Tom, Nicole ruined 'Eyes Wide Shut': Full Metal Jacket Star

[ourmaninBusan]

Cruise and Kidman wrecked Eyes Wide Shut, Kubrick claimed

Staff and agencies
Thursday October 5, 2006



Do you see this man? This man is R. Lee Ermey, who first gained
fame as a character actor in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987).
He gave a gritty, arresting performance as a drill instructor because
he IS a drill instructor. He is a refreshing dose of Reality in a town
that sorely needs it. If I were in charge, I'd have R. Lee Ermey
spend six hours a day beating Robert Downey Jr. and Sean Penn
with a cricket bat.

He was interviewed by the Guardian and this is what he said about
Tom and Nicole and Eyes Wide Shut:

Stanley Kubrick regarded Eyes Wide Shut as a "piece of shit" that had been ruined
by the interference of its A-list stars, a friend of the director claimed
this week. The character actor R Lee Ermey starred in Kubrick's 1987
film Full Metal Jacket and remained in close contact with the director
until his death in March 1999. He described the film-maker as a "shy,
timid" man who was effectively bullied by his stars, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

"Stanley called me about two weeks before he died," Ermey told Radar
Online. "We had a long conversation about Eyes Wide Shut. He told me
it was a piece of shit and that he was disgusted with it and that the
critics were going to have him for lunch. He said Cruise and Kidman had
their way with him - exactly the words he used."

Eyes Wide Shut marked Kubrick's return to film-making after a
12-year hiatus. The film was in the final stages of post-production when
he died at his home in Hertfordshire. It was finally released to mixed
reviews and middling box office.

Asked why Kubrick had allowed himself to be strong-armed by his stars,
Ermey said, "He was kind of a shy little timid guy. He wasn't real forceful.
That's why he didn't appreciate working with big, high-powered actors.
They would have their way with him, he would lose control and his movie
would turn to shit."

During the film's production, Cruise and Kidman were full of praise for the
director's methods and claimed that the finished film was exactly as he
would have wanted. Discussing the experience of working with Kubrick,
Kidman insisted that "it was incredibly rewarding, and I'd do it again in
a heartbeat."

Guardian story: http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/stor...888077,00.html

[aabbcc]

Eyes Wide Shut was a piece of crap ... but so is everything else Cruise has ever done. Never been a fan.

[nycgirl]

Tomthumb was revolting in it too, disgusting to look at. I just marvel at how he became a star!

[dakodas]

Originally Posted by aabbcc

Eyes Wide Shut was a piece of crap ... but so is everything else Cruise has ever done. Never been a fan.

I loved the Vampire shit....he was good. Only movie I ever liked w/ Brad Pitt too.

[zorbeet]

I met this man at a business function. Normally this particular event is a grit your teeth and pray that it will end soon. Ended up laughing through the whole meal. He is a riot and was telling us stories of working with different actors.

Saw part of this movie- it was horrible.

[darksithbunny]

He was good in Vampire because it bordered on his true reality of his gayness. Brad made me think he may go both ways after I watched this movie. So Tom should stick with Gay Vampire movies. It is his true forte!