That the actors have certain frictions with the directors is not something new or that surprises the public. That is why today we focus on the confrontation between the legendary director Alfred Hitchcock and the actor Paul Newman.
Everyone knows who Alfred Hitchcock is. The legendary British filmmaker became one of the most renowned directors in Hollywood and became a pioneer of suspense cinema. Throughout his extensive career, he has been behind some movie classics such as Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window, and Los pájaros, among many others.
On the other hand, Paul Newman became one of the great actors of classical cinema. Throughout his career, he not only stood out for being one of the most attractive men on the screen but for his great talent. In 1986 he won the Oscar for his work in The Color of Money. But he was also part of iconic films such as A Cat on a hot roof, Hell in the Tower, Exodus, and Cars, among others.
These two Hollywood legends crossed paths once, but the results weren't the best. In 1966, Alfred Hitchcock released the thriller Torn Curtain, which featured Paul Newman and Julie Andrews. And although it was well received by critics, the film never satisfied the director, who classified it as one of his worst experiences and placed almost all the blame on the protagonists.
Torn Curtain follows nuclear physicist Michael Armstrong, who in the mid-mid war flees to Berlin to serve as his for the communists. His girlfriend, confused by his sudden actions, decides to follow him, only to discover that it's not a betrayal of the state, but a covert mission to get a formula. However, when the deception is discovered, it will not be easy to escape.
Of course, Paul Newman was in charge of playing Michael while Julie Andrews was placed in the shoes of her girlfriend. But the truth is that the actors were not Hitchcock's first choice, in fact, they had never been an option for the director. He wanted Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint (with whom he had worked on International Intrigue) for the leading roles, however, Universal Pictures forced him to hire Newman and Andrews. This was because both actors were at the height of their careers and the studio needed popular faces.
And because Julie Andrews was in high demand by the studios after starring in Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, she had very little time available to shoot the movie. In this way, the production was rushed to film, leaving Hitchcock upset, who was still not satisfied with the script.
As if that were not enough, the filmmaker did not like Newman's methods either, a reason that led to a confrontation and a bad relationship between the two during filming. Unlike the actors he was used to working with, Newman was characterized by method acting, so when he began to pepper Hitchcock with questions about his character and his motivations, the filmmaker ended up getting angry with him and labeling him as unacceptable and disrespectful.
In addition, he blamed the high salaries received by the actors (750,000 dollars each), stating that they absorbed a large part of the film's budget, which was five million. So much so, that when Newman once asked him about the motivations of his character, the director replied: "The motivation is your salary." For all these reasons, he decided to put all his focus and attention on the secondary actors in the film, whom he had been able to choose and with whom he was very satisfied.
Despite all this, and taking into account that Hitchcock never worked with the actor again, Paul Newman defended the filmmaker and stated that it was never his intention to be disrespectful. "I think Hitch and I could have gotten along very well, but the script kept getting in the way." For her part, Julie Andrews also had only good things to say about the director.
