Spill The Blazing Hot Tea: Apparently, The Making Of 'Hellboy' Was Hell For All Involved

RUMOR ALERT: This information is all GOSSIP that is being refuted by an attorney, but… hey, it’s still kind of fun to read!

With a modest budget of $50 million, ‘Hellboy’ doesn’t need to be a Marvel or DC-sized smash to be a hit, but with withering reviews– 15% on Rotten Tomatoes– it’s facing an uphill battle.  With two previous films under his belt, Hellboy probably has a higher profile than Shazam! or Aquaman, two heroes that haven’t had much exposure outside of comic books in recent years.  But with an R-rating, and general lack of desire for another movie, it looks like ‘Hellboy’ is headed to box office purgatory.

 

RELATED:  Movie Review: ‘Hellboy’ (2019)

 

Who’s Ready For Tea?

How did it get here?  Well, as much of a disaster as this might be on the big screen, it seems like it was an even bigger mess behind-the-scenes.  Often backstage turmoil becomes common knowledge– ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’, anyone?  The ‘Fantastic Four’ reboot?– but in this case, Lionsgate and the filmmakers, including director Neil Marshall managed to keep a lid on things.  Until now.

There are reports surfacing from anonymous sources that state that they witnessed conflicts on the set between Marshall and producers Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin, and even star David Harbour.  However, Levin’s lawyer Martin Singer refutes most of these claims.

What are folks saying?

  • Reportedly, Gordon and Levin fired Marshall’s longtime cinematographer Sam McCurdy in order to show him who was boss.  But Singer responded, “While my client will not comment on why Sam McCurdy was fired as that is a private matter, be advised that it was a group decision and it had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Mr. Levin supposedly sending any kind of ‘message’ to Neil Marshall.”  The attorney did confirm knowledge of this story however, and accused Marshall of helping perpetuate it.
  • Levin interrupted Marshall repeatedly on the set, in front of cast and crew, and sometimes gave directions that contradicted Marshall’s.  But according to Singer, “Mr. Levin would speak to Neil Marshall after rehearsals and discuss issues with him at that time.”
  • Harbour would walk off the set repeatedly, refusing Marshall’s requests for additional takes.  According to Singer: “My client has no recollection of that ever happening. To the contrary, David Harbour gave everything he was asked of and more during filming.”
  • The script was rewritten throughout filming– that is completely normal, by the way– but a lot of these rewrites came from Harbour and co-star Ian McShane.  But Singer says, “Only a few scenes were rewritten during production, and neither David Harbour nor Ian McShane did any rewriting of the screenplay at all. Rewriting certain scenes of a movie during production is customary in the entertainment industry, including by actors, producers, writers and directors.”
  • A surreal tree in the movie underwent redesigns.  Marshall wanted a “realistic-looking, asymmetrical tree,” but Levin overruled him and insisted on a symmetrical tree.  But in post-production, the tree magically became asymmetrical again.  Singer replied, “The design of the tree, like hundreds of other design elements in the movie, went through an exhaustive design and evolution process.”

One thing that Singer doesn’t refute is that once Marshall submitted his finished film, the producers went in and made changes.  According to Singer, Marshall’s contract did not give him final cut.

Outside of these accusations, Marshall is romantically involved with Charlotte Kirk, the former mistress who was involved in the sex scandal that caused Warner Brothers to dismiss its CEO Kevin Tsujihara.  Tsujihara was accused of using his clout to get Kirk movie roles.  He isn’t the only one, as Kirk reportedly became involved with many powerful men in Hollywood to elevate her career.  Marshall reportedly tried to get Kirk hired to play Alice in ‘Hellboy’ but was overruled.

Did you see ‘Hellboy’?  Was it as bad as critics say?

 

Source: The Wrap