Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has reportedly caused problems for his co-stars in the upcoming Christmas action film Red One, with insiders claiming in a new report that the Black Adam star managed to increase the film's budget by at least $50 million.
Information about Johnson's alleged antics comes from wrap, which shared allegations from insiders who work with the actor. They claim he would often show up as much as eight hours late to film shoots, prompting the crew to make do with his absence. The sources said that the most bizarre habit, which constantly upset the crew, was seeing Johnson urinating in water bottles to save time.
“On set, away from his trailer, if he needs to pee, he doesn't go to the public bathroom,” said an insider who appears to know the film's star well. “He urinates in a Voss water bottle and his team or the PA has to throw it away.”
Amazon and Johnson's Seven Bucks Productions' Red One, which sees an elite group called ELF team up with a bounty hunter to rescue Santa Claus, was previously scheduled to arrive in 2023 before a delay pushed it to premiere in late 2024. Its issues appear to It stems from more than one SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes last year. The report states that the film's budget swelled to over $250 million, thanks in part to Johnson's delay.
Three anonymous Red One insiders confirmed that Johnson's late arrival added at least $50 million to Red One's budget.
“It was a huge disaster,” an insider said.
Another added: “Dwayne really doesn't give an AF-K.”
Two sources close to the production and one close to Johnson's company, Seven Bucks Productions, told TheWrap that on average, Johnson was never late more than one hour behind schedule. Another source close to Amazon MGM noted that the budget increase was a relatively normal occurrence.
“It is completely normal to have budget fluctuations within 15% of the target, which is exactly what we have seen,” they said.
“The one thing Dwayne has been consistent with is being chronically late,” a Red One insider added. TheWrap points out that the star's scheduling issues didn't start with the Amazon Christmas movie. Johnson was three hours late for his main match at WrestleMania 40 and I was two hours late for the WWE World Fan Meet Earlier this month.
The Rock is in Philly tonight attacking Jalen Hurts… pic.twitter.com/k7DPy68jbB
– Rob Hodge (@RobHodge_) April 4, 2024
An Amazon MGM spokesperson denied the accusations against Johnson in a statement sent to TheWrap:
“Dwayne Johnson and Seven Bucks were great partners in Red One, a film that audiences of all ages will love this holiday season,” they said. “Our testing was very strong – the CinemaCon response speaks for itself – and we couldn't have done this without Dwayne's continued work and support. Any report that suggests we've reached this point where he shows up seven and eight hours late is ridiculous and false.
Red One features one of the most star-studded cast 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, Kristoffer Hivju, and Wesley Kimmel.
Red One comes to theaters on November 15, 2024, and is scheduled to arrive on Prime Video at a later date. For more, check out our list of classic Christmas movies you can watch online.
Photo by David Baker/WireImage.
Michael Cribb is an independent IGN contributor. He began writing for the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
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