Released in 1994, the film by Oliver Stone Born killers celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Looking back on the film in honor of the occasion, Stone recalled how annoyed he was during production by Robert Downey Jr.'s improvisational acting on set.
Stone addressed the situation in a new Esquire article about the film's production. He recalled how Downey would sometimes make up his own material for his character in the film, an eccentric tabloid journalist. On one occasion, Downey would dip the white edges of his shirt in scene blood so he could then pull it out of his pants, creating the faint illusion of bloody genitals. This angered Stone, who lashed out at Downey, even accusing the actor of “ruining” the film.
“Oh, come on, that's too much! You're going too far, Robert.“, Stone told the actor, according to the director's recollection. “You're ruining the movie for me! Forget the idea of the idiot c*ck. This is not… This is not some farcical bullshit.”
This is not some comical bullshit.
Although Stone was initially not amused by Downey's idea, the director eventually changed his mind. After the verbal lashing, Downey put on his shirt and zipped up his pants, ready to film the scene without his added touch. However, after thinking about it for a moment, Stone told Downey to go ahead and do the “d*ck thing” again, and after realizing the length, it was ultimately decided to film the scene that way.
“Wait, wait, wait a second. Let me see that fucking thing again,” as Stone told Downey. The director added before shooting, “Pull it back half an inch.”
Natural Born Killers is a very controversial film
Downey's line can be seen in the final cut of Born killersalbeit very briefly in the film's final scene. Stone would later discover that the actors' improvisation was perhaps the director's least concern. Born killers continued to generate a lot of controversy, becoming a highly polarizing film that was criticized for its violence. Due to its graphic nature, the film was even partly blamed for real-life violent incidents, allegedly creating “copycat killers” inspired by the protagonists of Born killers.
The film stars Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis as dangerous lovebirds who embark on a killing spree as part of their twisted love story. Quentin Tarantino wrote the original screenplay, but it underwent so many rewrites by Stone that the pulp Fiction the director disowned the film, claiming that it had strayed too far from what he had originally written. Despite all its controversies, however, Born killers It is a cult classic that is much loved by fans, who appreciate it even more three decades later.
Born killers is currently streaming on Netflix.
Source: Esquire