While actors and directors come and go from movies all the time before they start shooting, it’s very unusual for a director simply to not turn up for the first day of shooting. However that’s what’s happened with Jane Got A Gun, as while the cast and crew assembled yesterday to make the movie in Arizona, director Lynne Ramsay (We Need To Talk About Kevin) didn’t show up. It was later confirmed that she had dropped out.
The film’s producers, including star Natalie Portman are currently scrambling to find a replacement. Here’s what fellow producer Scott Steindorff had to say in a statement, “I have millions of dollars invested, we’re ready to shoot, we have a great script, crew and cast. I’m shocked and so disappointed someone would do this to 150 crew members who devoted so much time, energy, commitment and loyalty to a project, and then have the director not show up. It is insane somebody would do this to other people. I feel more for the crew and their families, but we are keeping the show going on, directors are flying in, and a replacement is imminent.”
The producer also added that he has retained celebrity lawyer Marty Singer to explore legal ramifications of Ramsay’s actions. “She was pay or play [meaning she’d be paid even if the movie wasn’t made], and Marty Singer has been retained. My focus is on making this movie, but I will protect all my rights. This comes down to an irresponsible act by one person.”
Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton, Jude Law, and Rodrigo Santoro are all set to star in this Western, written by Brian Duffield. It’s about a wife (Natalie Portman) whose husband returns home, barely alive after being shot eight times. She seeks the help of an ex-lover to defend her home when the gang of outlaws who shot her husband comes to finish what they started
Instead of shooting as planned on the Santa Fe, New Mexico set yesterday, the cast and crew spent the day rehearsing. The producers plan on keeping the film afloat until a new director can be found. It’ll also be interesting to see if Ramsay is ever given funding to make a movie again. (Source: Deadline)