When it comes to making a movie, cooperation is key.
But anyone who's ever had an annoying coworker knows that sometimes, you just can't get along
with that jerk you're stuck with.
Considering how poorly Sex & the City 2 was received, it's a little surprising there were
any expectations for a third installment, but star Sarah Jessica Parker said she was
"disappointed" in September 2017 upon the announcement that Sex & the City 3 wouldn't
move forward.
Unnamed sources told People that this was Kim Cattrall's doing, claiming that the star
was making "outrageous demands" in order to agree to appear in the third film.
Cattrall, however, denied the claims, telling Piers Morgan in 2017:
"I never asked for any money.
I never asked for any projects.
I'm, ya know, to be thought of as some kind of diva is absolutely ridiculous."
The New York Post's Paula Froelich wrote an article blaming Parker and the other co-stars
for mistreating Cattrall from the beginning of the HBO series, isolating her early on
because they were intimidated and jealous of arguably the show's only genuine movie
star.
After the death of Cattrall's brother in 2018, Parker expressed sympathy during a red-carpet
interview.
Cattrall responded on Instagram, writing:
"Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then
and now…You are not my friend.
So I'm writing to tell you one last time to stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore
your 'nice girl' persona."
She ended the post with a link to Froelich's story.
In 1992, Penny Marshall directed A League of Their Own, about the short life of the
first professional all-female baseball league.
Well, wouldn't you know it: As memorable as Geena Davis was in the film's lead, she wasn't
the original pick for Dottie Hinson.
That honor went to Debra Winger, who quit the role two weeks before filming.
"You had a little bit of a reputation of going head to head with your co-stars and kind of
mixing up with them."
"Wow, this is just going so bad for me."
"No it's going great!"
Winger, who'd already had a reputation for not getting along with other cast members,
apparently had a problem with Madonna, who both appeared in the film and provided its
theme song, "This Used to Be My Playground."
League producer Elliot Abbott told the Baltimore Sun that Winger worried that her presence
would "cause a circus atmosphere."
It would be interesting to see how Winger's career trajectory might have changed if she'd
put up with Madonna's presence.
In the years since, she's so thoroughly disappeared from the limelight that it inspired Rosanna
Arquette to make the 2002 documentary Searching for Debra Winger.
We'll probably never know exactly what Bill Murray said on the set of 2000's Charlie's
Angels that angered Lucy Liu to the point that he was replaced by the late Bernie Mac
in its sequel, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.
But the basic gist is that while filming a scene Murray said something questioning Liu's
acting talent, and Liu responded by throwing punches at him until the crew pulled them
apart.
"Well, I'm not surprised because I had a real long talk with a squirrel one time, longer
than I can talk to most humans."
In some versions, Murray simply said, "You can't act."
MTV offers an account that has Murray pointing to Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and finally
Lucy Liu in succession and saying:
"I get why you're here.
And you've got talent.
But what in the hell are you doing here?
You can't act."
Whatever was said, Murray and Liu reportedly didn't get along after the incident, leading
Murray to turn down an appearance in number two.
OK, so let's get one thing straight: Christian Bale didn't force Ewan McGregor to quit 2000's
American Psycho.
They were never castmates to begin with!
What they were, however, were competitors.
That's right: Bale pretty much strong-armed the Star Wars actor until he yanked his hat
right back out of the ring.
While good ol' Leonardo DiCaprio was initially attached to the project, he eventually bowed
out, and Bale was determined to land the role.
He even refused other roles for nine months in order to keep his schedule open, even though
the studio was still looking for a leading man elsewhere!
"One part of me wants to take her out, and talk to her."
"And what'd the other part of him think?"
"What her head would look like on a stick."
Eventually, execs turned to Ewan McGregor, but he inexplicably gave it a pass.
When GQ asked Bale if he could confirm rumors that it was him who convinced McGregor to
say no, he responded:
"Absolutely.
I phoned a few people and let them know my commitment, let me tell you!
I called them all and told them it was my role.
Don't touch.
Step away.
Or if you're not going to step away, understand what you're up against."
"I'm a pretty, uhh…
I mean I guess I'm a pretty sick guy."
Which means, from a certain point of view, you could say Batman used a Jedi mind trick
on Obi-Wan Kenobi.
And that's pretty cool.