Top 10 On-Set Fights

With the much-anticipated release of Fifty Shades of Grey just around the corner, a hilariously ill-fated press tour has done little to curb ticket sales. With a complete lack of sexual chemistry, and a general disgust for what they had to subject themselves to, co-stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan have made their disinterest in the project known. An article from Kelly Conaboy (via Gawker) perfectly sums up the on-stage strife (carried over into the real world) between the two, supposedly “in love,” actors. Not the only ones to quarrel during production, director Sam Taylor-Johnson and writer E.L. James both fought to keep Fifty Shades their own. Of James, Taylor-Johnson said:

"We battled all the way through. She'd say the same. There were tough times and revelatory times. There were sparring contests. It was definitely not an easy process, but that doesn't mean to say that it didn't come out the right way."

Fifty Shades of Grey is hardly the first film to feature an uneasy production. Delays, disagreements, and, yes, even pure hatred exists on many Hollywood film stages, and we have decided to profile the top ten best (worst?).   10. Ryan Reynolds and Wesley Snipes – Blade: Trinity During production of Blade: Trinity, (pre-prison) Wesley Snipes apparently only communicated to director David S. Goyer through handwritten notes – which he signed “Blade.” The relatively-unknown Reynolds (famous mostly from his role in National Lampoon's Van Wilder) was given a near free-reign over the set while the reclusive Snipes refused to leave his trailer. Injecting some trademark wit into his character, Hannibal King (seriously), Reynolds shot most of his scenes alone and Snipes used the unpleasant term of "cracker" to refer to Reynolds..   9. Bill Murray and Lucy Liu – Charlie's Angels While filming Charlie's Angels, Murray (playing Bosley) and Liu (Alex Munday) got into a heated argument about some of Liu's more inane lines. While Murray claims it was not a personal attack on Liu's character, the two still had to separate in order to cool down. Leaked to the media, the story spread like wildfire, and, in some accounts, had Liu launching a tirade of kicks and punches at the 50-year old (in 2000) Murray. Murray and Liu have spoken out about the fight, and maintain that, although shooting had to be stopped for the day, no bad blood existed between them then, or now.   8. Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy – Lawless Chemistry might also have been a culprit in an altercation between LaBeouf and Hardy while on the set of Lawless – only, it was not a lack of chemistry, it was too much. Playing brothers in moonshining and bootlegging in 1930's America, the two method actors got so deeply involved in their roles that brotherly love turned into brotherly scorn. According to Hardy (via Digital Spy) while shooting a scene, things became heated and LaBeouf knocked him out cold. Said Hardy to Den of Geek; “He knocked me out sparko. Out cold. He's a bad, bad boy. He is. He's quite intimidating as well. He's a scary dude.”   7. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams – The Notebook I'm sorry to do this to you, Notebook fans, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams were not actually in love while filming the pinnacle of modern romance. Although they started dating after filming wrapped, on set, the duo (according to Gosling) “inspired the worst in each other.” Fear not, however, their mutual hatred does not diminish the quality of the film, it just makes their acting all the more impressive (please stop crying). 6. Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPKODzv1PD4 Director Werner Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski made some incredible films together. Through Aguirre, Wrath of God, and Fitzcarraldo, Herzog and Kinski pushed each other to the limits of sanity, and brilliance. Herzog even documented his tumultuous relationship with Kinski in a 1999 documentary, My Best Friend. Kinski was notorious for on-set explosions, one of which is above.   5. Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker – Star Wars Are you ready to have your childhood ruined? C-3PO and R2-D2 hate each other. According to Yahoo Movies UK & Ireland, the two have never seen eye-to-eye. As a classically-trained English theatre actor, Anthony Daniels was snobbish and rude to the diminutive Baker. Bulky costumes (a trashcan for Baker) further separated the two, as they were never able to actually communicate. Going their separate ways for years, the two were reunited for fan conventions of the 80's and 90's, and were eventually re-cast in the three prequels. Serving only as a wedge to drive them further apart, merely being in the presence of one another is enough to spark arguments, and reignite anger.   4. Christian Bale and Shane Hurlbut – Terminator Salvation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD1qD66Myno This famous soundbite sums up the relationship between Bale and director of photography Shane Hurlbut which Family Guy expertly parodied.   3. Roman Polanski and Faye Dunaway – Chinatown Roman Polanski is not an easy man to work with when you are an American-styled “collaborative” actor. During shooting for Chinatown, Polanski demanded perfection from his cast and crew, at any cost. Dunaway did not appreciate this approach. A challenge to work with herself, Dunaway lashed out at Polanski and his dictatorial reign over the set. During one of the craziest arguments on this list, Polanski refused Dunaway an opportunity to use the bathroom before filming the infamous final scene. When Polanski approached the car in which Dunaway was sitting, she threw a cup of liquid in the director's face, after which he exclaimed, “You cunt, that's piss!” to which Dunaway replied, “Yes you little putz.” Working in Hollywood is seeming less and less fun...   2. Bette Davis and Joan Crawford – What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Long before their starring together in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Hollywood icons Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were rumored to have been enemies. After each of their careers had significantly subsided, the two joined up to play quarreling sisters in a decaying Hollywood mansion. During filming, Crawford and Davis were constantly at one another's throats, either passively (sending hateful notes), or actively bickering. In a scene where Davis's Jane beats Crawford's bed-ridden Blanche, Davis actually hit Crawford, and as revenge, Crawford plotted one of the most vindictively mean acts on this list. Davis was known to have severe back problems, and taking full advantage, Crawford, during a scene wherein Jane had to drag Blanche out of bed, weighed herself down and flubbed takes to put an extra strain on Davis. Purely maniacal.   1. Rip Torn and Norman Mailer – Maidenstone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AzmhorISf4 There are no shortage of Rip Torn nightmare stories. Director Dennis Hopper accused him of trying to stab him on the set of Easy Rider before replacing him with Jack Nicholson (what a break for the little-known Nicholson) – resulting in a defamation lawsuit from Torn who claimed it was Hopper who did the threatening. On the set of Norman Mailer's Maidenstone, a film wherein he plays a fictionalized version of himself running for President, Mailer and Torn were supposed to get into an improvised brawl. What resulted, cameras rolling, is above. Mailer walked away with a gash from Torn's hammer, and a chunk he bit off of Torn's ear. The real fight actually made it into the final cut of the film (hooray for cinematic realism!).