Poll: Frightening Filmmakers

Results of 1,420 votes:

1. 1.
   

   Stanley Kubrick

    

   Kubrick was notorious for demanding multiple takes during filming to perfect his art, and his relentless approach was often extremely demanding for his actors. On The Shining: Shelley Duvall received …
2. 2.
   

   Alfred Hitchcock

    

   Hitchcock became known for his alleged observation, "Actors are cattle". He was infamous with cast and crews for his practical jokes. [...] Usually, he found out about somebody's phobias, su…
3. 3.
   

   Lars von Trier

    

   Paul Bettany, who only took the part of Tom Edison after being convinced by friend Stellan Skarsgård, later called the making of [Dogville] "hideous" and "a peculiarly unsatisfying expe…
4. 4.
   

   Fritz Lang

    

   He turned out to be an extreme strict director who demanded everything from his actors. Several repetitions of different scenes happened often. Fritz Lang soon "relished" the reputation of a…
5. 5.
   

   John Ford

    

   [Ford] was notorious for being extremely tough on his actors, frequently mocking, yelling and bullying them; he was also infamous for his sometimes sadistic practical jokes. Henry Brandon once referre…
6. 6.
   

   James Cameron

    

   On The Abyss: During the rigorous and problematic shoot, the cast and crew began calling the film by various derogatory names such as "Son Of Abyss", "The Abuse" and "Life's A…
7. 7.
   

   David Fincher

    

   On Zodiac: Some of the cast was not happy with Fincher's exacting ways and perfectionism. Some scenes required upwards of 70 takes. Gyllenhaal was frustrated by the director's methods and commented in…
8. 8.
   

   Akira Kurosawa

    

   For all his films, but particularly for his jidaigeki, Kurosawa insisted on absolute authenticity of sets, costumes and props. Numerous instances of his fanatical devotion to detail have been recorded…
9. 9.
   

   William Friedkin

    

   Often goes to extreme lengths to get the desired realism in his scenes. Infamous examples include the illegal car chase from "The French Connection" (which employed a stunt driver racing ami…
10. 10.
    

    David O. Russell

     

    On Three Kings: Clooney noted that "there's an element of David that was in way over his head... he was vulnerable and selfish, and it would manifest itself in a lot of yelling." When Russel…
11. 11.
    

    Sam Peckinpah

     

    Peckinpah's combative personality, marked by years of alcohol and drug abuse, affected his professional legacy. Many of his films were noted for behind-the-scenes battles with producers and crew membe…
12. 12.
    

    Michael Cimino

     

    Cimino has been described by colleagues and critics as vain, self-indulgent, egotistical, megalomaniacal and an enfant terrible. Producer Michael Deely on The Deer Hunter: "Cimino was selfish. ..…
13. 13.
    

    David Ayer

     

    On Fury: "Jon Bernthal claimed that the methods insisted upon by David Ayer to push the actors to their limits, including requiring that they engage in fistfights and be verbally abusive, require…
14. 14.
    

    Oliver Stone

     

    On Salvador: James Woods and James Belushi frequently clashed during filming. Their competitive rivalry was secretly encouraged by Oliver Stone. James Woods, who had starred in Stone's film Salvador,…