One Jake Gyllenhaal movie became national headlines in the French media for all the wrong reasons, but the U.S. media are too busy reporting his Road House troubles. Gyllenhaal and Vanessa Kirby were signed for the indie film, Suddenly. Gyllenhaal also agreed to produce the $26 million movie directed by Thomas Bidegain. However, the production of the film fell apart in four days due to allegedly erratic behavior from the Enemy actor.
Gyllenhaal allegedly proved to be a headache for the production crew with his weird demands on set. At one point, Gyllenhaal demanded he swim in the cold sea for a scene in the film. The film fell apart when a producer refused to agree to Gyllenhaal’s demands.
Jake Gyllenhaal’s Behavior Reportedly Shut Down A $26 Million Indie Movie
Thomas Bidegain’s Suddenly tells the story of a couple trapped on an inhospitably cold island. The film’s production began in Iceland and things began to go south when stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Vanessa Kirby arrived at the location. According to the French magazine Technikart, Gyllenhaal had some weird script change demands.
Gyllenhaal wanted the film to include a scene where he stripped down to his underwear in front of the whole crew and jumped into the cold sea. Gyllenhaal reportedly told the director (via Film Stories UK), “When I see the sea, I swim in the sea.” The magazine also reported that the Spider-Man: Far from Home actor weirdly wanted to slap a fish for a scene, “For a scene on a boat, [Gyllenhaal] sells us the idea that he slaps a fish.”
Gyllenhaal also allegedly demanded that the script should be rewritten to make him an ex-soldier. Apart from these script change demands, the actor also reportedly asked for a specific color for his hire car. Gyllenhaal and his co-star Vanessa Kirby allegedly mocked the French accent when they read aloud the script like Pepe Le Pew.
Things worsened on Day 4 when Gyllenhaal allegedly wanted the production’s set builders to sleep in their cars to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Producer Alain Attal had enough and refused to budge to the demands or change the script. The entire project fell apart at that point. Later, Kirby made futile attempts to buy the script and make the film with Gyllenhaal, without Bidegain or Attal. The latter duo rejected the offer.
Bidegain eventually rewrote the script in French and cast Gilles Lellouche and Mélanie Laurent in the lead roles. The new film Soudain Seuls was released in December 2023.
Jake Gyllenhaal’s New Film Road House Is Riddled With Problems
Jake Gyllenhaal’s Road House faced its first controversy when director Doug Liman wrote an op-ed article in Deadline detailing how Amazon betrayed him. Liman shared that his deal with Amazon was to make a theatrical film, but the studio turned its back on him when they announced the film’s streaming release. He revealed that the film’s streaming-only release hurt the filmmakers, the actors, and the industry as a whole.
Producer Joel Silver also had problems with the studio over its alleged use of AI to complete the film. This became a legal matter when the original film’s screenwriter R. Lance Hill claimed that the copyright for Road House reverted to him from United Artists in November 2023. The alleged use of AI was included in Hill’s suit that sought declaratory relief and to block the distribution of the film. (via Los Angeles Times)
Beating all odds, Road House was finally released by Amazon MGM Studios via Prime Video on Thursday.
