You’d think cutesy little creative projects like writing and playing make-believe would be pretty low stakes, but when millions (sometimes billions) of dollars are at stake, tensions start building pretty quickly. Makes sense. On the power scale, creative control seems to be right up there with money, and these egos just wouldn’t give in. 

Movie and TV projects are messy situations to begin with, because there’s no set hierarchy. On the surface, studios and executive producers seem to be the bosses because they have the money and do the hiring. But once millions of dollars are doled out to directors and actors, bad behavior is usually tolerated because firing them mid-project risks millions in reshoots. 

A director would be the next clear choice, but what happens when a star actor (who makes way more money than them) is the one reason this project will make a ton of money? The power struggles are real, and each project has its own set of rules. So, whether it was a case of caring too much, or caring too little, one or both of these Hollywood heavy hitters crossed a line, then refused to work together ever again.

12 Thank you, Edward Norton! Sincerely, Mark Ruffalo.