In order to give “Candyman‘s” bees the proper amount of menace, Rose — also the film’s screenwriter — conceived of several scenes wherein Todd would have to be covered in the insects. In one scene, Todd’s face was meant to be crawling with bees. In another, his entire torso, flayed of flesh, was home to thousands of them. In one particularly horrifying shot, bees had to fly out of Todd’s mouth.
Todd immediately recognized the risks of being coated in bees, and was apprehensive about exposing himself to being stung. While Hollywood insect wranglers do know how to handle bees, they can’t exactly be trained in the same fashion as one would a dog or a cat. As such, to ensure the beekeepers were doing their jobs as carefully as possible, Todd negotiated a deal: He was to receive a $1,000 bonus for every time he received a bee sting. Over the course of filming, as the actor once explained to The Guardian, Todd was stung 23 times. In 1992, that was almost enough to buy a brand new Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme.
Todd said in the Guardian that he didn’t necessarily enjoy being stung, but that “Everything that’s worth making has to involve some sort of pain.” One can admire Todd for his work ethic, but also for his savvy negotiating skills.
