In the midst of the less-than-stellar reviews for the upcoming Hellboy reboot comes a report detailing the film's troubled production. Allegedly, there were conflicts between director Neil Marshall, the film's producers and even stars David Harbour and Ian McShane.
According to The Wrap, Marshall and producers Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin allegedly clashed often while making the film. Levin and Gordon supposedly tried to wrestle control of the film from Marshall, with Levin noted for interrupting Marshall frequently in front of the crew during rehearsals, sometimes giving different directions than the director. Levin and Gordon were also said to have fired Marshall's frequent cinematographer, Sam McCurdy, f0r doing what Marshall had asked of him. Harbour, who has the lead role, was said to have walked off the set "frequently" and refused Marshall's requests for more takes.
Disputes between Marshall, Gordon and Levin had reportedly gotten so bad that there was a debate over the look of a tree featured often throughout Hellboy. The report said Marshall wanted a tree that looked real and was asymmetric, with Levin insisting on a symmetric tree. And once Marshall delivered his cut of the film, the producers allegedly took over.
An attorney for Levin has denied the report, noting that firing McCurdy was a "private matter" that had nothing to do with sending a message to Marshall, and labeled the film's supposed production issues as part of the process. He even went so far as to declare the report a "puff piece" for Marshall while tarnishing his client. Marshall declined to comment, as did Harbour and McShane.
Arriving April 12, director Neil Marshall’s Hellboy stars David Harbour as Hellboy, Ian McShane as Trevor Bruttenholm, Milla Jovovich as Nimue, Sasha Lane as Alice Monaghan, Penelope Mitchell as Ganeida and Daniel Dae Kim as Ben Daimio.