Men in Black III facing delays, script problems

The New York City film shoot of Men in Black III, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, is experiencing delays including script problems and a demanding star, reports The Wrap.

A source at Sony said that there is tension on the set, due to the complexities of shooting a big budget film in New York City.

Last week, rumors of productions problems surfaced when one of its stars, Will Smith, left the set and returned to his home in Los Angeles for two days.

The same source, said Smith was throwing his weight around – causing leaks from the set about the actor’s demanding behavior. For example, Smith improvised dialogue for a telephone conversation, forcing scenes to be reshot, in order to properly link the two sides of the conversation.

The star’s mammoth $9,000-a-month 53-foot trailer was also fodder for the tabloids, with the New York Post noting, “the monstrosity was choking business revenues and filling the streets with exhaust fumes. …”

“Now the ‘I Am Legend’ actor will have to trek to the trailer to get his makeup done, confer with his personal writers and lounge in his marble-floored, 100-inch-screen film room – or walk less than a mile to his own $25,000-a-month Bond Street apartment.”

With the budget now estimated at about $215 million – more than twice the cost of Men in Black II – director Barry Sonnenfeld’s film has faced numerous delays since the start of shooting, adding a number of months to the production schedule.

Despite the rumors, Sony is denies any unusual problems beyond those typical of a big budget production in NYC, and confirms Men in Black III will arrive in theaters as scheduled, on May 25, 2012.