More on set tourmoil

I've recieved another eMail from the "Battle Scarred Crew Member". This time he/she details just what went on under the hot Jordanian Sun between Kilmer and Sizemore.

Remember this, though, this could all be fake. Use your own judegement adn be sure not to jump to conclusions. If this series of eMails are true, then it's got to be one of the funniest things that I've ever read. 2/11/99

EMAIL 3

   We shot two week's worth of principal photography in Jordan, out in the desert. That was where the feud between Sizemore and Kilmer started. Tom's contract called for this crazy four-in-one excercise machine to be in his hotel room, but when we arrived in Jordan there weren't any of those machines in the country, so they had one shipped in from England. When it arrived in a HUGE crate, they realized that they couldn't get it into his hotel room. So they rented a crane to lift the machine through a window into his room. Now most of us who have worked in the business for a while are no strangers to ridiculous demands from actors so Sizemore's wishes didn't faze us, but when word got to Kilmer, who is quite well known as a prima donna, he was really pissed. His words were something like "I can't believe what that fat son of a bitch is putting this production through."

   Personally, I think he was just angry that he could be outdone. On set the two were amicable enough with each other, mostly commiserating about how horrible an experience it was to be wearing the spacesuits in the hot Jordanian sun. It was extremely hot- I think it got up to 120 degrees fahrenheit a few days. Kilmer had his own video crew on set taping the goings-on every day, and the crew captured some choice stuff. Whether it ends up on the cutting room floor or actually is included in this behind-the-scenes, remains to be seen.

   For example... Sizemore, the portliest of the actors in spacesuits-passed out from heat exhaustion or fatigue several times. (The veracity of these incidents was in question from nearly everyone on set. Many felt that he was just lazy and wanted an early exit from his work day.) Kilmer made sure that his video crew was there to film one of these episodes, going so far as to push the doctors treating Sizemore out of the way to get their shot.

   Kilmer had no love loss with the director, a young Aussie named Anthony Hoffman, for whom 'Red Planet' was a directorial debut. One day while reclining in the tent that was built specifically for the actors to rest in while not shooting, all the actors were half-heartedly laughing at what a ridiculous situation they were in-half-way around the world in spacesuits that were uncomfortable and excrutiatingly hot, surrounded by a primarily Australian crew that was constantly bickering with the local Bedouins who would constantly claim ownership of the land on which we were shooting- Kilmer launched into a joke about Anthony, finishing by saying, "This is the last time I work with amateurs. What a joke."

   The rift between them grew as the production continued. Kilmer and Sizemore in particular would arrive to set late, the Jordanian crew members sent to bring them to set were often chastised for being so late, but it was really the actors who would drag their feet as long as possible before leaving the hotel. Anthony was really powerless to do anything about it, at risk of having Kilmer have him fired as he did with original 'Island of Dr. Moreau' director Richard Stanley.

   After the crew moved to Australia, things worsened. Kilmer and Sizemore who had been at least cordial on set in Jordan now refused to appear on camera together. I don't know the specifics of why, but one of the producers said, "get a double ready for Tom, Val won't come out of his trailer if Tom is on the set."

   Val began throwing more and more frequent tantrums, which I think egged Tom on. Tom decided that his character, who is killed by a sea of worm like creatures called 'nematodes', should not die as the script suggests, but should survive with Kilmer's character. So he refused to film his death scene. I believe the producers planned to have his death be entirely CG, with a double filmed for reference. Script pages began getting tossed at this point.

   Kilmer began making more and more infrequent appearances on set, several times refusing to come to set at all. Day to day all that Anthony could do was look at the remaining shot list and see what was possible to shoot, and proceed from there.

   There was increasing hostility and tension on the set, nerves were definitely frazzled and it translated from cast to crew. The prop master got into it with a producer, and producer ended up trying to strangle- actually physically strangle the guy. Several PA's had to pull him off and seperate the two men.

   One day Anthony was nowhere to be found as they were nearly ready to shoot, and the PA that found him in his trailer told me that when he entered the trailer Anthony was lying naked on the floor in the fetal position.

   By this point the news of Sizemore and Kilmer's mutual dislike had made the Australian tabloids, and the rumor about the restraining order- which was untrue began to circulate. The two were now completely seperated, one would only be called to set if the other was known not to be there. A great deal of their scenes together were filmed looking over the shoulders of a photo double. And Kilmer refused to say any of the other characters' names for some reason- I can't figure that one out, but he would only say things like- "Hey you," or "Get him for me" when addressing someone else on camera.

   So the recent news of the release date being pushed back is no surprise to me, when I returned home and saw how far behind the production was I knew they'd never make their release date. I knew what shape the production was in when the local Jordanians who had helped on both this movie and 'Mission to Mars' (which also filmed in Jordan,) told us how much more organized that production had been. If the bedouins who live in the desert and survive off their livestock could see the difference, then I knew 'Red Planet' was in trouble.

   The wrap party for 'Red Planet' was really depressing- most everyone was so exhausted they didn't want to be there, and nearly everyone got blazing drunk. I'm leaving out many details- I could go on but I've given you some of the highlights. (Lowlights?) In any case- Red Planet is destined to be sheer cinematic crap, despite what I'm sure will be remarkable visual effects. And one thing I heard that put a big smile on my face came from a Marlon Brando, who while working on 'Island of Dr. Moreau' told Kilmer, "You are confusing your talent with the size of your paycheck."

So there you go. Enjoy.

"The battle scarred crew member "

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