Top 10 Most Chaotic Movie Sets

This highly anticipated supervillain movie brought together several fan favorites, including Batman’s arch nemesis the Joker, played by Jared Leto. Leto was so committed as the criminal mastermind that he went full method, staying in character throughout filming. Leto was notorious for giving some truly disturbing gifts to his fellow cast members. Margot Robbie was even gifted a live rat, which she kept as a pet until it was discovered by her landlord. Robbie’s rat was tame compared to the gifts some of her costars received, and Leto’s strange behavior made for a truly uncomfortable on-set experience. Worst of all, it was all for nothing. The film was panned by critics, and Leto wasn’t asked to reprise his role in the sequel.

Scarred by his time filming “Jaws,” Steven Spielberg personally warned Kevin Reynolds, director of “Waterworld,” about the challenges of filming in open water. Reynolds went ahead with this massively expensive project anyway. Spielberg was right, it turned out, as this set was plagued with challenges related to its post-apocalyptic flooded world setting. Jellyfish stings and seasickness were common, but storms proved the most costly, and dangerous. One storm sunk an entire set that had to be completely rebuilt. Another nearly drowned Kevin Costner, who was filming a scene tied to his boat when the sudden storm hit. Note to self: always take Spielberg’s advice.

It was a lifelong dream of director Richard Stanley to adapt this H. G. Wells novel for the screen, a dream it seems the universe was determined not to grant. Problems emerged before filming began with a troubled casting process and constant tension between Stanley and New Line Cinema. Several cast members faced personal issues that caused them to drop out of the film or severely hamper production, including Bruce Willis and Val Kilmer both facing divorce proceedings and Marlon Brando grieving the loss of his daughter. Stanley was fired and replaced after rumors of clashes with the studio and Kilmer. The final film was negatively received upon release, but a documentary about the hellish production process was later released to positive reviews.

This epic historical drama created its own epic behind-the-scenes drama, cementing the film as an unforgettable piece of Hollywood history. Cursed with production delays, script rewrites, and location changes, the film’s budget ballooned to excess, causing the original director, Rouben Mamoulian, to resign. Joseph L. Mankiewicz took over and managed to bring the final film to premiere. Audiences flocked to theaters to see “Cleopatra,” their interests having been piqued by the media frenzy surrounding the scandalous affair between the two lead actors, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Even the ticket revenue brought in by the salacious scandal wasn’t enough to recoup the film’s massive overspending. The film nearly bankrupted Twentieth-Century Fox.

Life imitates art in this psychological horror film starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, who play two spiteful sisters feuding after lifelong jealousy over each other’s brushes with fame. Rumors of bad blood between Davis and Crawford had been swirling around Hollywood for decades, though they both reportedly dismissed these as untrue. Still, when Davis was nominated for an Oscar, Crawford supposedly felt snubbed. She offered to accept the Oscar on behalf of its absent winner, Anne Bancroft, taking the stage for the award Davis felt should have been hers. This famous feud and this infamous scene were dramatized in the aptly titled Ryan Murphy series, “Feud.”

Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam War epic is renowned as one of the greatest movies ever made, but its success came at the cost of an infamously long and arduous filming process. Originally scheduled to film for five months, production delays extended filming to last over a year. Typhoon Olga caused catastrophic destruction to the sets and delayed filming by three months, stressing the already massive budget. When Martin Sheen suffered a life-threatening, stress-induced heart attack, he chose to report his condition as a mere heat stroke to avoid alarming investors. Further post-production challenges led Coppola to confess to his wife that he believed he only had a 20% chance of making the film happen at all, a fear that was thankfully unfounded.

Portraying an individual as venerated as Jesus Christ is a risky move for any actor, but usually, the damage is limited to just their career. Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in Mel Gibson’s biblical passion project, wasn’t so lucky. Throughout filming, Caviezel was accidentally whipped, dislocated his shoulder carrying the 150-pound cross, and was even struck by lighting. To make matters worse, his minimalistic costume paired with the cold Italian winter caused Caviezel to suffer from hypothermia, which eventually turned into pneumonia. Since playing Christ, Caviezel hasn’t had much significant success in his career, but reportedly believes the role was worth it, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

Werner Herzog’s “Fitzcarraldo” tells the story of a rubber baron in search of richer resources, who becomes convinced he must transport his steamship over a Peruvian mountain to find them. Herzog rejected any special effects for this film. He wanted his production team to literally push the 320-ton steamship over a mountain. The visual is striking, but the practicalities of this feat caused endless problems on an already difficult set. Numerous injuries and even a few tragic deaths of local indigenous people involved with filming occurred, leading to accusations that Herzog exploited the local tribes. Ultimately, the cast and crew were completely fed up with the dangerous living conditions paired with the unbelievable feat Herzog was asking them to perform for this truly one-of-a-kind film.

Husband and wife Noel Marshall and Tippi Hedren dreamed of making a film showcasing the beauty of Africa’s wildlife to raise awareness about poaching. To make their vision a reality, the couple spent years amassing a collection of exotic animals at their Sherman Oaks home. They acquired over 100 big cats, including lions, tigers, panthers, and jaguars. Plus, two elephants and a flock of exotic birds. The animals were untrained, which proved exceptionally dangerous during filming. Marshall was attacked and bitten many times, eventually resulting in gangrene. Hedren’s daughter Melanie Griffith nearly lost an eye, and most members of the crew suffered an injury of some kind. With such danger to animal and human welfare, it’s insane anyone thought this was a good idea.

This timeless film is beloved by many for its unforgettable songs and characters, but the cast and crew’s journey to bring this classic to life wasn’t a walk down the yellow brick road. The original Tin Man, Buddy Ebsen, dropped out of the film after contracting aluminum poisoning from his makeup. Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch, suffered severe burns after a pyrotechnic effect went awry. Several flying monkeys were injured as a result of faulty wires. The entire set was filled with asbestos used in the film’s props and fake snow. Judy Garland also reportedly faced constant harassment from the actors portraying the Munchkins and was forced to painfully bind her chest to look younger. “Somewhere over the rainbow” it certainly was not.


Was the insane chaos worth it for any of these entries? Let us know in the comments!