Entertainment & Arts

Directors gone wild

The feud: “Clerks” director Kevin Smith vs. “Batman” director Tim Burton The accusation: On the New York Post’s Page Six, Smith accused Burton of ripping off one of his comic books with his ending to “Planet of the Apes.” Back story: Smith had written a script for a “Superman” project that Burton had planned to direct. But rather than work with Smith, Burton immediately tossed his script out in favor of other ideas, angering Smith. Trash talking: Burton’s statement to Page Six read: “Anyone who knows me knows I would never read a comic book. And I would especially never read anything created by Kevin Smith.”

The feud: “Clerks” director Kevin Smith vs. “Batman” director Tim Burton

The accusation: On the New York Post’s Page Six, Smith accused Burton of ripping off one of his comic books with his ending to “Planet of the Apes.”

Back story: Smith had written a script for a “Superman” project that Burton had planned to direct. But rather than work with Smith, Burton immediately tossed his script out in favor of other ideas, angering Smith.

Trash talking: Burton’s statement to Page Six read: “Anyone who knows me knows I would never read a comic book. And I would especially never read anything created by Kevin Smith.”  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

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Clint Eastwood

The feud: “ Malcolm X” director Spike Lee vs. “Flags of Our Fathers” director Clint Eastwood

The accusation: Lee told the press at Cannes that Eastwood used too few black actors in his World War II film “Flags of Our Fathers.”

Back story: Eastwood’s film depicted the story behind the famed flag-raising photo taken at the battle of Iwo Jima. Lee has a forthcoming film, “The Miracle at St. Anna,” which shows black troops in Italy during World War II.

Trash talking: Talking to the Guardian, Eastwood responded to Lee’s accusation by saying Lee should “shut his face” and that his films were historically accurate. On his upcoming film on post-apartheid South Africa, Eastwood said, “I’m not going to make Nelson Mandela a white guy.”  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Michael Bay

The feud: “Postal” director Uwe Boll vs. “Transformers” director Michael Bay

The accusation: Self-promoting machine Boll challenged Bay to a round of fisticuffs last month to clear up who is the better director.

The back story: After an online petition to send Boll to directors jail launched earlier this year, Boll responded by mouthing off on Michael Bay and Eli Roth for making bad movies. Bay responded on his website’s official message boards by calling Boll an “obviously sad being.” Shortly after, Boll challenged him to a duel.

The trash talking: “With the money [Bay] has for his movies, he sucks big time. And I think it’s time to meet in the ring. Michael, in between your pool parties in L.A. or your casting sessions with strippers, you should start training now. You look good, you look thin…. I think you’re a fit guy…. So let’s meet in the ring in September or October. Pay-per-view. Mandalay, Las Vegas. Twelve rounds of round of boxing…. We’ll clear it up who is not only the better director, but who is able to fight more for what he wants…. Boll against Bay. It’s on.”

Watch the video here.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Steven Spielberg

The feud: Uwe Boll vs. Steven Spielberg

The accusation: Boll claimed his terrorism satire “Postal” would “go out and destroy ‘Indiana Jones’ at the box office.”

The back story: Boll fired off the missive trashing Spielberg to movie website Bloody Disgusting and it gets picked up everywhere -- but we’re 99.9% sure no one saw “Postal,” which didn’t report any box office results for the 13 theaters that released the film last month.

The trash talking: All Boll, all the time: “Spielberg gets sloppy. We saw that with ‘War of the Worlds,’ and also in parts of ‘Jaws,’ ‘E.T.,’ ‘Munich,’ etc. My performance in ‘Postal’ as Nazi Theme Park Owner outperforms easily Ben Kingsley’s in ‘Schindler’s List.’”  (Nina Prommer / EPA)

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