10) The Bourne Identity
The Production:
“When I hear people saying that the production was a nightmare, it’s like, a ‘nightmare’? Shooting’s always hard, but we finished.” So said Matt Damon of The Bourne Identity‘s troubled shoot, which saw director Doug Liman clash with studio Universal, release delays due to those disagreements, major reshoots, and a budget increase of $8 million. It didn’t help that Liman was inherently mistrustful of studio involvement and firm on his way – as opposed to the studio’s – being the right way. Nor was anything made easier by Tony Gilroy re-writing the film as it shot, literally faxing new pages in throughout production.
The Film:
While not an enormous blockbuster success, The Bourne Identity was a sleeper hit that did better business than expected. The film didn’t turn out too shabby either, arriving as an old-school spy thriller that served as a more intelligent counterpoint to James Bond. In fact, it was so good that it spawned one of the best action/spy franchises around, and some even argue The Bourne Identity is still the best in the series.