Robert Benton

Robert Benton's got a lot of nerve. First, he adapted Avery Corman's novel Kramer vs. Kramer for the big screen; then he insisted upon directing it, too.

The producers' first choice to direct Kramer vs. Kramer was iconic French filmmaker François Truffaut. When they couldn't land Truffaut, one of the founding fathers of French New Wave, they agreed to let Benton do it under the watchful eye of cinematographer Néstor Almendros, a longtime Truffaut collaborator who had plenty of creative input (source).

Before Kramer, Benton had written a handful of screenplays that showed his range as a writer, including Superman, What's Up, Doc?, The Late Show, and Bonnie and Clyde, the last two of which both nabbed him Oscar nominations. He had directed just two films, though, both comedies.

Kramer vs. Kramer was Benton's first drama, both on screen and off, largely thanks to Dustin Hoffman (Ted). To put it mildly, Hoffman was kind of a pain in the butt during shooting. He insisted that Ted's entire apartment be redecorated, for example, insisting that his character would never live in a place like that. Before the scene where Ted follows Joanna into the hallway as she's leaving, Hoffman—ever the Method actor—slapped Meryl Streep (Joanna) to get her into character. When he throws his wine glass at the wall during the restaurant scene, that was unplanned and sent glass flying into Streep's hair. Hoffman repeatedly needled Streep about her partner John Cazale, who had recently died from cancer, too (source).

There's emotional recall, and then there's being a jerk.

Through it all, Benton kept his cool…for the most part. He saved his panic for his wife:

Benton and his wife had planned to take their son skiing in Europe after the shoot. But two-thirds of the way through, convinced he was never going to work again, he came home and told his wife, "Cancel the trip. We need to save all the money we have." (Source)

Don't worry: Benton worked again. He's continued to write and direct a film every four or five years since Kramer vs. Kramer. First, he had to pick up some hardware, though. For his concise, delicate hand in directing such an emotionally fraught narrative, Benton snagged the Academy Awards for both Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay on Oscar night.

No word on if the Bentons ever took their kid skiing, though.