Well, for today’s cinema spectacular, I want to focus on Marlon Brando in 1996’s The Island of Dr. Moreau. Also starring Val Kilmer (though nobody would mistake it for one of his best movies), the serendipitous moment in question is when Marlon Brando wore an ice bucket hat on his head because he was hot, and it made it into the movie.
Serendipity, which is also known as “a happy accident,” is something that I’m always quick to point out since it happens so rarely. Usually, serendipitous occasions occur with discoveries, like finding mold in a Petri dish, or learning that two foods go together remarkably well. I always like the moments in films that were initially unintentional but ended up creating movie magic.
It’s so strange, but also so wonderful. Let’s talk.
As You Probably Already Know, Marlon Brando Wasn't The Easiest Person To Work With
If there’s any actor who was notoriously difficult to work with, it was Marlon Brando. From not memorizing his lines in one of Coppola's best movies, The Godfather, to suggesting that he look like a glowing green bagel in Superman, Brando was certainly unique to say the very least, and a terror on set to say the very most.
Well, that notoriety followed him into the already difficult production of The Island of Dr. Moreau, which was a genuine disaster behind the scenes. According to Far Out, Brando is said to not have gotten along with Val Kilmer, like, at all. Not only that, but Brando donned kabuki make-up (which, according to FXGuide, he applied himself), and an ice bucket hat on his head…and he wanted all of this written into the script.
Now, Brando wanted to wear the ice bucket hat simply because it was hot in Queensland, Australia, where filming was going on, and it became an actual prop in the film (and hence, serendipity). In fact, according to SlashFilm, it is said that Brando wanted it to be revealed that his character was a dolphin, which might be why he needed the ice bucket hat in the first place. It's just sheer lunacy.
There Was Also A Notoriously Difficult Production In Extreme Climate
One of the best war movies ever made, Apocalypse Now, is said to have had hellish conditions when it was filmed in the Philippines, but at least Apocalypse Now, which Brando also starred in, only had one director.
The Island of Dr. Moreau, however, infamously had two directors, with the first one, Richard Stanley, unceremoniously ousted early on in production, and John Frankenheimer brought on to replace him. Also interesting: Similar to how Apocalypse Now has a documentary about the troubled production titled Heart of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, The Island of Dr. Moreau also has a documentary, that being Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau.
Doomed is right. The film was originally going to have Bruce Willis, but he declined as he was getting divorced from Demi Moore. So, Val Kilmer was brought on…and he was also served divorce papers. Tragically, Brando’s daughter died by suicide around this time, and it put into question whether he was going to be in the movie. When Brando eventually did come, he was wearing the make-up, a muumuu-esque ceremonial robe, and the ice bucket hat, and he demanded that it be in the film.
With Frankenheimer realizing the mess that he inherited, certain things were probably allowed into the movie that shouldn’t have been…namely, the ice bucket hat. At least it was memorable.
