As recounted in the documentary Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau, director Richard Stanley was fired just three days into production on his adaptation of The Island of Dr. Moreau. His relationship with the studio from the start: the film was first offered to Roman Polanski, but Stanley went behind the studio's back to talk to star Marlon Brando, who liked Stanley's vision for the project and backed him as director. Stanley then went on to recruit Bruce Willis, but Willis later had to drop out and was replaced by Val Kilmer.
This ended up being one of the many nails in Stanley's coffin, with Kilmer allegedly behaving incredibly erratically on set. When Brando disappeared to his private island following the death of his daughter Cheyenne, Stanley was left alone to fight against studio pressures. Star Rob Morrow then left just a few days into production, unable to handle the weather and the increasing tension at their island shooting location.
Stanley was allegedly told about his dismissal via fax, and reportedly reacted by shredding documents and disappearing en route from the shooting location to Hollywood. (He later revealed that he stayed in Australia as he dealt with an emotional breakdown.) His firing also reportedly caused quite a lot of tension on set, with actress Fairuza Balk threatening to leave the project.
John Frankenheimer ended up being brought on board to finish the project, but it was ultimately a box office and critical failure. Stanley still left his mark on the final product, though—with the help of some of his former crew members, he came back disguised as an extra and even showed up at the movie's wrap party, where he reportedly received an apology from Kilmer.