Making a Human Centipede is a collaborative effort, one that requires everyone to join together in openness and work in tandem, so that the nugget of the film can be properly worked over and processed before it’s released. Unfortunately, when one element jams, the whole thing can back up and explode, creating a disgusting, splattering mess—exactly what’s happening with The Human Centipede 3, where one of its principals apparently found something in it that he couldn’t swallow, resulting in a torrent of shit spraying all across the Internet.
It all began on Tom Six’s Twitter feed, where the director—with typical restraint—deployed an all-caps missive announcing the “BREAKING” news and/or meta-narrative-building publicity stunt that his production company would be suing Dieter Laser, the film’s ostensible star (and early-’80s synth-pop trio) best known for playing the guy in the first Human Centipede who didn’t have his mouth sewn to an anus, or vice versa. According to Six, Laser had signed on to rejoin the franchise with The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence), and while his new role was unspecified, whatever it was, Laser apparently didn’t feel it measured up to the standard set by the original film—this despite the fact that Human Centipede 3 reportedly features 500 people sewn ass-to-mouth, and is therefore mathematically 166.667 times better than the first Human Centipede. Nevertheless, a dissatisfied Laser apparently requested numerous script changes that clashed with Six’s vision, leading to him breaking his contract—or, to put it in the words of Six’s producer sister, Ilona:
Because of the success of The Human Centipede, it seems that Mr Dieter Laser’s ego has grown to laughably big proportions. First signing the contract and rating the THC3 script as fantastic, and then demanding his own unacceptable script changes, and now refusing to play the part only seven weeks prior to shooting. Six Entertainment Company will start legal action against Dieter Laser. Tom Six says not to worry — principal photography will be postponed and will take place later this year.
Indeed, don’t worry. But Laser, however, responded with his own, differing take on the situation, saying it was not so much a question of ego, but rather a demand for artistic integrity in his defecation daisy chains:
It’s very simple: I loved the story when it was told, got the contract and the promise to have the script in 4 to 6 weeks. When it arrived — half a year later and only after the official announcement — I didn’t like the realization at all, couldn’t identify with the character the way it was written and developed immediately and enthusiastically in a day and night marathon a version full of concrete and practical suggestions which would enable me to play the lead full throttle — same procedure as with Dr. Heiter — but this time it also would have had some unavoidable effects to the dramatic structure. That was too much for Tom and since he couldn’t live with my suggestions and I as a method actor couldn’t identify with his version, I told him that I couldn’t see any other way than that he would have to ‘change horses’. That’s it.
And true, while changing horses mid-Centipede is never advised, it’s still better to find a willing partner to pass your ideas to, rather than forcing them to choke down what you’re producing. After all, if your actors can’t identify the why of watching 500 people chewing each other’s feces—if they can’t locate the “human” in Human Centipede, as it were—then what’s the point in putting it all together? [via The Playlist]