stanley said no.

** [[http://www.everythingisundercontrol.org/nagtloper/write/moreauscript.php/ Richard Stanley's original version]], which featured a decidedly more [[AdaptationalVillainy ruthless Moreau]], a greater degree of [[BloodierAndGorier grisly]] and [[HotterAndSexier sexual content]], and Edward's failed attempts to create order after the Beast Folk's rebellion as a direct parallel to the [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything UN's peacekeeping attempts]] in Bosnia/Serbia.

* AwesomeDearBoy: Creator/RonPerlman, Creator/ValKilmer and Creator/DavidThewlis signed due to the prospect of working with Creator/MarlonBrando (Thewlis also had the motivations of a trip to Australia and a nice paycheck).

** Creator/FairuzaBalk had grown so close to Creator/RichardStanley during pre-production that when Stanley was fired, Balk attempted to leave the production; she only continued out of contractual obligation.

* CreatorKiller: Even though the end product was essentially not his, the film was a huge blow to Creator/RichardStanley's directing career. After this, he only directed documentaries, only returning to narrative filmmaking 25 years later, when he directed an adaptation of Creator/HPLovecraft's ''Film/{{Color Out of Space|2020}}''.

** For his part, Kilmer denied having a feud with Brando. He shared some of the behind-the-scenes footage of friendly moments he had with Brando as well as him and Creator/DavidThewlis complaining about Frankenheimer's work ethic in the documentary ''Val''. In his memoir ''I'm Your Huckleberry'', Kilmer said:

-->John Frankenheimer went on to blame me publicly for ruining the movie. I always thought it an odd thing to try to do, blame me for his failure to make an entertaining film, because my character dies halfway through, and the last half of the film sucks as bad as the first.

* ThrowItIn: Since Creator/JohnFrankenheimer was a total PromotedFanboy of Creator/MarlonBrando, whatever Brando wanted, Brando got.
** One scene has Moreau wearing an ice bucket on his head, because Brando showed up with it and no one had the guts to ask him to take it off.

** Stanley was eventually fired on the third day of shooting, and he did not take it well, destroying his notes, storyboards, and production art and then disappearing to a remote farm in the jungle, where he lived for two months. Co-star Creator/FairuzaBalk, upon learning of Stanley's firing, walked off the set in outrage and tried to escape the shoot with the help of one of the crew, only relenting upon being informed that, if she dropped out, her career would likely be ruined. Stanley would later be discovered by a number of crew members still loyal to him, and he was smuggled back to the set in disguise as an extra wearing a rubber dog mask (security had been tightened in case he tried to sabotage the film). Nobody was the wiser.

** Screenwriter Ron Hutchinson said that "everybody behaved monstrously to each other" and that Brando had "poisonous" relations with most actors.

* ActorInspiredElement: It was Creator/MarlonBrando's idea for Doctor Moreau's chair to have peacock feathers on it. The art director managed to get them from a peacock at a nearby farm. He also suggested that Doctor Moreau resemble The Pope, as he felt that he was blaspheming against nature.

** Creator/ValKilmer and Creator/MarlonBrando made things difficult to the point the original director got fired, and Creator/JohnFrankenheimer was hired partially because he had a history of controlling inflated egos. Frankenheimer was reported to have shouted "Cut! Now get that bastard off my set!" once Kilmer had no more scenes left, and stated after release that "There are two things I will never do in my life. I will never climb Mount Everest, and I will never work with Val Kilmer again. There isn't enough money in the world." Even Brando got fed up with Kilmer, telling him, "You're confusing your talent with the size of your paycheck." There was one reported incident where the actors playing Moreau's creations, having spent hours in makeup, were kept waiting because Brando and Kilmer refused to come out of their trailers until the other did.

** The film finally entered theaters after a harrowing six-month shoot, whereupon it was met with a scathing reception and bombed at the box office.

** Creator/BruceWillis was originally cast as Edward Douglas, but had to drop out due to the proceedings for his divorce from Creator/DemiMoore preventing him from leaving the USA. Willis was replaced by Creator/ValKilmer -- who immediately started behaving like a prima donna, demanding a 40% cut in the days he was required onset and the construction of a treehouse to "get into character", having Marco Hofschneider’s role heavily cut down to avoid being outshined, and frequently butting heads with Stanley to the point that all of his footage from the first few days of filming was deemed unusable. As such, he was recast in the smaller part of Dr. Montgomery so as to limit the amount of damage he could do; the part of Douglas was recast with Rob Morrow, but he only lasted two days before the sheer hostility on set led him to drop out, causing him to be replaced in turn with David Thewlis. (Kilmer attributes his obnoxious behavior to learning, upon the start of filming, that his own wife was suing him for divorce.)

* ContractualObligationProject: Creator/ValKilmer wanted to drop out of the film in order to deal with his ongoing divorce, but he was contractually obliged to stay on.

** Creator/ValKilmer and Creator/MarlonBrando made things difficult to the point the original director got fired, and Creator/JohnFrankenheimer was hired partially because he had a history of controlling inflated egos. Frankenheimer was reported to have shouted "Cut! Now get that bastard off my set!" once Kilmer had no more scenes left, and stated after release that "There are two things I will never do in my life. I will never climb Mount Everest, and I will never work with Val Kilmer again. There isn't enough money in the world." Even Brando got fed up with Kilmer, telling him, "You're confusing your talent with the size of your paycheck". There was one reported incident where the actors playing Moreau's creations, having spent hours in makeup, were kept waiting because Brando and Kilmer refused to come out of their trailers until the other did.

* OldShame: Creator/DavidThewlis had such a horrible time doing this he skipped the premiere and vowed to never watch the movie. Creator/FairuzaBalk had grown close to Creator/RichardStanley during the pre-production. When Stanley was fired, Balk attempted to leave the production; she only continued out of contractual obligation and is not proud of the film.

* CastTheRunnerUp: Creator/ValKilmer was originally cast in the lead role. When he found out he was getting a divorce, he tried to get his part reduced by 40%. That was impossible, so he took the role of Montgomery.

* CreatorKiller: Even though the end product was essentially not his, the film was a huge blow to Creator/RichardStanley's directing career. After this, he only directed documentaries, only returning to narrative filmmaking 25 years later, when he directed an adaptation of Creator/HPLovecraft's ''[[Film/ColorOutOfSpace2020 Color Out Of Space]]''.

* OldShame: Creator/DavidThewlis had such a horrible time doing this he skipped the premiere and vowed to never watch the movie. Fairuza Balk had grown close to Richard Stanley during the pre-production. When Stanley was fired, Balk attempted to leave the production; she only continued out of contractual obligation and is not proud of the film.

* CreatorKiller: Even though the end product was essentially not his, the film was a huge blow to Richard Stanley's directing career. After this, he only directed documentaries, only returning to narrative filmmaking 25 years later, when he directed an adaptation of Creator/HPLovecraft's ''[[Film/ColorOutOfSpace2020 Color Out Of Space]]''.

** To start with, director Richard Stanley feared that he might be kicked off the production and replaced with Creator/RomanPolanski before a single frame was even shot, as Creator/NewLineCinema had little faith in his ability to helm a big-budget blockbuster, so he enlisted a British warlock to carry out a blood magic ritual to ensure his job security and get star Creator/MarlonBrando (who played Dr. Moreau and enthusiastically endorsed Stanley's vision for the film) to vouch for him at meetings. One could say that [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor it worked]], as he kept his job, but things started going wrong almost from the moment production started up near Cairns, Queensland. The boat bringing the exotic animals to the set got caught in a hurricane, and Stanley stayed on the ship to ensure the animals' safety -- which meant that he got peed on by a restless puma.

** Creator/JohnFrankenheimer took over after Stanley's firing, using New Line's desperation as leverage to secure a massive paycheck and a three-picture deal. He faced Kilmer and Brando on the same coin: [[http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,292752_3,00.html apparently]], he once replied to Kilmer with "I don't give a fuck. Get off my set!" And on another occasion, "Even if I was making a movie titled 'The Life of Val Kilmer', I wouldn't want that prick in it." (He had nothing but bad things to say about his experience directing Kilmer, and vowed to never work with him again.) Stanley's script was also discarded, and the new one was being rewritten on a daily basis. Frankenheimer's arrival was by all accounts a case of TyrantTakesTheHelm -- he was a very "old-fashioned" director whose dictatorial control of the production led to constant clashes with the cast, the crew, and the studio. What's especially ironic, is that New Line [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor chose him specifically]] ''because'' he had a reputation for being a stubborn jackass who could dish out as much abuse to his prima-donna actors as they gave him. What they didn't count on was him being double-teamed by both Brando and Kilmer, and when he wasn't dealing with fending off their antics, he continued to act shitty to the rest of the cast and crew who ''didn't'' deserve it.

** Creator/JohnFrankenheimer took over after Stanley's firing, using New Line's desperation as leverage to secure a massive paycheck and a three-picture deal. He faced Kilmer and Brando on the same coin: [[http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,292752_3,00.html apparently]], he once replied to Kilmer with "I don't give a fuck. Get off my set!" And on another occasion, "Even if I was making a movie titled 'The Life of Val Kilmer', I wouldn't want that prick in it." (He had nothing but bad things to say about his experience directing Kilmer, and vowed to never work with him again.) Stanley's script was also discarded, and the new one was being rewritten on a daily basis. Frankenheimer's arrival was by all accounts a case of TyrantTakesTheHelm -- he was a very "old-fashioned" director whose dictatorial control of the production led to constant clashes with the cast, the crew, and the studio. What's especially ironic, is that New Line chose him specifically ''because'' he had a reputation for being a stubborn jackass who could dish out as much abuse to his prima-donna actors as they gave him. What they didn't count on was him being double-teamed by both Brando and Kilmer, and when he wasn't dealing with fending off their antics, he continued to act shitty to the rest of the cast and crew who ''didn't'' deserve it.

** Creator/BruceWillis was originally cast as Edward Douglas, but had to drop out due to the proceedings for his divorce from Creator/DemiMoore preventing him from leaving the USA. Willis was replaced by Creator/ValKilmer -- who immediately started behaving like a prima donna, demanding a 40% cut in the days he was required on set and the construction of a treehouse to "get into character", having Marco Hofschneider’s role heavily cut down to avoid being outshined, and frequently butting heads with Stanley to the point that all of his footage from the first few days of filming was deemed unusable. As such, he was recast in the smaller part of Dr. Montgomery so as to limit the amount of damage he could do; the part of Douglas was recast with Rob Morrow, but he only lasted two days before the sheer hostility on set led him to drop out, causing him to be replaced in turn with David Thewlis. (Kilmer attributes his obnoxious behavior to learning, upon the start of filming, that his own wife was suing him for divorce.)

** Creator/JohnFrankenheimer took over after Stanley's firing, using New Line's desperation as leverage to secure a massive paycheck and a three-picture deal. He faced Kilmer and Brando on the same coin: [[http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,292752_3,00.html apparently]], he once replied to Kilmer with "I don't give a fuck. Get off my set!" And on another occasion, "Even if I was making a movie titled 'The Life of Val Kilmer', I wouldn't want that prick in it." (He had nothing but bad things to say about his experience directing Kilmer, and vowed to never work with him again.) Stanley's script was also discarded, and the new one was being rewritten on a daily basis. Frankenheimer's arrival was by all accounts a case of TyrantTakesTheHelm -- he was a very "old-fashioned" director whose dictatorial control of the production led to constant clashes with the cast, the crew, and the studio.

** Nelson de la Rosa was instantly loved by Marlon Brando, and essentially replaced David Thewlis as Moreau's assistant. de la Rosa lorded it over Thewlis, once ''[[GroinAttack punching Thewlis in the balls]]'' in an elevator.

* HostilityOnTheSet: Creator/ValKilmer and Creator/MarlonBrando made things difficult to the point the original director got fired, and Creator/JohnFrankenheimer was hired partially because he had a history of controlling inflated egos. Frankenheimer was reported to have shouted "Cut! Now get that bastard off my set!" once Kilmer had no more scenes left, and stated after release that "There are two things I will never do in my life. I will never climb Mount Everest, and I will never work with Val Kilmer again. There isn't enough money in the world." Even Brando got fed up with Kilmer, telling him, "You're confusing your talent with the size of your paycheck". There was one reported incident where the actors playing Moreau's creations, having spent hours in makeup, were kept waiting because Brando and Kilmer refused to come out of their trailers until the other did.

** [[http://www.everythingisundercontrol.org/nagtloper/write/moreauscript.php/ Richard Stanley's original version]].

* TroubledProduction: Hoo boy, did this one go through hell getting to the screen, and the final result shows how bad it was. It was the subject of a 2014 documentary, ''Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau'', which only scratched the surface as to [[http://www.pajiba.com/seriously_random_lists/the-real-story-behind-the-island-of-dr-moreau-is-way-more-bonkers-than-the-movie-itself-.php how insane things got.]]

* CreatorKiller: Even though the end product was essentially not his, the film was a huge blow to Richard Stanley's directing career. After this, he only directed documentaries, only returning to narrative filmmaking 25 years later, when he directed an adaptation of Creator/HPLovecraft's ''[[ColorOutOfSpace2020 ColorOutOfSpace]]''.

* CreatorKiller: Even though the end product was essentially not his, the film was a huge blow to Richard Stanley's directing career. After this, he only directed documentaries, only returning to narrative filmmaking 25 years later, when he directed an adaptation of Creator/HPLovecraft's ''Film/ColorOutOfSpace''.

* CreatorKiller: Even though the end product was essentially not his, the film was a huge blow to Richard Stanley's directing career. After this, he only directed documentaries, only returning to narrative filmmaking 25 years later, when he directed an adaptation of Creator/HPLovecraft's ''Color Out of Space''.