Why Stanley Kubrick demanded an entire cinema be repainted twice: “It would be impossible”
In order to be one of the greatest directors of all time, you also have to be one of the biggest nerds of all time. Whether it be Martin Scorsese and the way he reels off facts about every film he’s ever seen (completely unprompted, of course) or Ayo Edebiri and her all-consuming love for Akira Kurosawa, there are many people in the business who have found their way to the top through nothing but passion, hard work and a meticulous obsession with the medium.
But there was perhaps nobody more fanatic about their craft than Stanley Kubrick, with the director leaving no stone unturned as he perfected every single frame and controlled everything that passed through it, leading to breathtaking spectacles like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Barry Lyndon and The Shining.
While some of his collaborators might have found this approach sometimes painful, you cannot deny that it led to results, with one moment from his career highlighting just how far he went to ensure absolute perfection.
People have had a mix of stern and kind words to say about Stanley Kubrick, with some praising his attention to detail and others claiming that he went too far. From his infamous treatment of Shelley Duvall and Jack Nicholson while shooting The Shining, in which he tried to push them to madness through an insane number of takes during emotionally intense scenes or his years-long shoot for Eyes Wide Shut, with Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise being subjected to one of the longest film productions of all time, the director didn’t always know when to stop, always pushing himself to one higher level than everyone else.
However, this was perhaps most frustrating during the release of Eyes Wide Shut, with the director discovering that the cinema in which it was to be shown in New York had white lacquer walls, creating strange shiny reflections in the screening room. Kubrick demanded that the cinema be repainted, with the manager expressing doubt that this would be possible in the few days before the premiere and that no contractor would be able to do it on time.
After looking through a list of firms in New York, Kubrick then sent a list from London with all the companies capable of installing the correct scaffolding and redoing the walls. A few days later, he asked what kind of black paint was being used, and discovered that they had used a glossy black paint, asking them to repaint the room again in matte black paint.
While he finally got what he wanted and created a viewing experience for audiences that wouldn’t interfere with the look of the film in any way, it was undoubtedly a nightmare for everyone involved. He might have been the greatest director of all time, but he was also a pain in the ass for those who had to adhere to his endless list of commands, noticing details that would most likely be overlooked by anyone else but him. Kubrick was a stickler for detail, always going one step higher than anyone else to achieve perfection.
