Matthew Broderick Was a Real Pain in the Ass While Making 'Glory'

By Dustin Rowles | Celebrity | February 20, 2024 |

By Dustin Rowles | Celebrity | February 20, 2024 |

Ed Zwick is one of those directors whose name the casual movie fan may not know, but almost everyone has seen at least one or more of his films. The Thirtysomething creator directed Tom Cruise’s The Last Samurai, Brad Pitt’s Legends of the Fall, and Leo DiCaprio’s Blood Diamond. He has also directed Denzel Washington three times, including their first collaboration, Glory, which featured more talent than one film should be allowed: In addition to Denzel, it also starred Morgan Freeman, Andre Braugher (in his film debut), and … Matthew Broderick.

Broderick was the A-list star the film needed in order to be made. This was around the height of Broderick’s career, not too long after Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, although it also came one year after he had accidentally killed two people in a head-on collision.

As Zwick recounts in his tell-all memoir, Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions, Broderick was a complete pain in the ass to work with, although much of that was probably because — as Zwick assumed — he had people telling him that he should be working with bigger directors, like Spielberg, and that “he needed to be protected.”

Zwick describes his time working with Broderick as a “theater of cruelty” and a “nightmare from which there seemed to be no waking.” It is worth noting that Broderick has long since apologized for “the shit he pulled,” and Zwick bears no ill will and has forgiven him.

That said, Zwick does not hold back in detailing the difficulty of working with Broderick on Glory. For instance, Broderick announced that he was quitting a short time after he accepted the role. His mother — a playwright — had apparently told him she hated the script. Broderick’s mother, Patricia Broderick, would prove to be a huge pain in the ass.

Nevertheless, Broderick was convinced to come back on, but a few weeks later, Broderick quit again because he said the script needed a complete rewrite (keep in mind that the film itself was nominated for several Oscars and even a Golden Globe nomination specifically for the screenplay).

Once Broderick returned and production began on the film in earnest, Broderick called again and threatened to quit. He had given the script to Horton Foote (To Kill a Mockingbird) for notes. Alas, Broderick could not deal with confrontation, so while he repeatedly expressed displeasure to his mother, his agent, and the studio, he refused to confront Zwick about his real issues, so it became impossible to appease him because Zwick did not know what he wanted.

Nevertheless, Zwick listened to Broderick’s concerns and reassured him. Once again, Broderick agreed to return to the film. Soon thereafter, however, Zwick received a call from Bo Goldman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), who said that Broderick had asked him to rewrite the script. “I was speechless,” Zwick said. “It didn’t take [Goldman] long to figure out what was going on. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll tell him I’m too busy,” before adding, “I really liked the script.”

After that, Broderick insisted that his mother — a playwright — work on the script, and insisted that she receive a private jet to fly her out weekly to do so. “From the moment we met, she was contemptuous, demeaning, and volatile,” Zwick said. She forced Zwick to defend every line of his script while Broderick sat silent. She also insisted that the script include long passages from Ralph Waldo Emerson and that his character be convinced to take command of his troops by “you guessed it, his mother.”

“Patsy was relentless … described his writing as ‘limp as a penis.’” She was basically a pageant mom on set who had tried to savage his script every step of the way. Despite that, Zwick managed to complete the film and put together a successful edit.

“The audience response was as enthusiastic as I’ve ever had,” Zwick said. However, Broderick insisted on a screening of the edit before Zwick could lock the film. Broderick made the director fly to Toronto to give Broderick a private screening. Broderick’s mother attended. “I shouldn’t have been surprised,” Zwick wrote. The screening played beautifully, but Broderick and his mother left without a word. Afterward, Matthew demanded he make a cut of the movie. Zwick said no. He had final cut, and that was the end of the discussion.

The film would earn five Oscar nominations, including two wins, one of which was for Denzel Washington for supporting actor. Matthew Broderick was not among the nominees. It’d be years, too, before Broderick would have another successful, notable role.

Source: Ed Zwick’s terrific Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions