Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Accused of ‘Chronic Lateness’ Causing a Budget Crisis on Red One, Which Studio Denies
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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has reportedly been causing trouble for his coworkers on the set of upcoming Christmas action movie Red One, with insiders claiming in a new report that the Black Adam star managed to make the film’s budget increase by at least $50 million.
Information on Johnson’s alleged antics comes from TheWrap, which shared claims from insiders who work with the actor. They allege that he often showed up to set as much as eight hours late to shoot the movie, causing the crew to work around his absence. An even weirder habit, to the continued dismay of the crew, saw Johnson peeing in water bottles to save time, sources said.
“On set, away from his trailer, if he needs to pee, he doesn’t go to the public bathroom,” an insider who apparently knows the movie star well said. “He pees in a Voss water bottle and his team or a PA has to dispose of it.”
Amazon and Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions’ Red One, which sees an elite group called E.L.F. teaming up with a bounty hunter to save Santa Claus, was previously set to arrive in 2023 before a delay saw it moved to a late 2024 premiere. Its issues seem to stem from more than last year’s SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, though. The report states that the film’s budget has ballooned to be more than $250 million, thanks in part to Johnson’s tardiness.
Three anonymous Red One insiders confirmed that Johnson’s late arrivals added at least $50 million to Red One’s budget.
“It was a f–king disaster.”
“It was a f–king disaster,” one insider said.
“Dwayne truly doesn’t give a f–k,” another added.
Two sources close to the production and one close to Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions told TheWrap that Johnson averaged no more than one hour late to set. Another source close with Amazon MGM suggested that the increase in budget was a relatively normal occurrence.
“It is completely normal for there to be budget fluctuations within 15% of the target, which is exactly what we experienced,” they said.
One Red One insider added, “The only thing Dwayne was consistent at was being chronically late.” TheWrap notes that the star’s schedule issues didn’t start with the Amazon Christmas movie. Johnson was three hours late to his main event match at WrestleMania 40 and two hours late to a WWE World fan meetup event just earlier this month.
The Rock in Philly tonight dissing Jalen Hurts… pic.twitter.com/k7DPy68jbB
— Rob Hodge (@RobHodge_) April 4, 2024
A spokesperson for Amazon MGM denied the accusations against Johnson in a statement sent to TheWrap:
“Dwayne Johnson and Seven Bucks have been incredible partners on ‘Red One’—a film that audiences of all ages are going to love this holiday season,” they said. “Our testing has been very strong — the reaction from CinemaCon speaks for itself — and we couldn’t have made it without Dwayne’s constant work and support. Any reporting that implies that we got to this point with him showing up seven-eight hours late to set is both ridiculous and false.”
Red One features one of the most star-studded casts of the year. In addition to Johnson and Evans, the film features appearances from J.K. Simmons, Lucy Liu, Nick Kroll, Bonnie Hunt, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Kiernan Shipka, Kristofer Hivju, and Wesley Kimmel.
Red One comes to theaters on November 15, 2024, and is set to arrive Prime Video at a later date. For more, check our list of classic Christmas movies that you can watch online.
Photo by David Becker/WireImage.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
