Scary movie backstories

[Trevor]

Okay, on the TWILIGHT ZONE/CONQUEROR riff, if perhaps somehow less [sic] prolific in its horrible impact:

CLOWNHOUSE (1989)

........One of those Hollywood-adjacent productions that, sadly, lends the tiniest bit of credence to wild/mostly illusory claims that the industry is merely some kind of front for child predation. The perpetrator - writer/director Victor Salva - was charged, convicted, and imprisoned, then released, paroled, and went on to make several more films (many of which have creepy themes of pederasty or pedovorism) and to apparently creep out future collaborators to the extent that he hasn't made a new film in nearly a decade.

But the big (and queasy) picture of how crimes during CLOWNHOUSE were allowed to happen - and initially seemed to have been obscured - has remained opaque, in spite of the ongoing efforts of the victim (CLOWNHOUSE's lead actor, who was 7 or 8 at the time) to keep the story alive.

College age Sam Rockwell co-starred (his debut) and has claimed in retrospect that he had no idea what was happening on set. (I've met Rockwell briefly and know folks who've worked w/ him, and he seems like a nice and genuine guy, but Rockwell's own character in the film is subject to some creepy/sexualized treatment.)

I'm more uncomfortable (vis-a-vis Landis on TZ) by the role that CLOWNHOUSE's producer Francis Ford Coppola played or failed to play during and/or after the lead actor's abuse. It seems like FFC was dismissive of the allegations and more concerned about the impact of the victim's allegations on the film's completion and success. That kind of behavior is to be (sadly) expected of the investor class  in my experience....... but this isn't an anonymous money man, it's one of the most esteemed filmmakers of the 20th century. Coppola should've done better in this case, to the say the least. (Of course, his misadventures making APOCALYPSE NOW would imply that his judgment, historically, has been at times impaired.......)

Speaking as a child abuse survivor, Salva should have been jailed for life. 😖

[Trevor]

I keep meaning to mention the helicopter crash in Hands Of Steel

That was terrible indeed.

The crashes which killed several crew members on the set of TIGER JOE and DELTA FORCE 2 were also horrible 😔😔

[LilCerberus]

I keep meaning to mention the helicopter crash in Hands Of Steel

That was terrible indeed.

The crashes which killed several crew members on the set of TIGER JOE and DELTA FORCE 2 were also horrible 😔😔

The irony of Hands Of Steel, was that John Saxon was was supposed to be on that helicopter, but he refused to film scenes in the USA because of union rules....

[M.10rda]

Rest in Peace Claudio Cassinelli, but I'm relieved that Saxon survived.

[zombie no.one]

there's a bit in the HANDS OF STEEL blu ray extras dedicated to that incident...

I'm pretty sure it was a case of they already had the scene in the bag but for some reason the guy wanted to do it again, and the director even tried to dissuade him? (if that's wrong I'll edit later, but I think that's correct)

love that film!

[chainsaw midget]

Roar, an early 80s adventure comedy, had an insane amount of live animals used in it's production, including an elephant and over 130 big cats (as in lions and such), and a huge assortment of large birds. 

Because no other male movie star wanted to work with that many animals, the director and producer ended up starring as the male lead, with his wife and her daughter in supporting roles.  It took five years to film, another 11 for production, somewhere between 70 and 100 cast and crew members were injured by untrained animals.  A flood destroyed most of the set and equipment at one point. 

14 lions and tigers (but no bears) also died due to illness. 

[M.10rda]

Yeah, I reviewed ROAR last year, I think - it's a real $#!tshow. Melanie Griffith (who was legitimately very pretty as a teenager) was clawed badly in the face and required reconstructive surgery... she still returned to production months later. I know this isn't very nice to express but I never thought Griffith was all that hot-looking as an adult nor a terribly expressive actress... well, maybe we can chalk that up to the emergency plastic surgery. 

Her mom Tippi Hedren was also injured on-set... she eventually divorced her husband (the director/star) though only several years after. He lost most of his fortune making ROAR (he had co-produced THE EXORCIST) as well as their Hollywood home. And, of course, a lot of the cats that he ostensibly cared about/for got hurt or killed.   

All that said - if you can forget about all that stuff, somehow  - I think the film itself is a uniquely thrilling horror movie experience. (Of course it's intended as a family comedy.) It plays like TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE if Leatherface was dozens of big furry adorable kitties. The director is pretty entertaining in the lead, as well - like if Will Ferrell played a Kurt Russell action hero. In several shots huge cats leap on him and wrestle him to the ground (clearly impromptu), claw him up accidentally, then he's all bloody and his clothes are shredded. It's insane.

[zombie no.one]

yes, ROAR is like a fairly standard movie except all the actors are getting constantly mauled and roughed up by lions throughout, for real. while delivering their lines.

edit, Michael Bay should adopt this approach