What Just Happened
In this comedy drama directed by Barry Levinson, Willis plays himself as an actor named Bob who refuses to shave his beard for a movie. Bob’s stubbornness is just one of several personal and professional difficulties producer Ben, played by Robert De Niro, is forced to contend with during the course of the film. Producer Art Linson, whose Hollywood memoir formed the basis for the story line, says about working with Willis:
If you have good actors they bring something to it. And Bruce really did. He took himself seriously. He didn’t just send himself up. He did it with the rage of a guy obsessed with integrity. When he doesn’t want to shave his beard, it just makes me laugh out loud.