Poll: Suicide Squad Behind The Scenes Reports

[Cicada 5]

Let me start by saying I'm looking forward to the Suicide Squad movie. It's got a more diverse cast than what you generally see in comic book adaptations, three actors I like and the premise of a team of mostly criminals being forced to do good is unique among the supoerhero genre.

That said, some of the reports - if they're true that is - of what the cast has been put through to get in character has me severely worried for their mental and physical health going forward and makes me question the decisions of the director.

This is the most recent report:

http://io9.gizmodo.com/in-all-seriousness-was-the-suicide-squad-set-an-actual-1784477978

Spoiler

Short of it, Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag) apparently was made to watch classified military video which he called "horrific", Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Killer Croc) was made to listen to tapes of Japanese cannibal Issei Sagawa and Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang) did shrooms

And this to repeat, is just the latest report. Here's a list of other crap that's gone down that have been reported this year

http://www.eonline.com/news/756288/jared-leto-sent-used-condoms-and-anal-beads-to-his-suicide-squad-co-stars-yup-you-read-that-right

http://io9.gizmodo.com/a-brief-history-of-suicide-squad-being-the-worst-place-1782354579

http://io9.gizmodo.com/viola-davis-wanted-to-pepper-spray-jared-leto-for-his-s-1782486185

http://io9.gizmodo.com/david-ayer-made-viola-davis-curse-out-a-castmate-on-the-1783477932

http://www.themarysue.com/suicide-squad-meets-fight-club/

http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/05/19/suicide-squad-the-weird-things-cara-delevingne-did-to-get-cast-as-enchantress

 

[hermajesty]

Wow. That's pretty messed up. Do actors really need these things to get into character for a superhero movie? i really doubt all that effort will make any difference on-screen.

 

[Bobular]

Wow. That's pretty messed up. Do actors really need these things to get into character for a superhero movie? i really doubt all that effort will make any difference on-screen.

Having know a few people in the theater business and reading interviews with actors, some seem to go to ridiculous lengths to get in character, I've seen people pick up habits from playing a roll that has then stuck with them after the roll has finished so they clearly throw them selves into these rolls.

I agree though, I don't know how much better its going to make their performance and whether some of the more extreme things are worth it but then again I've never been an actor myself (outside of school plays) so I'm not in a position to judge.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Wow. That's pretty messed up. Do actors really need these things to get into character for a superhero movie? i really doubt all that effort will make any difference on-screen.

Well, sometimes that kind of Stanislavkian method acting can produce some amazing on-screen performances. Many great actors/actresses, past and present, used it to prepare for their roles and stay in the right mindset while on set. Heath Ledger did it for his Joker in The Dark Knight and the portrayal is generally well-regarded. From what I can tell, Jared Leto seems to following in Ledger's footsteps for his Joker (albeit perhaps going a little too far).

As for Ayers antics, it's not unusual for a director to make the actors do certain things to help them better understand their characters and their respective relationships, but this case seems to be a particularly unpleasant one.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Either weird directing going on, or a stupid gimmick. Hard to say.

 

[Thaluikhain]

It's all made up. Just like all the stuff with Leto. Ever since ledger allegedly went crazy (he didnt) and rdj became Tony stark on and off the screen, nerds really want their actors being super into their characters in a way that no actor has ever been.

Eh, remember when Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson were a couple and it pleased the Twilight fans, and then were not and it really did not? Naught new here.

 

[Josh123914]

To be fair, it's wish fulfillment for someone out there to have Jared Leto mail you sex objects.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Good marketing. That is all.

 

[bastardofmelbourne]

Wow. That's pretty messed up. Do actors really need these things to get into character for a superhero movie? i really doubt all that effort will make any difference on-screen.

It does, actually, and historically has. Stanley Kubrick treated Shelley Duvall like shit while filming The Shining so that she would be authentically anxious/exhausted/terrified.

And isn't there that scene in the Lord of the Rings film where Aragorn kicks a helmet and lets out a grief-filled scream? He actually broke his toe doing that; the scream was from the pain. It was so well-done they kept it even though it was totally unplanned.

I mean, the logic is sound. The best way to make something look authentic is to actually do it. It doesn't mean it'll be a good movie, of course - actors have done terrible, humiliating things in the name of awful films [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brown_Bunny]. But it at least shows you that the cast is dedicated to it. That's something that gets overlooked a lot by Internet critics; the level of work an actor will put into a film if they're really, really into it. Ben Affleck and Christian Bale didn't turn themselves into freakishly muscled flesh-beasts just so that they could cash a paycheck.

 

[hermajesty]

Fair enough. I stand corrected

 

[Cicada 5]

Wow. That's pretty messed up. Do actors really need these things to get into character for a superhero movie? i really doubt all that effort will make any difference on-screen.

It does, actually, and historically has. Stanley Kubrick treated Shelley Duvall like shit while filming The Shining so that she would be authentically anxious/exhausted/terrified.

And isn't there that scene in the Lord of the Rings film where Aragorn kicks a helmet and lets out a grief-filled scream? He actually broke his toe doing that; the scream was from the pain. It was so well-done they kept it even though it was totally unplanned.

I mean, the logic is sound. The best way to make something look authentic is to actually do it. It doesn't mean it'll be a good movie, of course - actors have done terrible, humiliating things in the name of awful films [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brown_Bunny]. But it at least shows you that the cast is dedicated to it. That's something that gets overlooked a lot by Internet critics; the level of work an actor will put into a film if they're really, really into it. Ben Affleck and Christian Bale didn't turn themselves into freakishly muscled flesh-beasts just so that they could cash a paycheck.

I'm not sure if any of this stuff that we've heard about this movie is quite the same as Affleck and Bale working out to look more muscular. A lot of this sounds like a similar incedent at the Profiles Theatre in Chicago. The people running the theatre started getting a little "too method", and began ignoring the stage choreography for "more realism" and started to actually hurt people on stage. They then started emotionally abusing actors, again in the name of realism, both on stage and in rehearsal rooms. oddly enough, this was mainly aimed at female actors. And then the outright sexual harassment and sleeping with actors got started....

 

[Mangod]

Sooo, slightly off-topic: is Suicide Squad just not getting screened for critics? It releases in two days here in Sweden; where are the reviews?

 

[bastardofmelbourne]

Sooo, slightly off-topic: is Suicide Squad just not getting screened for critics? It releases in two days here in Sweden; where are the reviews?

Based on how badly the WB execs were blindsided by the critical reaction to BvS, they're probably playing it safe this time around.

I'm not sure if any of this stuff that we've heard about this movie is quite the same as Affleck and Bale working out to look more muscular. A lot of this sounds like a similar incedent at the Profiles Theatre in Chicago. The people running the theatre started getting a little "too method", and began ignoring the stage choreography for "more realism" and started to actually hurt people on stage. They then started emotionally abusing actors, again in the name of realism, both on stage and in rehearsal rooms. oddly enough, this was mainly aimed at female actors. And then the outright sexual harassment and sleeping with actors got started....

Oh, I wasn't really comparing what Bale and Affleck did with what Kubrick did. I just figured it was a good example of the kind of dedication some actors put into their work that often gets overlooked by internet commenters. I mean, seriously - I would not be able to get as buff as Bale and Affleck did in the time they had. I wouldn't have the willpower. I think ninety-nine out of every hundred GIFT mother-uckers complaining about comic book films wouldn't be able to do what some of these actors do just so that they fit into the Batsuit better.

But yeah, if your director is so dead-set on hardcore method acting that it borders on the criminal - like, uh, Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock - then that's a bad thing. Probably. I mean, it's bad for the actors. Especially if the director isn't Stanley Kubrick, and is instead some shithead who doesn't deserve his own cast.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Good marketing. That is all.

A little maybe, but it could easily be real. We know how insane sets can get, even without it becoming public until after the fact. Shit is just more difficult to hide these days. And if I'm not mistaken Jared Leto is known for this kind of crap.

 

[09philj]

Sooo, slightly off-topic: is Suicide Squad just not getting screened for critics? It releases in two days here in Sweden; where are the reviews?

There's an embargo on reviews being released until 9:00 am pacific time on Tuesday.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Fair enough. I stand corrected

Well no, you raised a valid question. Yes, that kind of deep immersion can and has given us some amazing acting performances, but there are just as many great ones where this method wasn't used. So whether or not it is strictly necessary is up for debate.

It does, actually, and historically has. Stanley Kubrick treated Shelley Duvall like shit while filming The Shining so that she would be authentically anxious/exhausted/terrified.

Perhaps you'll be interested to know Suicide Squad isn't the first time David Ayers has done this kind of stuff. Similar to how the Marine actors in Full Metal Jacket went through a realistic bootcamp, Ayer made the actors for Fury go through one too and, upon viewing the movie, several WWII vets have come out saying 'Yeah, that's what it was like being a tank crew'. Ayer did the same for End Of Watch, having Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena go through intensive tactical training and 12-hour ride-alongs for 5 months.

Apparently, it's part of Ayer's directing style (I suppose you could call it method directing?). Makes me wonder if Kubrick's directing is a major inspiration.

 

[Mangod]

Sooo, slightly off-topic: is Suicide Squad just not getting screened for critics? It releases in two days here in Sweden; where are the reviews?

There's an embargo on reviews being released until 9:00 am pacific time on Tuesday.

That's... not encouraging. Doesn't studios usually want the reviews out early to drum up more interet in the movie before release - unless the studio itself has no confidence in it?

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Eh, actors of the more committed variety will try to get as close to their character as they can. Often as a form of escapism, a particular mindset that seeks to be somebody else entirely. It's just a way of easing into another state of mind without the feeling like an unconvincing imitation. Christian Bale's Batman was hardly the highlight of his acting devotion, if you ever watched the Machinist, what muscle he had to lose only to regain it surprisingly fast for Batman;

Spoiler: Pictures!

http://moviepilot.com/posts/3555508
It makes taking shrooms and pulling unhygienic jokes appear slightly quaint in comparison. Watching disturbing videos...hmm, there are more variables to consider there. Psychological damage is harder to measure assuming it's apparent and observable.

So review embargos are becoming the norm now? Lovely.

 

[RaikuFA]

Sooo, slightly off-topic: is Suicide Squad just not getting screened for critics? It releases in two days here in Sweden; where are the reviews?

There's an embargo on reviews being released until 9:00 am pacific time on Tuesday.

That's... not encouraging. Doesn't studios usually want the reviews out early to drum up more interet in the movie before release - unless the studio itself has no confidence in it?

Depends. There's a Jimquisition on this site that brings up the topic on embargoes. Here it is:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/9732-How-Review-Embargoes-Work

I assume movie reviews work the same when it comes to embargoes.