The actors in a film don’t always get along with the director. This was apparently the case with the dog film Scott and Hooch. The original director of the film even believes that Tom Hanks was involved in him losing the job.
What is Scott and Huutsch? Scott Turner is a police officer in a small town where nothing really happens. Because he wants to achieve more, he moves to a big city in a few days. But suddenly a murder happens and the only clue is the dog Huutsch.
The film mixed the genre of buddy comedy with a dog. According to Box Office Mojo, the film was also quite successful. With a budget of just 12 million dollars (approx. 11 million euros), the film grossed 71 million dollars (approx. 65 million euros) in the USA alone. Henry Winkler was originally set to direct, but he had problems with Tom Hanks.
Stallone also had his problems with colleagues: An actress was fired after three days after she got along badly with Sylvester Stallone: “We were like oil and water”
Scott and Hooch – Trailer for the dog film with Tom Hanks
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A joke that Hanks didn’t like
What happened between Henry Winkler and Tom Hanks? Winkler, the former actor who played Fonzie on Happy Days, had a cult following at the time. In the podcast How To Fail With Elizabeth Day (via Spotify), he talked about his brief stint as a director on Scott and Huutsch.
He tells how he spent 11 weeks preparing for the work. I knew this dog, this drooling Great Dane, and he became my friend. The star did not become my friend. By this, Winkler meant Hanks. After one joke, he knew he was over.
We were in Carmel, this small, beautiful town on the coast of California, looking for a location, and a woman, frankly, comes running out of a store and says, “Henry, Fonz! Oh, my God!” And I say, “And of course you know Tom Hanks.”
Henry Winkler on an unpleasant encounter with Tom Hanks (Source: How to Fail With Elizabeth Day on Spotify)
According to Winkler, Hanks didn’t like this rather unspectacular joke. He was fired as director just 13 days after filming began. There is no official confirmation, but Winkler is sure that Hanks was involved in the firing. I knew that would happen that day in Carmel.
After Winkler was fired, Roger Spottiswoode took over the director’s chair. Henry Winkler didn’t really travel that much as a director. After this failed attempt, he only directed the series Clueless and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. There are also directors who love their actors: Christopher Nolan is particularly enthusiastic about 3 actors: But his Batman, Christian Bale, is not one of them