There is something about oceans that intrigue us as human beings. It is a substance that covers 71% of the surface of Earth and it's literally the one place where all life stems from at one point in time. And yet, us humans who have long since crawled out from the depths of that very same ocean, totally suck at getting anything done on or in the oceans. Sure, we have ships and submarines that can do some nifty things involving the oceans, but for the most part, us land dwellers can't do much even compared to plankton. 

However, the ocean calls to us and we respond in kind. Humanity is kind of like that long-lost crackhead relative that is so far removed from the family get togethers, but never completely detached at the same time. Even though we've long since moved on from the ocean, we like to interact with it and quite often we get surprised and even appalled at the ocean when something doesn't go our way. One little iceberg sinks the greatest ocean liner of the day in 1912, and humanity wants to destroy all icebergs because of the threat they pose by simply floating. We lose ships, structures, lives, and even islands to the ocean and we're shocked at how something like it could happen. 

The same thing can be said filming movies on the ocean. When director Kevin Reynolds and movie star Kevin Costner wanted to adapt a forgotten screenplay from 1986 called Waterworld the consensus was to film the movie in its entirety on the surface of the ocean. On paper it seemed feasible given enough floaty things and enough money, but anyone with an ounce of experience would warn Kevin and Kevin not to do it. One such experienced guy was Stephen Spielberg who was fresh off from filming the hit movie Jaws, a movie that was for the most part filmed on the ocean. It was also a movie that pushed Spielberg and his crew to the limits of capabilities and tempers!

The problem is that the ocean, by nature, does a few things that vex movie makers:

• The ocean is always moving with currents, waves, and winds.

• Any camera mounted on a boat is going to be moving with the currents, waves, and winds.

• The sun never stops moving. Once you get all the cameras set, the sun is now in a different place in the sky, and everything must be reset. 

• Bathrooms are non-existent because the ocean is BIG. Peeing off the side of a boat is easy... for men... for women it's a bit sportier. 

• Finding a place to sleep on the surface of the ocean is nearly impossible for any length of time (see the above for details). 

But this is okay! Don't forget we have one of the most well-known directors of the 90s at the helm, and one of the most well-known and decorated actors of 90s as the star. There is nothing that could bring these two down!

What started off as a glorified indie project in the 10's of millions of dollars for a budget exploded to hundreds of millions of dollars. What was supposed to take 96 days to make, turned into 166 days. What was supposed to be a huge box office summer success, ended up being a colossal box office summer dumpster fire.