The 10 most ludicrous off-set moments in Hollywood history
Hollywood, Tinseltown, The Biz; the movie industry might have many names, but one thing is for sure, it is an utterly bonkers environment. Since the days of silent pictures, auteurs, actors and others have delivered some of the most unbelievable anecdotes in pop culture history ranging from the hilarious to the outright bizarre.
Some of the biggest names in Hollywood have stories that are so ludicrous that it’s either helped to create their legend or, on the other hand, hastened their downfall. From the late master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, to contemporary stars such as Ezra Miller, who is currently embroiled in a host of difficult situations, the tales of celebrities being far out are manifold.
Hollywood has provided an entertaining spectacle for consumers since long before the old “HOLLYWOODLAND” sign was erected on Mount Lee in 1923. With the industry attracting a menagerie of colourful and often problematic individuals, it’s a spectacle that looks set to continue for years into the future.
Join us then, as we list the ten most ludicrous off-set moments in Hollywood history.
The 10 most ludicrous off-set moments in Hollywood history
Faye Dunaway and the crazy voicemail to a biographer
Faye Dunaway boasts one of the most glittering oeuvres of her generation, making her name in classics such as Bonnie and Clyde, The Thomas Crown Affair, and Chinatown. However, running concurrently with her undoubted dramatic talent, Dunaway was a renowned livewire in her pomp.
Although she’s delivered many notable moments over her career, perhaps the most astounding is the angry voicemail that she left a biographer. This came after he asked her about Mommie Dearest, 1981’s critically panned exposé of Hollywood icon Joan Crawford. In the voicemail, she gets gradually more upset.
She said she was not interested in “dilly-dallying and tarrying over”, Mommie Dearest, and labelled her ex-husband Terry O’Neill a “big, big liar”, amongst other things in the extended ramble. Whilst it’s hard not to feel bad for Dunaway wanting to get past the media’s obsession with negatives, it’s still a fascinating listen that opens the eyes to how difficult movie stars can often be.
Kiefer Sutherland and the Christmas tree body slam
Kiefer Sutherland has always maintained a relatively clean-cut image; however, this came tumbling down in 2005. That year, footage emerged of the 24 and Lost Boys star drunkenly body-slamming an oversized Christmas tree in an upmarket London hotel. He caused quite the scene, as not only did the actor manage to knock down the tree, but lights and other ornaments as well.
What caused such an unexpected outburst? Well, the intoxicated actor was told by a friend that he was “a pirate, man”, before he responded with a frighteningly glazed-over look in his eyes saying, “That would explain everything.” He then proceeded to take the tree out in a way that even his 24 character, Jack Bauer, would be proud of.
“It was my holiday,” Sutherland later explained on the Jonathan Ross Show, adding humorously, “That [tree] specifically was a fire hazard, so I just wanted to clear that up.” The whole thing feels very Hunter S. Thompson.
Sean Young and the desperation to land the Catwoman role in Batman Returns
Sean Young has had a tough time in Hollywood, with her claiming to the Daily Beast in 2021 that her career was sabotaged by a handful of “powerful, terribly vindictive men.” “I’m not Julia Roberts,” she once heartbreakingly told Entertainment Weekly, sure of her hindered fortune. “And I could have been.”
Despite this regret, Young has also made her name as an unpredictable character. Her most famous off-set moment came when she unsuccessfully launched a campaign to play Catwoman in Tim Burton’s 1992 sequel Batman Returns. Famously, the role was originally offered to Annette Bening, but Michelle Pfeiffer was cast after she became pregnant.
In her bid to become the character, she created a homemade Catwoman costume and attempted to contact Burton and star Michael Keaton during production. Not stopping there, she appeared on The Joan Rivers Show in character as Catwoman, pleading with Burton to give her the role. Needless to say, this level of desperation actually put the director off.
Tom Cruise and the “You don’t know Psychiatry like I do” incident
Top Gun and Mission: Impossible star Tom Cruise has long been known as one of the weirdest men in Hollywood, with a host of dumbfounding anecdotes to his name. The slew of strange reports make his performance as the pickup artist Frank T.J. Mackey in Magnolia frighteningly substantial.
The most ludicrous off-set moment that Cruise has provided came in 2005 when he argued with Matt Lauer during a 2005 interview on the Today Show. The spat came after mention that Brooke Shields had revealed that she had used anti-depressants to alleviate herself of post-partum depression. Not buying her account, Cruise decried prescription drugs and called the field of Psychiatry a “pseudo-science”.
Cruise said definitively to Lauer, “Here’s the problem: you don’t know the history of psychiatry. I do”. A wholly unbelievable moment of egotism, Cruise would later admit that he came across as pompous.
Russell Crowe and the concierge altercation
In 2005, Gladiator star Russell Crowe was handcuffed for allegedly throwing a phone at a hotel concierge in New York. It was reported that the actor had been attempting to phone his wife in Australia but couldn’t get through. Then, per Crowe’s account, his accuser Nestor Estrada could have been more helpful when he called the front desk for help.
“His response was, ‘Whatever,’ and he hung up on me, so I went downstairs and had a word with him,” Crowe told the Sunday Night program. “I never touched him, mate. Never touched him, never laid a finger on him,” he maintained.
Then, in another interview with Australia’s Channel 7, Crowe further denied hitting Estrada, claiming that he had suffered his injury whilst running away from him. Interestingly, there was no explanation for why Estrada was running away or how he hurt himself.
At the time of the incident, the police said the clerk had suffered a cut below his right eye from a thrown telephone. Furthermore, according to Aol., Crowe’s publicist said that he never meant to hit Estrada and that the phone struck a wall rather than his face. Compounding this thought is that Crowe pleaded guilty to the assault in 2005, as the plea ensured he would avoid serving time.
Jack Nicholson and the golf club rampage
The notion that any living individual could inspire something as nutty as Mulholland Drive is quite frankly worrying, but according to David Lynch that appears to be the case. It might not be quite as haunting as the “he’s the one who’s doing it” line in the iconic diner scene, but Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux) smashing the windshield of a producer’s car with a golf club is still very unsettling in its own jarringly violent way. It is a scene of fantastical fiction with roots that are very much true to life.
Back in 1994 Anger Management star Jack Nicholson was accused of doing the exact same. The Oscar-winning actor was charged with misdemeanour vandalism and assault for allegedly smashing the windshield of a car with a golf club because he believed the driver cut him off in traffic. Presumably, the most disturbing moment for the victim was when they realised that the man attacking their car happened to be one of the biggest names in cinema history apparently reinventing his “here’s Johnny” scene in real life.
The charges were eventually dropped after Nicholson apologised for the incident and reportedly settled the matter out of court with the car owner for an astronomical fee rumoured to be around half a million dollars.
Lindsay Lohan and the high-speed chase with her PA’s mum
All seemed to be on the mend for Lindsay Lohan in the summer of 2007. She had seemingly just turned her troubled life around after a stint at Promises Rehab facility and the movie I Know Who Killed Me was just about to be released. Sadly, things took another sorry turn for the worse only days before the premiere.
Lohan began drinking shots at a Malibu house party and things got rowdy. The Mean Girls star then allegedly began screaming at her personal assistant for reasons unknown. When her PA responded by saying, “I quit. I’m done. I don’t even care,” things only escalated further. When the PA’s mother arrived to collect her daughter from the troublesome party, Lohan looked to prevent her exit by getting behind the wheel of a large automobile and chasing after her.
Ronnie Blake, who was in the back of the car she commandeered, recalled trying to leave the vehicle at one point. He opened the door but Lohan wouldn’t stop. “She accelerates, she runs over my foot,” Blake told TMZ. “And she didn’t stop … she kept driving.” Apparently, she kept driving all the way up to 100mph on the Pacific Coast Highway until it finally drew to a close.
Winona Ryder and the shoplifting case
“That was my Girl, Interrupted real life. I remember I was playing this character who ends up getting tortured in a Chilean prison [in the 1994 drama The House of the Spirits],” Winona Ryder told Harper’s Bazaar regarding the tempestuous period of her life after she broke up with Johnny Depp at the height of her finding fame.
Ryder was then caught shoplifting from Saks Fifth Avenue’s Beverly Hills department store in 2001. Her theft amounted to around £4000 worth of designer merchandise from the store. She was convicted on the evidence of CCTV footage. She was later found guilty.
This bizarre incident regarding the rich and famous star actually encouraged her to take a much-needed break. “I definitely retreated. I was in San Francisco. But I also wasn’t getting offers. I think it was a very mutual break,” she recalled regarding her hiatus from the film industry.
Joan Bennett’s husband tried to castrate her agent
Old-time Hollywood is rife with scandals, it just so happens that poor old Joan Bennett was caught up in one of the most bizarre. The Me and My Gal star was one of Hollywood’s most sought-after leading ladies until the jealous antics of her husband meant her career took a grisly nosedive.
In 1933, Bennett starred in Little Women. She then went on to marry the film’s famed producer Walter Wanger. Sadly, Wagner proved very jealous and possessive over his budding star. This came to the fore in 1951 when Wanger witnessed her chatting to her long-time agent, Jennings Lang.
He then proceeded to take out his pistol and began blasting shots at Lang’s groin, desperately trying to maim his manhood in a fit of envious rage over nothing other than a business chat. Lang later recovered in hospital while the aptly named Wanger served four months in prison. Bennett’s career, however, was unfortunately impacted by this regrettable incident.
Nicolas Cage, Vince Neil and the drunken street fight
Nicolas Cage is renowned for his larger-than-life characters on-screen, but there have been a few performances in his private life that also fit this mould. One such incident arose in 2016 when he was out drinking with the Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil.
When a fan named Kelly Guerrero approached the pair and asked for Cage’s autograph, Neil allegedly assaulted her by dragging her away from the Hollywood actor by her hair. At this stage, Cage was reportedly moved to intervene. He then proceeded to escort his friend onto the street where a drunken altercation took place and Cage dramatically bellowed, “Stop this shit now!”
Neil was sentenced to six months probation and a $1,000 fine, while an undisclosed civil case with Guerrero also took place. Cage never commented on the regrettable incident, but the cinematic embrace on the Las Vegas strip was captured on plenty of phones and remains a wild Hollywood moment worth musing over.
