The Score



The Score is a 2001 action/suspense caper starring Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton, Angela Bassett, and Marlon Brando. It is the first dramatic film of Frank Oz's directorial career.

Oz and Brando
On-set differences between Marlon Brando and Frank Oz were widely reported throughout the media prior to the film's release. According to several reports, Brando's eccentric behavior on set included (but was not limited to) performing scenes in his underwear and altogether refusing to be directed by Oz at times, having co-star Robert DeNiro take over with Oz instructing via an assistant director (though Frank flatly denies this allegation). When working with Oz, Brando would condescendingly refer to him as Miss Piggy and was quoted by TIME Magazine as saying "I bet you wish I was a puppet so you could stick your hand up my *** and make me do what you want."

Despite these reports, Frank Oz has played down the conflict:

"He's a very sweet, gracious -- childlike in some ways -- very, very humane, very complex person," Oz said of Brando, taking unspoken note of the reported tension on the movie's Montreal set. "But I can't say that we got along all the time. And it wasn't because he was difficult; it was a difficult situation.

"I don't want to do a puffery piece here, I want to be flat-out true: We had a difference in creative interpretation of the role. He felt one way, quite sincerely and earnestly, and I felt the other, and the producers backed me, which I'm grateful for, and Marlon did come around to my side."