Before production began, Warner Bros. executive John Calley reportedly warned director Richard Rush that Alan Arkin was a “director killer.” Calley had just worked with Arkin on Catch-22 and allegedly told Rush that the actor had created such disruptive conflict on that film that director Mike Nichols ended up in the hospital. Rush nevertheless insisted on casting Arkin opposite James Caan, believing the actor's intensity would strengthen the volatile partnership at the center of the movie. The warning proved prophetic: Rush later said Arkin needed conflict as part of his acting method and that their clashes were “horribly disruptive,” even though Arkin's work remained effective on screen. Rush also recalled having to remove his own laughter from the soundtrack because Arkin and Caan's improvisations were so funny. Arkin and Caan, however, felt the director was uncertain about the picture's direction; Arkin said he never understood what Rush wanted, while Caan complained that the film's stars had been pushed into the background by its elaborate stunts and action sequences. The production's troubled creative atmosphere helped produce the film's peculiar identity: a serious police thriller that mutated into an abrasive, improvisational black comedy and an early prototype of the buddy-cop formula.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1970s
Alan Arkin's 'Director Killer' Reputation Collides with Richard Rush on Freebie and the Bean
Alan Arkin and Richard Rush / 1970s
Before production began, Warner Bros. executive John Calley reportedly warned director Richard Rush that Alan Arkin was a “director killer.” Calley had just worked with Arkin on Catch-22 and allegedly told Rush that the actor had created such disruptive conflict on that film that director Mike Nichols ended up in the hospital. Rush nevertheless insisted on casting Arkin opposite James Caan, believing the actor's intensity would strengthen the volatile partnership at the center of the movie. The warning proved prophetic: Rush later said Arkin needed conflict as part of his acting method and that their clashes were “horribly disruptive,” even though Arkin's work remained effective on screen. Rush also recalled having to remove his own laughter from the soundtrack because Arkin and Caan's improvisations were so funny. Arkin and Caan, however, felt the director was uncertain about the picture's direction; Arkin said he never understood what Rush wanted, while Caan complained that the film's stars had been pushed into the background by its elaborate stunts and action sequences. The production's troubled creative atmosphere helped produce the film's peculiar identity: a serious police thriller that mutated into an abrasive, improvisational black comedy and an early prototype of the buddy-cop formula.
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