The Trouble with Dr. Moreau

Among the most notorious box-office bombs of the nineties, The Island of Dr. Moreau remains legendary for its tumultuous production history. A longtime H. G. Wells fan, up-and-coming filmmaker Richard Stanley was hired to mount an ambitious screen adaptation of the author’s classic sci-fi novel, with Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer set to star. But after just four days on-set, Stanley was abruptly fired and replaced by Hollywood veteran John Frankenheimer. To get Stanley’s take on the peculiar circumstances that led to his departure, producer Doug Stone traveled to London to interview him for Split Screen, the IFC series that captured idiosyncratic corners of movie culture at the turn of the millennium. Watch a clip from their bizarre conversation above, then head to the Criterion Channel on FilmStruck to see the full episode, as well as nine seasons of the show. And for more with Stanley, check out our interview with him on our edition of the pre-Code horror classic Island of Lost Souls.