LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Robin Williams, the iconic comedian and actor, left an indelible mark on the set of the 1993 comedy 'Mrs Doubtfire' with his unparalleled improvisational skills.
Fans of the late star are now urging the release of an astounding two million feet of film that captures Williams' spontaneous brilliance.
Robin Williams' unconventional filmmaking genius in 'Mrs Doubtfire'
Director Chris Columbus, known for his work on 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone' recently shared insights into Williams' unique approach to the filmmaking process with Business Insider.
Williams, who died by suicide in 2014 at the age of 63, played the lead role of Daniel Hillard in 'Mrs Doubtfire'. Hillard was a struggling actor who assumed the persona of Mrs Euphegenia Doubtfire to be closer to his children after a divorce.
Columbus revealed that Williams proposed a collaborative method that involved scripted takes followed by improvised ones.
"Early on in the process, he went to me, 'Hey boss, the way I like to work, if you’re up for it, is I’ll give you three or four scripted takes, and then let’s play'," recounted the director.
He added, "And that’s exactly how we shot every scene."
Chris Columbus recalls Robin Williams' antics during filming of 'Mrs Doubtfire'
According to Columbus, the script supervisor faced the challenging task of keeping up with Williams, who would frequently change his lines with each take. Sometimes, Williams improvised until the camera ran out of film.
"It got to the point that I had to shoot the entire movie with four cameras to keep up with him," remembered Columbus, adding, "We shot almost two million feet of film on that picture."
The director, who has nearly 972 boxes of footage stored, envisions creating a documentary that delves into Williams' creative process.
"There is something special and magical about how he went about his work, and I think it would be fun to delve into it," expressed, Columbus, continuing, "I mean, there’s two million feet of film in that warehouse, so there could be something we can do with all of that," as per New York Post.
Internet wants to see the two million feet of film from set of ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’
Soon after the news of Chris Columbus having two million feet of film from ‘Mrs Doubtfire' surfaced online, fans of Robin Williams demanded it to be released.
One wrote, "These films deserves to be released in its entirety!"
Another added, "Also still waiting for the hours of his freestyle recordings for Aladdin that didn't make in," while a third stated, "Actors would learn so much from watching the master at work. What a wonderful idea!"
A person noted, "It’s so sad A Sequel of Mrs Doubtfire wasn’t made. Robin Williams was so funny. Mrs Doubtfire and RV are my two favorite movies of his," while someone else expressed, "I would pay mad money to see this footage. Release it."
