Brian Glazer Claims a Competing Producer Threatened to 'Kill' Him in Order to Stop “Splash” from Being Made
Brian Glazer Claims a Competing Producer Threatened to 'Kill' Him in Order to Stop “Splash” from Being Made
Sara BelcherThu, May 7, 2026 at 4:54 PM UTC
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Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah in 'Splash'
Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock
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Producer Brian Grazer says rival producer Ray Stark threatened to end his career to stop Splash from being made
Stark allegedly offered Disney chairman Ron Miller 5% of profits to abandon the film, but Miller refused
Splash beat out its competition and became a box office hit, launching Tom Hanks' career in the 1980s
The 1984 hit mermaid film Splash almost didn't happen, thanks to some not-so-friendly competition.
Splash, the Tom Hanks-led rom-com following a man falling in love with a woman he doesn't know is a mermaid (played by Daryl Hannah), was a win for Disney in the 1980s and skyrocketed Hanks' career to new heights. But producer Brian Grazer was threatened by rival producer Ray Stark to abandon the film before it was even released.
Speaking on a recent episode of the It Happened in Hollywood podcast, Grazer, accompanied by Splash director Ron Howard, revealed that he was pulled into a meeting with Stark as the mermaid film was just getting off the ground. At the time, Warren Beatty and Jessica Lange were already committed to a different mermaid-themed project, directed by Herbert Ross and with a script by Robert Towne.
With both going into production around the same time, it was a race to the finish line — and Stark allegedly made offers to get Splash killed before it ever made it to the screen.
Brian Grazer at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival
Credit: Franco Origlia/Getty
"He threatened me. You know, I was just a punk. He threatened me that, like, 'I'm going to crush your career. You're screwed,' " Grazer claimed. "He just threatened to just crush me, that I 'have nothing. Nothing.' They'd 'kill' me."
When Grazer didn't back down, Stark allegedly then went to Ron Miller, Walt Disney's son-in-law and chairman of Disney at the time.
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Grazer describes Miller, who served as the company's chairman from 1980 to 1984, as a "tough guy." Before he worked at Disney, Miller served in the Army and played professional football for the Los Angeles Rams.
"[Stark] said, 'I'll give you 5% of the first dollar gross if you don't do your movie,' " Grazer recalled of Stark's conversation with Miller. "Ray Stark said, 'If you don't take the 5%, I'm gonna crush you guys over here.' "
In response, Grazer claimed Miller told Stark, "No, we're doing it anyway. F--k you."
Though Howard wasn't on the receiving end of those conversations with Stark, he also shared that he felt pressure to beat the rival film. Studio executives feared that the winner would depend on whose film came out first.
"I'm 26 years old. Herbert Ross is not going to beat me to the market," Howard recalled telling executives. "If that's what you're worried about, I will live at the studio. And if we're making the movie, we'll be out first."
In the end, the mermaid film starring Beatty and Lange never came to fruition, while Splash grossed more than $69 million at the box office, making it one of the year's most profitable films.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
