This is as true of the arts as it is of social lives and political turmoil.
TakeThe Godfather Part III, for example.
It is, on the whole, quite good.
Image via 20th Century Studios
Romanticized and stately, but human.
The movie is a really fun watch.
And theres some truth to all of that.
Image Via 20th Century Fox
Unfortunately for that vision, the project ended up in the hands of producerWalter Wanger.
The script for the 1917 version couldnt be translated into sound and color anyway.
The chaotic production was detailed in anAMC making-ofdocumentary.
Image Via 20th Century Fox
Signs of bloat and the excesses of star power emerged early.
She also didnt want to shoot in Hollywood.
WithPeter Finchas Caesar,Stephen Boydas Antony, andKeith Baxteras Octavian, shooting began in September 1960.
Image Via 20th Century Fox
The results pleased neither the star nor the director.
When Mamoulian attempted to bluff for time by threatening to resign, he found Fox willing to oblige him.
The studio could have cut its losses at that point.
Image Via 20th Century Fox
Instead, they hired Mankiewicz, one of the few directors to meet Taylors contractually granted approval.
The new filmmaker brought with him a new approach to the story.
He also oversaw the relocation of the production from Pinewood in London to Cinecitta in Rome.
He ended up entrusting most of it to MacDougall.
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s Affair
And then, there was the affair.
To hear Wanger tell it, sparks flew between Taylor and Burton almost immediately.
Ironically, the relationship between Cleopatra and Antony is among the weaker elements of the film.
I suspect that approach would have fleshed out the latter romance considerably.
The publicity around Burton and Taylor helped kill Mankiewiczs two-film scheme.
Toward the end of production, Skouras was out as studio chief.
Zanucks imposed cuts left many in the cast unsatisfied, including Taylor.
Wanger, frozen out of post-production, aired his grievances in a tell-all book.
The scandalous on-set affair and the damnably unlucky production had been the talk of the town for months.
Zanuck himself didnt like the approach taken with Antony or the movie as a whole.
It made $40 million on its initial release, a massive haul for its time.
