Oliver Stone remembers Robert Downey Jr.’s bloody penis gag

Capturing Pure Born Killers was no stroll within the park — and the movie’s director says Robert Downey Jr. did not assist the vibe on set.

In an in-depth Esquire piece commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of the ultraviolent serial killer satire, filmmaker Oliver Stone seemed again on how the Iron Man star bought on his nerves with a crude improvisation.

“Oh come on — that is an excessive amount of! You are going too far, Robert,” Stone recalled saying as Downey dipped a shirttail into faux blood and shoved it via his fly to simulate a bloody penis.

“You are ruining my film! Neglect the dumb dick concept,” Stone continued. “This is not some slapstick bulls‑‑‑.”

Within the movie, the long run Oppenheimer Oscar winner performed trashy Australian TV journalist Wayne Gale, who follows the central murderers Mickey Knox (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory Wilson (Juliette Lewis) to create a madcap media circus.

The 1994 film got here on the top of Downey’s struggles with dependancy. “The one time I used to be awake… was between Motion and Minimize,” the actor recalled.

Working example: The day they shot a pivotal scene wherein Wayne conducts a dwell interview with Mickey inside a jail, Downey “had been out in town, 9 sheets within the wind” as a result of he thought he’d have extra time to get better from his escapades — till the schedule moved up.

“To today, it was probably the most mortifying notifications I’ve ever acquired, as a result of it was a seven-page scene. I bought to set and I used to be completely ineffective,” Downey mentioned. “I used to be then given a therapeutic injection of ‘B12 nutritional vitamins’ — I am simply going to place that in quotes, italics, underlined, and query marks on both facet. And I’ve by no means in my life skilled a extra pleasant 9 hours. However! I seemed on the pages left to proper, unfold out on the ground — solely twice — and was off-book.”

Downey mentioned the crew was floored that he made it via the scene. “You understand how generally there’s applause from the crew after takes when individuals are doing films and actually nail it?” the actor requested. “Once I lastly bought via that day — and Woody nailed it, nailed it, nailed it — then they needed to flip round on me. Your entire crew applauded as a result of I believe intuitively they know that I mustn’t have even been anyplace however an emergency room that morning.”

Stone mentioned Downey wasn’t alone in his drug use on set. “I’ve to say, it was a zoo within the sense the actors have been all on completely different sort of journeys,” the director mentioned. “I believe Woody was probably the most sane.”

Harrelson confirmed the filmmaker’s declare. “Oliver reassured me of this: I do not need to say I used to be the ethical heart on this film, however I used to be the one doing the least quantity of medication!” he mentioned. “It is by no means occurred in my profession or my life. And nobody’s ever executed extra medication than me, however I used to be Mom Teresa on this one.”