Nearly the entire production crew was fired
TriStar Pictures
While “Rambo III” was in production, the Los Angeles Times tried to piece together the behind-the-scenes puzzle. Sources they spoke to on set blamed a lack of vision for the film, crew conflicts, and even clashes with Sylvester Stallone. After more than two weeks of filming, the conflicts finally boiled over, causing massive changes to the production. The first domino to fall was when director of photography Ric Waite was replaced by P. David Gurfinkel, who had a history with Stallone as the DP for his 1987 arm wrestling movie “Over the Top.” After that, a chain reaction of replacements followed.
All told, the film’s director, assistant director, director of photography, and the entire camera crew were replaced. “Rambo III” second unit director Peter MacDonald took over as the film’s director. It was MacDonald’s first time at the helm of a film. If you listen to Stallone and read between the lines, it sounds like preparation was a big point of contention. The actor told the LA Times:
“The canvas of this movie is so large you have to constantly think 10 scenes ahead. You can’t wing it. They didn’t go into the Battle of Waterloo not knowing what their strategy would be. Well, this movie is kind of like cinematic warfare. We have a huge cast and crew and tough locations to deal with. Everyone and everything has to coordinate.”
Ousted director Russell Mulcahy, a veteran music video director who had previously directed 1984’s “Razorback” and 1986’s “Highlander,” had been handpicked by Stallone for “Rambo III.” And once he was gone, there was no guarantee MacDonald would take the job.
Behind-The-Scenes Chaos Gave Rambo III’s Director His Debut
TriStar Pictures
By Travis Yates/June 3, 2022 5:42 pm EST
In the third film of the franchise, John Rambo has found peace among monks in Thailand when he’s forced into Russian-controlled Afghanistan to rescue his old friend, Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna). It’s a departure from the social issues addressed in the franchise’s earlier offerings and created destruction both on screen and behind the scenes with a production that Stallone described as a “runaway train.”
Nearly the entire production crew was fired
While “Rambo III” was in production, the Los Angeles Times tried to piece together the behind-the-scenes puzzle. Sources they spoke to on set blamed a lack of vision for the film, crew conflicts, and even clashes with Sylvester Stallone. After more than two weeks of filming, the conflicts finally boiled over, causing massive changes to the production. The first domino to fall was when director of photography Ric Waite was replaced by P. David Gurfinkel, who had a history with Stallone as the DP for his 1987 arm wrestling movie “Over the Top.” After that, a chain reaction of replacements followed.
All told, the film’s director, assistant director, director of photography, and the entire camera crew were replaced. “Rambo III” second unit director Peter MacDonald took over as the film’s director. It was MacDonald’s first time at the helm of a film. If you listen to Stallone and read between the lines, it sounds like preparation was a big point of contention. The actor told the LA Times:
“The canvas of this movie is so large you have to constantly think 10 scenes ahead. You can’t wing it. They didn’t go into the Battle of Waterloo not knowing what their strategy would be. Well, this movie is kind of like cinematic warfare. We have a huge cast and crew and tough locations to deal with. Everyone and everything has to coordinate.”
Ousted director Russell Mulcahy, a veteran music video director who had previously directed 1984’s “Razorback” and 1986’s “Highlander,” had been handpicked by Stallone for “Rambo III.” And once he was gone, there was no guarantee MacDonald would take the job.
All told, the film’s director, assistant director, director of photography, and the entire camera crew were replaced. “Rambo III” second unit director Peter MacDonald took over as the film’s director. It was MacDonald’s first time at the helm of a film. If you listen to Stallone and read between the lines, it sounds like preparation was a big point of contention. The actor told the LA Times:
Ousted director Russell Mulcahy, a veteran music video director who had previously directed 1984’s “Razorback” and 1986’s “Highlander,” had been handpicked by Stallone for “Rambo III.” And once he was gone, there was no guarantee MacDonald would take the job.
“The canvas of this movie is so large you have to constantly think 10 scenes ahead. You can’t wing it. They didn’t go into the Battle of Waterloo not knowing what their strategy would be. Well, this movie is kind of like cinematic warfare. We have a huge cast and crew and tough locations to deal with. Everyone and everything has to coordinate.”
MacDonald had to be talked into taking the job
But Stallone knew what he had in MacDonald, who was also the second unit director for “Rambo II.” Stallone called MacDonald one of the best camera operators in the world and said MacDonald’s action scenes from “Rambo II” were some of the best in the film. Still, it took some convincing from Stallone. MacDonald explained to the LA Times:
“Sly convinced me that with what he knows about his character and with the support of everyone that we could make it work. Sly and the producers had more trust in me than I had in myself.”
We’ll never know what the original vision for “Rambo III” was, but if it was over-the-top action and nonstop explosions they wanted, MacDonald was the right guy for the job. MacDonald never hit the big time as a director with just three more feature films: 1992’s “Mo’ Money,” 1994’s “The NeverEnding Story III” and 1998’s “Legionnaire.” However, the Hollywood veteran would continue to make his hay as a second unit director, most recently on 2014’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
