Wes Anderson Says Gene Hackman Was ‘Furious’ Over ‘Royal Tenenbaums’ Pay and ‘Left Without Saying Goodbye’; They Never Spoke After Film’s Release: ‘We Had Friction’

by

Wes Anderson recently discussed the notable friction that occurred on the filming location of 2001’s “The Royal Tenenbaums,” which involved Gene Hackman, who tragically passed away in April. Following Hackman’s demise, Bill Murray shared with the Associated Press that he found Hackman challenging during filming.

Anderson disclosed that Gene was extremely upset over the financial matter. He was enraged, in fact. truth be told, Gene wasn’t keen on the film project in the first place. I managed to persuade him, though, by simply not giving up. Furthermore, everyone else agreed to the salary offer, so Gene eventually relented and went along with it – and that’s how we ended up doing things.”

(Note: “And everybody else said yes to the salary” was changed to “everyone else agreed to the salary offer” for clarity.)

In the 2001 comedy-drama, Hackman portrayed Royal O’Reilly Tenenbaum as the family patriarch. At that time, Wes Anderson was just 32 years old, making it his third directorial venture. The ensemble cast featured the talents of Murray, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, Angelica Huston and others.

After the movie’s premiere, Anderson confirmed that he did not maintain contact with Hackman. “Not a peep,” he emphasized. “In reality, he departed without even saying farewell. He was cranky – we clashed. We didn’t see eye to eye. I suspect I was too green, and it was frustrating for him.

As per the director’s statement, his final chat with Hackman transpired during the movie’s premiere. “He appreciated it,” Anderson mentioned. “However, he admitted to me that he didn’t grasp it while we were filming. If only I had shown him a 10-minute segment earlier on, perhaps he would have said, ‘I see, I understand it now.’

Murray shared insights about the strained relationship between Anderson and Hackman, which came to light following Hackman’s passing, during his interview on “The Drew Barrymore Show.

Murray expressed empathy towards Gene as he found Wes Anderson to be a young, unimpressive figure in light of Gene’s remarkable contributions to American cinema. This led to some tension, but the circumstances of their collaboration were particularly challenging – working with children, animals, and Kumar Pallana, who was enigmatic to everyone involved. As a result, Gene felt a great sense of responsibility and often questioned his role in the production. However, his performance is outstanding, and watching him struggle only made Murray more admiring.

In his newest film titled “The Phoenician Scheme,” actor Murray appears in a minor role. This movie will have its first public screening at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, with a theater release scheduled for May 30, distributed by Focus Features.

Read More

2025-05-18 19:46