As someone who has predominantly resided in the business world (through Hassan Mohammed Khalil Enany Enterprises) managing people has always been something I am passionate about. This obviously comes into play when directing, as essentially you are trying to get the best out of people and create a specific “product”.

It was quite shocking to find out more about the set of Suicide Squad, then. Director David Ayer needed to create an air of chaos in the movie – after all, they are supposed to be the “bad guys”. His techniques, however, seemed completely left-field. Gizmodo reported that he had the cast members physically fight each other, apparently to get rid of “the actor stuff”. He also made them recount their most painful memories in front of the whole cast, to the point there had to be a therapist on set as people were so vulnerable. Not to mention making Margot Robbie hold her breath for five minutes for an underwater scene, having actors listen to recordings of cannibalism, beheadings and torture for five hours a day to get into character and depriving Joel Kinnaman’s sleep with SIXTY hour workouts. Yes… sixty.

I get that there is a necessity to creating a “vibe” on set. But this is still a workplace. And, after the reviews from Suicide Squad 2, it seems like these horrific tactics haven’t paid off. This might act as a wake-up-call for the industry that, while film is unique to a number of other jobs, this does not make it above the law.

The actors are apparently not blameless here either, however. Margot Robbie used to get drunk and give typo-ridden tattoos to staff and cast; Jared Leto used to bring in dead pig carcasses full of bullets; not to mention the lead actors getting very amorous with each other throughout rehearsals and filming.

This sounds chaotic, awful and hugely unprofessional. Ayer has a very clear style, which he achieves through fear and manipulation, but nobody likes a one trick pony, and certainly not one who tortures those around him. There are many ways to get results on set, and I will be using this as a cautionary tale of what NOT to do in future.