Generally, movies are pretty harmless forms of escapist entertainment, but every so often
a film will get its hooks into reality and completely screw over a living, breathing
person.
A movie can ruin an actor's or filmmaker's career, or in extreme cases, cause the death
of people not even involved with the film.
The following movies touched some very real lives… and things didn't end well for anyone
involved.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
As it was one of the first animated feature films ever made, you'd think Snow White and
the Seven Dwarfs would've turned its leading lady, Adriana Caselotti, into a major star.
After all, the film was a big hit and a cinematic landmark, but despite playing in one of the
most beloved movies ever made, Caselotti largely vanished from the Tinseltown scene after working
on the Disney film.
According to some theories, Walt Disney refused to let Caselotti use her voice in any other
program, keeping her under a tight contract so that no one would know the secret voice
behind the princess.
However, Disney didn't start contracting actors until 1946, so that theory is unlikely.
Instead, it seems that Caselotti's own talent betrayed her.
Disney himself said that he couldn't cast her again because her voice was just too easy
to identify, while still refusing to let her work elsewhere.
Add that to the fact that she was never credited on the original film until it was too late,
and Caselotti was left with a bad contract, and a slumbering career.
Peeping Tom
Once upon a time, Michael Powell directed some of the greatest films of English cinema,
including Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes.
But everything changed in 1960, when Powell directed Peeping Tom, a wild departure from
his previous work.
Peeping Tom focuses on a shy, repressed young photographer who gets his kicks by murdering
women with a blade attached to his camera tripod.
While tame by today's standards, audiences at the time were absolutely shocked.
Peeping Tom deals with all kinds of uncomfortable topics, from child abuse to pornography.
British critics lost their minds, labeling the film as "perverted" and "beastly."
Powell was exiled from the British film industry and could only make movies in other countries,
none of which lived up to his old classics.
As a result, the man and his movie faded into obscurity until 1979, when Martin Scorsese
re-released the film.
These days, Peeping Tom is considered one of Powell's best films and the British Film
Institute labeled it the 78th greatest British film ever—but there's no denying this 1960
flick completely killed Powell's career.
Le Mans
Steve McQueen wanted to make the greatest racing movie ever.
Unfortunately, things didn't pan out the way McQueen had hoped when he was filming Le Mans.
The film's original director, John Sturges had his own vision for the film, and eventually
left the project over creative differences.
By the end, the movie had gone so far over budget that McQueen was forced to give up
his salary and the making of Le Mans would ultimately cause his company, Solar Productions,
to collapse.
But at the end of the day, at least McQueen made it out of Le Mans in one piece.
The same can't be said for David Piper.
A Formula One racer working on the film, Piper was driving a Porsche 917 for a scene and
lost control of the car, severely injuring his leg.
The wound became infected, and the doctors were forced to partially amputate.
The injury effectively ended his racing career, and it was all for a movie that's largely
been forgotten by most moviegoers.
Last Tango in Paris
After the success of Last Tango In Paris, actress Maria Schneider claimed she couldn't
deal with her newfound fame, and soon, she was using cocaine and heroin as "an escape
from reality."
Schneider eventually hit such a rough patch that she tried to commit suicide.
But it's become apparent that Schneider was probably suffering from more than unwanted
media attention.
The movie's infamous scene was in the script, and the on-screen assault was simulated, but
the use of butter wasn't in the screenplay.
As the director, Bernardo Bertolucci explained in a 2013 interview, this was an impromptu
decision that he and Brando made on-set, and they deliberately didn't tell Schneider what
they were going to do.
After Bertolucci's confession, The Guardian posited that Schneider's behavior after Last
Tango had more to do with PTSD than her sudden fame.
The Message
In 1977, a director Moustapha Akkad released The Message, a desert epic in the vein of
Lawrence of Arabia.
Only instead of focusing on an English adventurer, the film tells the story of the Prophet Muhammad
and the rise of Islam.
True, you're not supposed to actually depict Muhammad, but Akkad got around this by having
actors speak directly at the audience, as if the camera itself was the prophet.
But despite Akkad's attempts at making a peaceful, inoffensive film, quite a few people took
his message the wrong way.
Several countries banned the film, but even worse, someone decided to stage a protest…
with swords and shotguns.
Hamaas Abdul Khaalis and a group of 11 took over multiple buildings in Washington D.C.,
and claimed 149 hostages.
Tragically, this attack wasn't without casualties.
When the group stormed the District Building, Khaalis and his group shot and murdered security
guard Mack Cantrell and a reporter named Maurice Williams.
Fortunately, the rest of the hostages were freed 39 hours later, and Khaalis was sentenced
to life in prison, where he died in 2003.
The Goonies
It's safe to say that the people who love The Goonies really, really love it.
In fact, fans from as far away as Europe have made the pilgrimage to Astoria, Oregon, to
see The Goonies house for themselves.
You know the one.
It's two stories tall, has cool stuff in the attic, and you have to do the truffle shuffle
to get inside.
But while the Astoria house has brought joy to a lot of fans, not everyone is so happy
with the home's popularity.
Sandi Preston bought the house in 2001, and at first, she was totally cool with fans showing
up to take photos.
However, that all changed in 2015, when she wrapped her house with blue tarps and set
out signs saying her home was now off-limits to the public.
So what prompted such a radical change?
In recent years, the amount of tourists coming to see the house was on the rise.
Shockingly, during the summer of 2015, up to 1,500 people dropped by her home every
single day.
While some were on their best behavior, many of these fans didn't care all that much about
manners.
Eventually, it was just all too much for Preston who decided it was time to take her house
back.
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