Not all actors of a movie get along with the director. This was apparently also the case with the dog movie Scott and Huutsch. 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 much happens. Since he wants to achieve more, he is moving to a big city in a few days. But suddenly a murder occurs and the only clue is the dog Huutsch.
The film mixed the buddy comedy genre with a dog. According to Box Office Mojo, the film was quite successful. With a budget of only 12 million dollars (approximately 11 million euros), the film grossed 71 million dollars (approximately 65 million euros) in the USA alone. Initially, however, Henry Winkler was hired as the director. But he had problems 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 of Fonzie from Happy Days, had a cult status at that time. In the podcast How To Fail With Elizabeth Day (via Spotify), he talked about his short job as a director on Scott und Huutsch.
He recounts how he prepared for the job for 11 weeks. I knew this dog, this drooling bulldog and he became my friend. The star did not become my friend.
He meant Hanks. After a joke, he knew it was over.
We were in Carmel, this small, beautiful town on the coast of California, looking for a filming location, and a woman honestly 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 about an awkward encounter with Tom Hanks (Source: How to Fail With Elizabeth Day on Spotify)
But Hanks did not appreciate this rather unimpressive joke according to Winkler. Only 13 days after filming started, he was fired as director. Although there is no official confirmation, Winkler is sure that Hanks was involved in the dismissal. I knew that would happen that day in Carmel.
After Winkler was fired, Roger Spottiswoode took over the directing chair. Henry Winkler was not so much involved in directing after that. He only directed again in the series Clueless and Sabrina – Totally Bewitched. There are also directors who love their actors: Christopher Nolan has a particular fondness for 3 actors: However, his Batman, Christian Bale, is not among them
