Bruce Willis Didn't Make a Penny and Broke SAG Rules for This Tarantino Classic

Summary:

• In order to make Four Rooms, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Alexandre Rockwell, and Allison Anders had to leave the DGA because the guild had a rule that a movie must have only one director.
• Bruce Willis agreed to remove his name from the credits because the SAG rules didn’t allow him to act for free.
• Later, Bruce Willis lost the bet to Matthew Perry, who played Chandler, and starred in Friends for free.

In 1995, Four Rooms was released – a movie consisting of four episodes shot by different directors. In order to make this movie, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Alexandre Rockwell and Allison Anders had to leave the Directors Guild of America. The reason for this was the guild’s rule "one movie – one director."

However, it was not only Quentin who had to deal with the guild regarding his participation in this project. Tarantino wrote the screenplay and directed the fourth novel, Penthouse, in which Bruce Willis played one of the roles. However, his name is not listed in the credits.

Bruce Willis Acted in Four Rooms For Free

After shooting Pulp Fiction, the actor wanted to work with Quentin Tarantino again so much that he was ready to play anyone in his movie, and do it even for free. There was no need to convince the director, and Tarantino offered Willis a role in Four Rooms.

However, according to the rules of the Screen Actors Guild, to which he belonged, he was forbidden to work for free. Therefore, Willis had to agree to have his name removed from the credits.

And in Friends, Too

Besides, this is not the only case of such a completely free performance in the actor's career. A short time later, Willis had a free appearance on Friends as a result of a bet he lost with Matthew Perry, who played the role of Chandler.

What Is Four Rooms About?

Four Rooms is the New Year's movie that rarely makes it to the holiday lists: bellhop Ted must survive the most restless night of the year alone at the fictional Hotel Mon Signor.

In every room, guests with their own special whims await him: witches, lovers with a loaded revolver, capricious children, dead women, and Hollywood directors.

Where Was Four Rooms Filmed?

Part of the film was shot at the five-star Chateau Marmont Hotel on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.

Built in 1929 as an apartment building, it was transformed into a luxury hotel after the Great Depression, and became an iconic Los Angeles landmark: Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and many other A-list stars stayed there.

In addition to Four Rooms, the hotel appeared in Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere and Damien Chazelle’s La La Land.