Update: August 7, 2015
New Details on Josh Trank's Bizarre Behavior on the FANTASTIC FOUR Set
EW's sources close to those films say, without question, director Josh Trank was fired from the movie after Lucasfilm executives investigated rumors of his behavior on the Fantastic Four set and feared he would be too chaotic to trust with one of the stand-alone movies.
Trank's
tweet as Fantastic Four hits theaters unraveled the entire facade. Based on his own words, we now know that Trank had been removed from the film, was not happy with the final cut, and he wanted the world to understand that the movie being demolished by critics was not the one he wanted to make. That reshot climax, by the way, is the main thing singled out in many reviews for being out of sync with the rest of the film and the character development that came before.
Several high level sources close to Fantastic Four - spoken to independently of each other - have told EW the rift on set was not about creative differences but rather destructive and combative behavior Trank demonstrated toward the crew, producers, studio and even the stars. When he was wooed by Fox for Fantastic Four, the movie had no set limits. But as the green-light loomed, Trank was indecisive and repeatedly requested sweeping changes that caused studio confidence to plummet. During photography, Trank's personal disputes - involving accusations of deliberate damage done to the house he was renting, as revenge over a dispite with the landlord - which sources say eventually manifested on set as hostility and frustration toward the cast and crew.
Not all these new sources agree, however. Some who worked on the film say Trank broke, for sure, but was driven to the breaking point by the studio, and that his clash was not with Kinberg but Fox production president Emma Watts. According to several individuals who worked on the movie, the studio delayed casting and script approvals, slashed the budget by tens of millions from what was originally promised during the development phase, and tried to force last-minute script changes to the film just as principal photography was beginning.
There was uncertainty about who should star. Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm was set from the start, but the studio wanted a different actor than Miles Teller for Reed Richards. Trank won that battle, even though he later developed a mutually disdainful relationship with the actor but Fox insisted that Kate Mara be given the role of Sue Storm, and Trank treated her badly as a result. Some say he was cruel, others say merely cold. No one says they got along.
Different sources say Trank was indecisive, others say the studio was hemming and hawing on his choices. Either way, the script was not finalized until late in preproduction, and continued to change right through reshoots, which stalled crew workers who were trying to build sets, make costumes, props, and prep the movie. This created confusion and stress from the get-go that often boiled over among department heads trying to put together pieces of a movie that was still in flux. That’s not in doubt, but the question is: who was at fault?
Sources tell EW that, yes, the studio was desperate to protect the movie and didn't want the story to focus on how the studio and producers were rehabilitating a troubled project, but they and Trank's representatives were also trying to protect the filmmaker from public embarrassment. With his angry tweet, many outsiders interpreted it as Trank biting the hand that fed him, but several individuals who worked on the movie now say he was actually biting the hand that shielded the public from his meltdown and vindictive behavior.
Details on Josh Trank's Destructive and Combative Behavior on Fantastic Four Set
