4. Richard Stanley – Fruit Plantation
The Island of Dr. Moreau is one of H.G. Welles most legendary tales, and though it seems easily adaptable to film, Richard Stanley had one hell of a time attempting to bring the pages to life. Hired by New Line as the director of what could’ve been a blockbuster starring Val Kilmer and Marlon Brando, Stanley’s reputation was only beginning to grow with films like Hardware and Dust Devil. Unfortunately, a tumultuous star and uncontrollable production issues lead to Stanley being fired almost immediately after shooting began.
New Line attempted to send Stanley home to America (the film was being shot in Australia), but Stanley never boarded the flight, disappearing into the Australian jungle. He claims he hid in a fruit plantation for a short time, before sneaking back on set and appearing in the film as an extra. The production was so chaotic it was years before anyone truly understood this bizarre story at all, and it still makes more sense than the film surrounding it ultimately did.
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