MovieChat Forums > Batman Forever (1995) Discussion > What was full the extent of Val Kilmer's...

What was full the extent of Val Kilmer's difficult behavior on set?

posted 4 years ago by TMC-4 (20123)
20 replies | jump to latest

I know that Joel Schumacher made no bones about how hard it was directing him. He said that Val was verbally abusive/hostile towards the crew for no apparent reason. When Schumacher told Val to knock it off, Val stopped talking to him for at least two weeks.

https://the-boneyard.com/threads/actors-that-should-have-been-bigger-stars.123120/page-2

This is partially the reason why Val Kilmer wasn't brought back for Batman & Robin. The official reason is that there was a scheduling conflict with The Saint. Although even without that issue, Joel Schumacher wouldn't have asked him to return anyway.

I've also heard rumors in the past, that Val Kilmer had an affair with Drew Barrymore, and that was the impetus for his divorce from Joanne Whalley.

https://moviechat.org/tt0112462/Batman-Forever/5ec21ae9c0a9d8349066242b/Did-Drew-Barrymore-really-help-break-up-Val-Kilmers-marriage

[–] filmschooldegree (350) 4 years ago

Kevin Jarre told a story that Kilmer once said "I have a reputation for being difficult. But only with stupid people." You could see during press junkets and interviews promoting BF, Kilmer was a childish weirdo (answering questions with unrelated topics, one word answers, etc). Schumacher reported he was inappropriate onset and in some cases got violent with crew, which is correlated by his behaviour on Dr. Moreau (burning his cigarette on the face of a camera operator). He was probably just the classical temperamental bi-polar method actor type.

[–] TMC-4 (20123) 4 years ago

I just read on Quora that Val apparently, abused hard drugs (the white stuff let's just say). This is why sometime before his cancer ordeal, he put drastically put on weight:
https://www.quora.com/Which-Hollywood-celebrity-became-the-most-dangerously-overweight/answer/Joan-Wall-9?comment_id=184238255&comment_type=2

I don't know if it's true that Val Kilmer was using cocaine, that could also shed some light on his difficult on-set behavior.

[–] melissah1982 (883) 4 years ago

It's a shame. I really liked him as Batman and I remember being really disappointed when he wasn't returning to the role. But sadly it doesn't matter how good of an actor you are, how handsome/sexy or perfect for the part you are; a bad reputation and attitude on set (plus drugs....drugs are bad, mmmk...) will kill your career.

[–] TMC-4 (20123) 3 years ago

Val Kilmer Opens Up About His Past Bad Behavior

https://www.nickiswift.com/454907/val-kilmer-opens-up-about-his-past-bad-behavior/

In the trailer for his new documentary "Val," actor Val Kilmer opens up about his past bad behavior. "The Doors" star can be heard saying in a voiceover, "I have behaved poorly." He added, "I have behaved bravely, bizarrely to some ... I see myself as a sensitive, intelligent human being but with the soul of a clown."

With that quote being featured in the trailer, it appears that Kilmer may address his reputation in Hollywood for being very difficult to work with. His "Batman Forever" director Joel Schumacher even revealed (via Entertainment Weekly) in 1996 that on set, "He was badly behaved, he was rude and inappropriate. I was forced to tell him that this would not be tolerated for one more second." Executive producer Tim Zinnemann also dished about a time when Kilmer actually burned a cameraman, saying, "Val was sort of teasing him with the end of his cigarette and burned this guy's sideburn."

Kilmer has acknowledged his reputation before and suggested that it may be why his career stalled. He told the New York Times in 2020, "In an unflinching attempt to empower directors, actors and other collaborators to honor the truth and essence of each project, an attempt to breathe Suzukian life into a myriad of Hollywood moments, I had been deemed difficult and alienated the head of every major studio." It seems Kilmer will now have his chance to return to the big screen and explain his past actions on his own terms.

Read More: https://www.nickiswift.com/233170/the-tragic-real-life-story-of-val-kilmer/?utm_campaign=clip

[–] Otter (24464) 3 years ago

""In an unflinching attempt to empower directors, actors and other collaborators to honor the truth and essence of each project, an attempt to breathe Suzukian life into a myriad of Hollywood moments, I had been deemed difficult and alienated the head of every major studio.""

FYI that's actor-speak for "I was an unrepentant asshole then, and I still think I had the right to behave like an asshole".

[–] TMC-4 (20123) 3 years ago

Val Kilmer was kind of the male version of Debra Winger. What I mean is that they were both talented and acclaimed actors, whose careers on the A-list were undercut because of their reputations for being very temperamental and unreliable to work with.

https://lebeauleblog.com/2013/02/02/what-the-hell-happened-to-debra-winger/

[–] PaladinNJ (21509) 4 years ago

I heard the weight gain/swelling was from steroids used in his treatment.

[–] TMC-4 (20123) 4 years ago

I initially thought that he put on so much weight because he was doing this movie for Oliver Stone called Alexander, which called for him to put on weight. But after the movie was done shooting, he for whatever the reasons, had a hard time getting it off.

[–] TMC-4 (20123) 4 years ago

Val Kilmer two years prior to Batman Forever, did this movie with Kim Basinger called The Real McCoy. Allegedly, the film had to be rewritten because according to Martin Bregman, the producer, Val in his words, "tried to destroy the picture". He also allegedly, got pissed when a scene wasn't altered to his liking. So in retaliation, Val started firing his prop gun at a car. He also allegedly, snapping at someone to “never speak to him like that again” when he was just asked to rehearse a scene once more.

When you make a movie with Kim Basinger and (unless your name is Alec Baldwin) virtually most if not all of the behind the scenes horror stories is about you, then you have serious a problem. I think even Marlon Brando, who himself wasn't known for being the easiest actor to work with, told him that he's mistaking his talent with the size of his paycheck.

[–] TMC-4 (20123) 4 years ago

Val Kilmer's Tombstone co-star Michael Biehn, famously said:

“People ask me what it’s like to work with Val Kilmer. I don’t know. Never met him. Never shook his hand. I know Doc Holliday, but I don’t know [Kilmer].”

He respected Kilmer’s craft.

https://www.quora.com/q/thetaoofscreenwriting/What-do-actors-actresses-do-when-they-are-told-no-one-wants-to-work-with-them-i-e-they-are-too-difficult-1

[–] TMC-4 (20123) 3 years ago

I often wondered if Val was just being an asshole just to be an asshole. At least that's the perspective that I received from what was alleged to have been said about his attitude while making Batman Forever. Joel Schumacher was by most accounts that I've heard, a very easy going, friendly individual. He's basically, the perfect boss or the person that you wished that you could work for. So if he thinks that you're behavior is way out of line, than I'm immediately inclined to side with Schumacher.

I do find it funny that Val Kilmer was likely being a temperamental bi-polar method actor when Jim Carrey was accused of being that in the Andy Kaufman biopic several years later. Namely, Jerry "The King" Lawler, who of course knew Andy Kaufman in real life, was annoyed about how Jim Carrey was antagonistic towards him when the cameras weren't rolling. In real life, Andy Kaufman dropped his douchey, trollish, heelish wrestling persona when he was wasn't in public with Lawler. Instead, Jim refused to "break character" and just assumed that Andy was a dick to people even when he wasn't on TV "acting".

[–] filmschooldegree (350) 3 years ago

I suspect he was just an ahole - the 90s was a different era after all, in which actors were less accountable and scrutiny was more perfunctory rather than granular. It will be interesting to see the extent the behind the scenes footage in his new documentary captures, I doubt he will show compromising interactions or moments on set (if he even had any), but perhaps with his newfound mortality he will put himself on the cross for the peanut gallery.

[–] TMC-4 (20123) 2 years ago

Joel Schumacher always struck me as a fairly patient, easy going guy. He was basically the type of director or boss that you would most want and dream of working with. Even Michael Keaton said that even though he didn't agree with the direction that Joel Schumacher wanted to take the Batman series after Tim Burton vacated the director's chair, said that he was a nice guy when met with him. So if he thought that you were being an asshole then it must be close to correct.

In fairness, I'm sure that after his life altering cancer ordeal, Val Kilmer has mellowed tremendously. But it wasn't a very good look on his resume and for his overall reputation to be cited as being difficult while working in a major, tent-pole, blockbuster franchise like Batman.

[–] MickyMac (3172) 4 years ago

It was a time in Val Kilmer's career where he was a nightmare to work with on every movie he was on, god if there's not a better example of being difficult to work with than Batman Forever.

[–] TMC-4 (20123) 4 years ago

I kind of equate Val Kilmer being difficult to work with in Batman Forever with Edward Norton about a decade and a half later with the MCU (hence why Mark Ruffalo replaced him as the Incredible Hulk after only one movie). The last place for you overstep your boundaries and be an uncooperative prick to deal with is with a multi-million dollar superhero franchise.

[–] TMC-4 (20123) 3 years ago

Why People Don't Want To Work With Val Kilmer

https://www.nickiswift.com/491755/why-people-dont-want-to-work-with-val-kilmer/

Reports about Val Kilmer's negative persona go way back. He's been alternately described as childish, obnoxious, and lacking a good work ethic. But the fallout that seemed to cement Kilmer's difficult status was his stint as the caped crusader in "Batman Forever." If you don't remember that Kilmer once played Batman, we don't blame you — he was replaced by George Clooney in the sequel.

Director Joel Schumacher reckons the fame surrounding the movie made Kilmer arrogant. "When we were on the world tour, it just really went to his head," he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017. Years later, in a 2020 interview with Vulture, the director denied calling Kilmer "difficult," instead saying he actually described him as "psychotic." Not a great performance review by any means.

While reputation can sometimes make or break a career, having a "bad boy" image isn't always the worst thing in Hollywood. And Kilmer himself has a pretty straightforward explanation for his bad rep.

[–] seanwhelan2310 (575) 2 years ago

Apparently his relation with his wife Joanne Whalley was on the rocks so this might of been the reason of his behavior on set

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Or maybe his marrige was on the rocks because of his behavior.

[–] seanwhelan2310 (575) 2 years ago

Val Kilmer's marriage to Joanne Whalley ended during filming, with the divorce being finalized a year after this film came out. Whether or not the stress of Kilmer's failing marriage was a factor in his attitude on set, and a factor in his strained working relationship with Joel Schumacher, is unknown.

Source: IMDB

[–] seanwhelan2310 (575) 2 years ago

Joel Schumacher had stated that he was told not to hire Val Kilmer from other directors, it's also worth mentioning that Keanu Reeves, Kurt Russell, Johnny Depp and William Baldwin were considered for the role before Kilmer was cast. Billy Baldwin had worked with Schumacher on "Flatliners" so that working relationship was established, he was also considered by Schumacher to replace Kilmer in a sequel, but I'd say he would have found it easy to work with either Depp or Reeves, since it's been well known that those two have came around as the nicest guys in Hollywood.