
“I was in peripheral contact with various producers, and they would share stories at various points. “Costner was having to carry the movie, while his marriage was falling apart,” Rader says. The ship docks in a scene from the film 'Waterworld', 1995. Do all of your coverage in a tank or a stage.’” Do you have any advice for me?’ And Spielberg was unequivocal: ‘Do not shoot on water! You’re going to need a couple of shots on water, so use second unit for that. “Kevin said, ‘Steven, I’m doing this Waterworld movie, and we’re shooting on water.

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The writer adds that Spielberg - who barely survived his own trial by water during the legendarily difficult production of his 1975 blockbuster Jaws - warned Reynolds of those complications during a pre-production phone call. “The complications of producing this movie in a practical environment were staggering,” Rader tells Yahoo Entertainment ahead of the film’s silver anniversary on July 28. But when Waterworld washed ashore in cinemas 25 years ago this summer, all anyone could talk about was the out-of-control budget and behind-the-scenes creative battles that culminated with Costner replacing Reynolds in the editing room.Īccording to Waterworld screenwriter, Peter Rader, the source of the movie’s many troubles stemmed from one fateful decision: the choice to shoot the entire film on the open water rather than in a controlled environment like a studio water tank.

Set in a dystopian tomorrow where the polar ice caps have melted, erasing “dryland” and bathing the world in water, the movie was conceived as an ambitious aquatic Western with a science-fiction twist. Kevin Costner and Kevin Reynolds learned that lesson the hard way during the production of their 1995 action epic, Waterworld. Memo to all aspiring filmmakers: When Steven Spielberg tells you not to do something, you’d be wise to listen.
