Buzz
Directors are a fascinating group of individuals. The ones who stand behind the camera and shout ‘action!’ often have strange and intriguing personal stories. They can have peculiar hobbies or deep secrets. Some may be the villains, while others appear almost superhero-like. While these directors are among the most acclaimed in cinema, they also lead highly unique, sometimes bizarre lives.
10. The Itchy Shirt of Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola has achieved it all. Not only did he direct some of the most iconic films in history, but he also ventured into starting a winery, creating a short story magazine, launching his own brand of pasta sauce, and introducing a whole generation of Coppolas eager to make films of their own.
Coppola is not just a successful filmmaker, director, and cafe owner. He is also a true inventor who has tackled a question that has plagued humanity for centuries: how to scratch an itch in the middle of your back. His solution? A high-tech, custom-designed T-shirt, featuring a unique and interesting reptile.
Here’s how it works: on the back of the shirt, there’s a turtle, with its shell divided into a grid of rows and columns. Think of it like a Battleship board or a bingo card. The first row spells out the word “TROPICS” with seven letters, and below each letter, there’s a column of numbers. So if you feel an itch slightly off-center, you can tell someone, “R-5,” and they’ll know exactly where to scratch.
Granted, this requires memorizing the locations of all the numbers, which can be a bit of a hassle. But it’s still far better than the frustration of shouting at someone, “Left, no, further left, down, wait, up a bit!”
9. George Lucas Dreamed of Becoming a Race Car Driver
A long time ago, in a town far, far away (well, depending on where you’re from), there was a young boy named George Lucas. George had a penchant for slicking his hair back, wearing worn-out Levis, and adding taps to the heels of his pointy black shoes. But most of all, George was passionate about his car.
At 15, George’s father gifted him a Fiat Bianchina with a two-cylinder engine. Initially, George wasn’t too impressed with his “little dumb car” that had a “sewing machine motor,” but with a bit of hard work, George transformed his “motor scooter” into the fastest car in Modesto. He spent his free time tinkering with the Fiat at the Foreign Car Service—unless he was out cruising, racing his friends, and impressing girls, of course.
With his modified Fiat, George entered races all over southern California, racking up trophies and practicing for the day he could become a formula race car driver. The boy was obsessed with racing. He loved working in pit crews and even edited the newsletter for his Sports Competition Club. George had his share of accidents. At one point, he flipped his car at 100 kilometers (70 miles) per hour, but that didn’t slow him down. In fact, George became a notorious speeder, accumulating a hefty collection of speeding tickets.
Everything changed when George turned 18. While making an illegal left turn, a truck collided with his car. The Fiat crashed into a tree, and George would’ve been killed if not for his makeshift racing seat belt, which snapped during the impact. Thankfully, George had also removed the roof of his car, so he went flying out of it. In other words, had he been wearing his seat belt, George might have become a Force ghost.
After two weeks in the hospital and several months of physical rehabilitation, George gave up his aspiration of becoming a race car driver. Instead, he enrolled at Modesto Junior College, where he developed an interest in film, and well, the rest is history.
8. John Huston Accidentally Killed a Woman
John Huston was a lot like the Ernest Hemingway of directors. As a child, he toured vaudeville with his father before dropping out of high school to become a boxer. He later learned to paint, acted in plays, and worked as a reporter. Eventually, he moved to Mexico, where he became an honorary lieutenant in the Mexican cavalry just to get free horse riding lessons. He never bothered to learn Spanish, except for the phrase “Dos Equis.”
After shaking the film industry with The Maltese Falcon, Huston enlisted in the army during World War II, became a major, and directed a series of controversial documentaries that were censored by the government. Post-war, he went on to direct classics like The Treasure of Sierra Madre and The Man Who Would Be King, all while snorkeling in Mexico, riding horses in Ireland, and hunting iguanas with Papa Hemingway himself. Huston truly lived an extraordinary life.
However, Huston’s life wasn’t only filled with exciting tales. The man was married five times, had a complicated relationship with his children, and consumed enough alcohol to pickle a man’s liver multiple times. Additionally, he was involved in a tragic incident where he accidentally killed a woman. On September 25, 1933, Huston was driving down Sunset Boulevard. The light was green, he wasn’t speeding or intoxicated, and a woman suddenly stepped out from between two parked cars.
Her name was Tosca Roulien, and she was thrown over Huston’s windshield. When authorities arrived, they found Roulien lying lifeless in the street, her head severely injured. Huston was arrested, but a grand jury cleared him of any blame. However, public opinion was not as lenient. Newspapers across the country harshly criticized Huston, and to escape the negative media attention, he moved to Europe for several years before returning to California, where he began his successful career as a director.
7. Wes Anderson, The Mastermind of Crime
Wes Anderson is one of the most stylistically unique directors working today, known for his love of lateral tracking shots, pastel hues, and, of course, Bill Murray. He also has a strange fondness for thieves. For example, The Grand Budapest Hotel revolves around the theft of a priceless painting. Fantastic Mr. Fox is all about the adventures of a seasoned thief. Even Anderson's debut film, Bottle Rocket, centers around three crooks planning the perfect heist.
Perhaps this is because Anderson once orchestrated a break-in of his own.
Back in 1989, Anderson became friends with Owen Wilson at the University of Texas, and the two ended up sharing a place in an apartment complex in Austin. As recent college graduates, they didn’t exactly have a fortune to spend on fancy living arrangements. Their apartment had its fair share of issues, and the two were particularly frustrated with the malfunctioning window cranks.
The cranks were stuck, leaving their windows perpetually halfway open. In the winter, the apartment became uncomfortably cold, while in the summer, it turned into a sweltering heatbox. To make things worse, a thief could easily crawl through the window and steal their belongings. Annoyed, Anderson and Wilson asked their landlord to fix the cranks, but the landlord kept delaying it. So, in protest, they stopped paying their rent. In return, the landlord refused to fix the cranks until the rent was paid.
Determined to get the windows fixed, Anderson and Wilson devised a plan to break into their own apartment, create some chaos, steal a few items, and then call the police. The hope was that the apparent burglary would force the landlord to finally repair the windows. However, the landlord wasn’t fooled. He realized it was an inside job, and instead of falling for the scheme, he tried to hold their belongings hostage. This led to a violent tug-of-war between Anderson and the landlord over an 8mm camera.
Eventually, Anderson and Wilson had had enough and made a hasty exit in the dead of night. Enraged, the landlord hired a private detective to track them down, and soon enough, the duo found themselves back at the apartment, offering heartfelt apologies. The story, however, had a sweet conclusion. To make up for it, Anderson suggested he make a documentary about the landlord and air it on public access TV.
The old man agreed, and Anderson went on to film the landlord as he recounted stories from his life, including a particularly touching tale about how his cherished pet python passed away in his arms. By the end of the filming session, the landlord was tearfully reminiscing. Despite the tears, he was grateful for the film and ended up paying Anderson $600 for capturing his poignant story.
6. The M. Night Shyamalan Hoax
M. Night Shyamalan’s career is one of the saddest tales in cinema. Once heralded as a visionary director with three back-to-back hits, Shyamalan’s career took a nosedive as he directed films like Lady in the Water, The Last Airbender, and After Earth, which were poorly received. When did it all go wrong? Most would agree that M. Night’s downfall began in 2004 with the release of The Village... and an incredibly strange documentary.
The documentary, produced by the Sci-Fi Channel, The Buried Secret of M. Night Shyamalan, was supposed to be a light-hearted puff piece, but it quickly turned into something far more controversial. Hosted by filmmaker Nathaniel Kahan, Shyamalan initially had no issue with the documentary. But as Kahan delved deeper into the director’s life, Shyamalan’s temper flared. Soon, he was openly condemning the film, claiming that Kahan and the Sci-Fi Channel were invading his privacy and threatening to expose a secret he had long kept hidden.
So, what exactly was this so-called buried secret? According to the three-hour-long documentary, when Shyamalan was just 11 years old, he nearly drowned and was technically dead for over 30 minutes. After he was revived, he developed what he described as a 'sixth sense,' allowing him to communicate with the dead, much like Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense. In an eerie moment, the documentary even depicted how Shyamalan’s mere presence caused the microphones and camera to malfunction, as if a supernatural energy surrounded him.
It turns out the whole thing was a hoax, and Shyamalan was fully in on it from the start. However, Sci-Fi Channel didn’t present the film as a mockumentary. In fact, the filmmakers managed to convince the Associated Press that they were making a genuine documentary, one filled with shocking secrets. Eventually, Sci-Fi had to admit that the project was merely a 'guerrilla marketing campaign' that had gone too far, insisting that Shyamalan himself was just as complicit in the deception.
5. Frank Capra Had A Thing For Mussolini
Before retiring from filmmaking, Frank Capra directed some of the most iconic feel-good films in history. Known best for his beloved Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life, Capra also created timeless works like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It Happened One Night. Winning three Oscars and being the highest-paid director of the 1930s, Capra truly understood the art of making films.
However, Capra's stance on politics was far from clear-cut. As film historian Mark Harris put it, Capra was 'incredibly reactive' to the last thing that had been forcefully presented to him or the last accusation thrown his way. In other words, Capra was often a man of confusion.
For instance, Capra was a staunch opponent of unions, yet he served as the president of the Screen Directors Guild. His films frequently depicted bankers and wealthy businessmen as villains, yet he was a devoted Republican who despised Franklin D. Roosevelt. The director ranted about his disdain for the rich while spending leisurely afternoons playing golf with Gerald Ford.
Things got even murkier when Fascism entered the picture. Capra admired Benito Mussolini, believing the dictator was the champion of the common man—just like many of his own film heroes—and would be the one to protect Italy from communism. Capra's admiration for Mussolini was so intense that he allegedly displayed an oil painting of the dictator in his bedroom.
The admiration was mutual. Mussolini took pride in Capra's success in Hollywood and even offered to back Capra's next film with $1 million—on the condition that Capra make a biopic about the dictator. However, that plan fell apart, and when Mussolini joined forces with Hitler, Capra's attitude took a sharp turn. In his Why We Fight training films, he portrayed his former idol as a foolish puppet under Hitler's control.
4. Orson Welles Hated His Nose
Aside from directing Citizen Kane, often hailed as the greatest film of all time, Welles also helmed cinematic gems such as The Magnificent Ambersons and The Lady from Shanghai.
Welles was also a talented actor, frequently starring in his own films. While you could argue he had a large ego, Welles was deeply insecure about his appearance. And no, we're not talking about his ever-growing waistline, but rather his nose.
For reasons that remain unclear, Orson Welles had a strong dislike for his nose. He once remarked that it hadn't 'grown one millimeter since childhood,' and went to great lengths to conceal his small nose from viewers. With few exceptions, whenever Welles appeared on screen, he was sporting a prosthetic nose. As he aged, his prosthetic noses became larger and more exaggerated—just look at his roles in The Tartars or Touch of Evil.
British journalist David Cairns noted that Welles kept a special collection of his prosthetic noses, each one labeled with quirky names like 'Sandra' or 'Sloane Junior.' The noses caused a number of issues during filming. For instance, during Ferry to Hong Kong, Welles became frantic when his nose kit didn’t arrive on time. In response, 20 crew members were dispatched to every post office in Hong Kong to track down his beloved prosthetics.
It was hardly worth the effort. Once the film was completed, the editors discovered that Orson's nose had changed in size and shape throughout the entire movie.
3. Errol Morris's Fascination with Ed Gein
Ed Gein stands as one of the most notorious killers in American history. This Wisconsin murderer gruesomely slaughtered women, raided graves, and transformed his victims into macabre furniture and bizarre clothing. His heinous acts also inspired iconic films such as Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, catching the attention of filmmaker Errol Morris.
Before directing renowned films like Gates of Heaven and The Thin Blue Line, Morris was a philosophy student at the University of California, Berkeley. Initially intending to write a PhD dissertation on the insanity plea, Morris's focus shifted when he became fascinated by Ed Gein. Finding the man both 'naive and appalling,' Morris dropped out of college to delve deeper into the story of 'The Plainfield Ghoul.'
Determined to understand what went on in Ed’s mind, Morris packed his belongings and moved to the infamous killer’s hometown of Plainview. He even befriended Gein’s next-door neighbors, eventually moving in with them. During his time in Wisconsin, Morris visited a crime lab to view Gein’s grotesque taxidermy work and eventually even interviewed the killer himself.
This may have seemed relatively normal, but things took a bizarre turn after that. Morris began to suspect that Gein may have exhumed his own mother’s body and turned it into furniture, like a chair or lampshade. Curious about whether her corpse was truly still in the grave, he teamed up with psychiatrist Dr. George Arndt. Together, they spent an afternoon at the cemetery, listening for hollow spots in the earth, trying to determine if Mrs. Gein’s body was still resting there. They never figured it out.
Then, Morris made a huge blunder. He casually shared his theory with his friend, director Werner Herzog. If you’re familiar with Herzog, you know that he’s the mad genius of cinema. Fascinated by the idea, Herzog suggested they grab a shovel and dig up the woman’s grave to see if she was still in it. The two directors even set a date to do so, but Morris had a change of heart at the last minute and bailed. It was probably for the best since Herzog was entirely serious and ready to dig.
2. Richard Linklater Shares a Roof with a Killer
Richard Linklater is one of the most intriguing filmmakers of our time. From unconventional animation and nonlinear storytelling to year-long projects, it’s difficult to categorize Linklater, as he’s constantly exploring new horizons. At times, he’s commercially successful; at other times, he’s the epitome of an artist’s artist. Regardless, he’s always captivating.
He also has a convicted murderer living in his garage.
In 2011, Linklater directed Bernie, a dark comedy inspired by a real-life murder that took place in Carthage, Texas (which, as a native Texan, this humble author believes is the most accurate representation of Texas ever captured on film). The film tells the story of Bernie Tiede (played by Jack Black), a funeral director who murders his abusive partner (Shirley MacLaine) after she pushes him too far. The real Bernie was sentenced to life in prison, but the case took an unexpected turn thanks to an Austin lawyer named Jodi Cole.
After seeing Linklater’s film, Cole conducted her own investigation and discovered that Bernie had been sexually assaulted as a teenager but had never spoken about it in court due to shame. According to a psychiatrist, this abuse played a major role in Bernie’s psychological and emotional state, which helped explain his actions. Armed with this new information, Cole partnered with Linklater and district attorney Danny Buck Davidson (the prosecutor who originally convicted Bernie) to secure Tiede's release from prison. After serving 17 years, Bernie was finally freed—under certain conditions. He must work for Jodi Cole, regularly attend counseling, and live with Richard Linklater.
The convicted killer is now residing in Richard Linklater's garage in Austin, where he'll serve out the remainder of his parole under the watch of the Golden Globe-winning filmmaker.
1. James Cameron, Superhero
Before Guillermo del Toro brought us magical films like Pan's Labyrinth and Pacific Rim, he was knee-deep in directing a monster film called Mimic, featuring killer cockroaches. However, interference from overbearing producers led del Toro to lose creative control over the project, which is why it stands as his least favorite film to date.
This experience was even more painful for del Toro as it coincided with a personal tragedy — his father was kidnapped by gangsters during that period, leaving the director with a host of grim memories associated with the project.
While living in Mexico, del Toro’s father was taken hostage by a group of criminals who demanded a ransom of $1 million. Unfortunately, del Toro was unable to pay, having invested nearly all his money into the production of Mimic.
James Cameron came to the rescue.
Guillermo del Toro and James Cameron share a close friendship. Cameron lent a hand on projects like Cronos and Blade II, while del Toro edited films such as True Lies and Titanic. The bond between them runs deep, with Cameron even providing del Toro with a private 3-D lesson for Pacific Rim and offering him a place to stay at his guest house. When Cameron learned of his friend’s predicament, he responded by giving del Toro $1 million.
With the financial support, del Toro traveled to Mexico to negotiate with the kidnappers. Alongside several hostage negotiators, he and his brothers took turns communicating with the criminals. Del Toro compared the tense situation to the movie Fargo and coped by spending time each morning writing fantasy stories to manage the emotional strain.
After 72 days, the kidnappers released del Toro’s father. The harrowing experience had a lasting effect on the director. He relocated his family out of Mexico and now lives in voluntary exile, believing the country has become too dangerous, especially since many of the criminals remain unpunished. Del Toro acknowledges that a part of him was forever changed after the kidnapping. He is grateful to have had James Cameron’s support, as the outcome could have been far worse.
