32 Fascinating Facts About Film Directors You’ll Find Interesting

Tim Burton was reportedly uncomfortable with casting Christopher Walken as Max Shreck in Batman Returns. When the casting director asked him why he said, “Because that man scares the hell out of me.”

James Gunn wanted Chris Pratt for Guardians of the Galaxy so much he was willing to CGI a six-pack on the actor.

Ron Howard stated that after the first test preview of the film Apollo 13, one of the comment cards indicated “total disdain”; the audience member had written that it was a “typical Hollywood” ending and that the crew would never have survived.

Director Roman Polanski pleaded guilty of raping a 13-year-old girl in 1977 but fled the USA to avoid charges. This is why his 2011 film Carnage starring Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, and John C. Reilly although set in New York was actually filmed in Paris.

Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts has his own collection of pet spiders, including rare South American ones.

David Ayer, the director of the film ‘Fury’, pushed the cast to physically spar each other, causing many black eyes and bloody noses. Also, the actors were forced to live in the tank together for a long time where they ate, slept and defecated.

Tod Browning, director of the 1931 film “Dracula” had nightmares and difficulty sleeping during the filming of his next project, the 1932 cult film, “Freaks” due to the vaudeville performers despite his own previous sideshow and vaudeville performances.

American History X director Tony Kaye was so dissatisfied with the final cut of the film he spent $100,000 of his own money to take out 35 full-page ads in the Hollywood trade press denouncing Norton and the producer, using quotations from a variety of people from John Lennon to Abraham Lincoln.

Steven Spielberg purposely did not allow Matt Damon to attend the pre-production Boot Camp for actors in Saving Private Ryan so that the remaining cast would build up genuine resentment for his character.

When J.J. Abrams chose to have John Williams score ‘The Force Awakens’, he gave his frequent composer/collaborator Michael Giacchino a role as stormtrooper FN-3181 in the raid on Jakku as an apology.