Since the release of Fox's X-Men back in 2000, a number of reports have circulated, detailing director Bryan Singer's unprofessional behavior on set. Fresh coverage has now revealed that the studio, though evidently hesitant to pull Singer from X-Men projects given their success, employed measures to keep the director in check.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, some of those measures included bringing current Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige in to keep on eye on Singer. At the time, Feige was an executive under producer Lauren Shuler Donner. This followed a series of incidents that reportedly involved tantrums and last-minute changes in filming. For example, although actor Rebecca Romjin required hours of prosthetic application and body painting for the role of Mystique, Singer would decide to film scenes without her with little warning.
Singer has previously attributed his behavior to medication he had been taking for back pains. It should be noted that cast and crew members have spoken out about the X-Men director's problematic drug use. Despite the issues on set, Fox continued to work with Singer on the film franchise due to the financial success of the 2000 film, which earned $296 million worldwide on a reported budget of $75 million.
Singer has been facing a number of sexual assault allegations, predominately concerning sexual assault and abuse against minors. Singer has denied many of these allegations.