Bruce Willis Tried To Keep away from This 12 Monkeys Scene

Terry Gilliam’s 1995 science fiction thriller “12 Monkeys” is a gritty, difficult time-travel movie with a bleak ending that reinforces humanity’s failures, so it is no shock that there have been moments star Bruce Willis objected to throughout filming. In any case, it is a movie the place Willis’ character Cole is distributed all through historical past, stripped bare and hosed down, and handled like a mix savior for humanity and human lab rat by the folks in cost in his personal time. After a brilliant virus launched by an animal rights terrorist group forces all human survivors underground (actually), Cole is tasked with going again in time to try to cease the virus from ever being launched. In typical Gilliam style, nothing goes properly for our hero, who finds himself confronted with the pure existential horror of time loops.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter for the movie’s twenty fifth anniversary, Gilliam revealed that there was one particular scene the place he and Willis butted heads, and it is not one that you’d count on. As an alternative of caring about onscreen nudity, emotional vulnerability, or the weird environment through the scenes that happen in a psychological hospital, Willis was fearful about whether or not or not Cole might take a kick to the face.

Willis has a sophisticated repute on the subject of collaborating with administrators, with Kevin Smith notoriously saying it was “soul crushing” to work with the actor on the comedy “Cop Out.” Luckily, it appears like Willis and Gilliam had a barely extra copacetic working relationship. There was only one factor that the 2 actually disagreed on, in line with Gilliam:

“There’s a second when he has kidnapped Madeleine [Stowe] and they’re out within the woods and he is been working away from Christopher Plummer’s home and escaping the cops. And he opens the trunk and she or he kicks him within the face along with her high-heeled sneakers and he stated, ‘I would not go down.’ I stated, ‘F*** off, Bruce!’ (Laughs.) ‘You’d go down!’ He stated, ‘No!’ That was one of many funnier moments. The stunt man stated, ‘Yeah, Bruce, you’d go down.’ And he stated, ‘No, I would not.’ I stated, ‘You are not John McClane, f*** off!’ He simply went off and sulked by a tree and I simply carried on taking pictures on with out him and eventually he got here again. ‘OK. Yeah I will do it. It is bulls***.’ That was actually the one troublesome second. The remainder of the time, I simply thought he was on fireplace. He was simply so good. And stunning on a regular basis.”

It isn’t arduous to think about Willis being a bit cussed about his character wanting cool and taking hits, particularly after his motion film stardom, but it surely’s additionally not arduous to think about Gilliam swearing at him about it and discovering the entire thing ridiculous both. Fortunately, they labored it out and Willis went along with his director’s needs. Truthfully, if anybody was going to know whether or not or not Cole would go down, it is the stunt man. Stunt individuals are the unsung heroes of so many films, and even perhaps in serving to “12 Monkeys” get completed with Cole’s face-kick intact.

Look, if you have not seen “12 Monkeys,” you completely ought to. It is a traditional that has impressed every kind of works (together with a personality from “The Umbrella Academy”). Plus, there are spoilers out right here on the web, so you must actually attempt to expertise it with out them. It is certainly one of Willis’ finest roles and a rattling wonderful film in addition to, with a really killer efficiency by Brad Pitt — taking part in a deeply mentally unwell animal rights activist who needs to rid the planet of people so animals can rule — along with Willis’ heartbreaking efficiency as Cole. Add in the entire nice visible oddities you count on in a Gilliam flick and a really imaginative screenplay by Gilliam, Janet Peoples, and David Webb Peoples, itself tailored from the 1962 brief “La Jetée,” and you’ve got one spectacular movie. 

Critically, “12 Monkeys” was one of many films that made me fall in love with films, alongside Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner” and Danny Boyle’s “Trainspotting.” It is a sci-fi traditional for the ages that solely feels increasingly more related as time goes on.