What movie productions were so crazy/special, that a whole other movie was made about it?
Here are the ones I know of, sorted by year:
- Fitzcarraldo (1982) - Burden of Dreams (1982)
- Man on the Moon (1999) - Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (2017)
- The Room (2003) - The Disaster Artist (2017)
15 replies
Terry Gilliam's Don Quixote (2000).
The production was wiped out and the only thing that survived was a behind the scenes documentary being filmed as a bonus feature for the DVD.
Released as "Lost in La Mancha" in 2002.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_in_La_Mancha
The film that originated it would be completed and released as "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" in 2018.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Killed_Don_Quixote
Another Gilliam film that was almost killed by studio interference, Brazil, also has a documentary about it called "The Battle of Brazil".
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil_(1985_film)
https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2584-the-battle-of-brazil-begins
A simular documentary was made for Blade Runner:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vy84g
Ed Wood (1994) starring Johnny Depp covers the making of several movies by director Ed Wood. Including: Plan 9 From Outer Space (1957), Glen or Glenda (1953). It's the 90's version of The Disaster Artist.
The Aviator (2004) includes a section about the making of Hell's Angles (1930).
Both biopics. There are also biopics of Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Laurel & Hardy, etc. I wouldn't even know where to begin.
66.6°, mark of the equilateral beast
The Emperor's New Groove was suppose to be the next Lion King. They signed on Sting for the project and his wife got the okay to film it's making. Delays, bugrt overruns, and just not getting it to work made the production unworkable. It was salvaged for the movie we have now. Sting's wife showed her documentary at a film festival. Disney did not like her documentary. Disney owns the rights to the documentary. You can only watch it on a pirate ship. Search for the The Sweatbox.
My Best
FriendFiend is about the insane relationship between Warner Herzog and Klaus Kinski. They made a lot of exceptional movies together. This man is a lot. I don't know how anything got made with him.Just a correction - the Herzog/Kinski doc is called My Best FIEND without the R.
We doing documentaries, yeah?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_in_La_Mancha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodorowsky%27s_Dune
A fictional movie set during the making of a famous movie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_of_the_Vampire
Heart of Darkness (making of Apocalypse Now)
And Dangerous Days (making of Blade Runner) are my two favorites.
Another vote for Heart of Darkness.
Movie after movie... Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957) Ed Wood (1994)
Documentary after movie... Apocalypse Now (1979) Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)
The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Soul:_The_Doomed_Journey_of_Richard_Stanley%27s_Island_of_Dr._Moreau
Lost in La Mancha
Does a book count? Blood sweat and chrome
"I don’t understand how they’re not still shooting [Mad Max Fury Road], and I don’t understand how hundreds of people aren’t dead."
also if a book counts Cary Elwes' book on the making of The Princess Bride is a must read
Under the Rainbow (1981) probably isn't what you're looking for, eh?
Didn’t Paramount+ make a whole mini series about the making of the Godfather?
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt13111040/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_cdt_i_3