Lynne Ramsay quits Natalie Portman western 'Jane Got a Gun' on day one of shooting
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Ramsay's last film was 2011's "We Need to talk About Kevin"
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Chalk this up as some instantly legendary Hollywood news. Lynne Ramsay has no-showed Natalie Portman western "Jane Got a Gun" on day one of shooting out in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As Mike Fleming writes in his exclusive report, directors leaving production is hardly unheard of, but not showing up on the very first day is a bit, uh, unique.
Apparently everyone - cast, crew, etc. - is still down there and the producers are scrambling to get another director on board ASAP. I'm bummed out, though, because Ramsay seemed like a great fit for this material. The script was written by Brian Duffield (who, full disclosure, formerly contributed to In Contention) and it's a stripped down example in the genre, but special given the strength of its female protagonist. That's why I always thought Ramsay was quite the get.
Not only that but, as you've heard from me before, I'm desperate to see the western succeed again. Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" breathed some more life into it last year, after the Coen brothers did the same with "True Grit" in 2010. And I'm scared to death of "The Lone Ranger," expensive as hell right around the corner and threatening to stall the genre if it bombs as a result of that price tag.
Who knows what's really going on here. Ramsay can be quite the firecracker. Did she just oversleep? (Kidding.) Calling all of this "an irresponsible act by one person," producer Scott Steindorff tells Fleming, "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."
Of course, that's one side of the story, expertly handed to Deadline for the purposes of publicizing it. But it's a big moment. And it could be a bad one for Ramsay if it gets her blacklisted in any way as a result. Of course, she's always marched to the beat of her own drummer. Nevertheless, I imagine more about this story will out some day, perhaps sooner than later.
Portman is set to star alongside Jude Law and Joel Edgerton in the film, if and when it gets back up and running.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupMatthew Starr
March 19, 2013 at 2:02PM EST Reply to CommentFirst they lost Fassbender and now this? Something is DEFINITELY rotten in the state of New Mexico.
arrow They lost Fassbender because of X-Men. This is different.
March 19, 2013 at 3:34PM ESTMatthew Starr Or so they say.
March 19, 2013 at 3:35PM ESTGlennAU Maybe she decided last minute to ditch the project BECAUSE of the loss of Fassbender.
March 20, 2013 at 2:12AM ESTMagneto Is that what they say?
March 20, 2013 at 10:13AM ESTMatthew Starr Actually I read the opposite, that he left because of issues with her.
March 20, 2013 at 10:16AM ESTlayt Post a comment...
March 29, 2013 at 9:53AM ESTKate
March 19, 2013 at 2:03PM EST Reply to CommentI knew there were problems because a couple weeks ago Brian tweeted to Emma Forrest about dealing with drama and the film almost collapsing.
I'd be willing to bet that there's way more to the story about Fassbender's departure as well. That's just too coincidental.
It's a shame that this situation could kill the career of a talented female filmmaker.
Damian
March 19, 2013 at 2:06PM EST Reply to CommentIt's a shame that this version of the film fell apart. Ramsay proved she's got an eye for telling great stories centered around female protagonists (Morvern Callar, We Need to Talk About Kevin) and I was interested to see her take on what seemed like a truly original story with a stellar cast.
Jon Weisman
March 19, 2013 at 2:20PM EST Reply to CommentAny extra "Breaking Bad" directors just hanging out ... ?
Kristopher Tapley Ha, good call.
March 19, 2013 at 2:34PM ESTalynch A TV director probably would make the most sense since they'd be used to shooting with minimal prep time in the service of someone else's vision.
March 19, 2013 at 2:58PM ESTI can't imagine any sort of auteur type signing on for the movie unless they get to delay and put their own personal stamp on it. Although I suppose Portman could call in a favor on someone she's on good terms with.
Adam Rian Johnson! Kris, use your powers to make this happen.
March 19, 2013 at 3:11PM ESTDylanS I would be so pleased to see Johnson step in.
March 19, 2013 at 3:46PM ESTbef Reply to comment...
March 19, 2013 at 5:43PM ESTbef Wouldn't it be kind of perfect if Portman got Patty Jenkins on board?
March 19, 2013 at 5:43PM ESTAndrew
March 19, 2013 at 2:24PM EST Reply to CommentI'm now remembering how Ramsay was attached to direct The Lovely Bones for what felt like years before being replaced by Peter Jackson. I had always felt that Jackson was the bad guy in that particular situation, but now I have to wonder.
Either way, awful news for the Jane team. Hope they can find a good replacement pronto.
Adam
March 19, 2013 at 2:42PM EST Reply to CommentWhat's Debra Granik up to? Not that she'd direct something she didn't write.
/3rt
March 19, 2013 at 2:45PM EST Reply to CommentCurious Kris, how far your devotion to the genre goes, are you a fan of 'An American Tail: Fievel Goes West'?
Kristopher Tapley Psh, who isn't?
March 19, 2013 at 2:47PM ESTalynch
March 19, 2013 at 2:54PM EST Reply to CommentAside from some sort of personal health or family crisis, is there really anything that can justify leaving a production in the lurch like this?
I mean even if it turns out that the producer was a jerk who was trying to force her to compromise her vision or whatever, that probably won't be enough.
Mykill I agree - I definitely want to know the exact reason of her departure before flinging arrows at Lynne Ramsay. I assume the producer or someone in the crew would be privy to a family crisis or health issue if that was the reason - and I'm sure they wouldn't have reacted in such a negative way to Deadline if it was something sensitive like that, but you never know? If it was just creative differences then that is her perogative to not want to work in a toxic environment, but it is also the perogative of every other studio in Hollywood to not want to hire her as a director if she has a history of not showing up on set on the first day of production... I'm quite curious to hear more details about what went down, but I am totally bummed that this project has gone from one of my most anticipated films of next year to one of the films that I am most cautious about...
March 19, 2013 at 3:47PM ESTConor
March 19, 2013 at 3:12PM EST Reply to CommentUghh I really like Lynne Ramsay so this is making me feel awkward. Hope everything works out.
will h
March 19, 2013 at 3:35PM EST Reply to CommentMaybe Portman can get her almost-Thor 2 director Patty Jenkins on the phone and get her over there?
DylanS haha, there seems to be a pattern emerging with Portman and female directors dropping off of projects she's in.
March 19, 2013 at 3:47PM ESTbef Whoops, I see someone already said that.
March 19, 2013 at 5:45PM ESTKristopher Tapley And it's a popular notion over on Twitter.
March 19, 2013 at 5:49PM ESTbef Well, Kris, I'm a guy who would say that certain things were "first world problems" before he knew it was a big thing on Twitter ;)
March 19, 2013 at 5:52PM ESTbef How about Todd Field puts his Blood Meridian research to use, rather than shooting a series of commercials right now?
March 19, 2013 at 5:53PM ESTDylanS
March 19, 2013 at 3:50PM EST Reply to CommentGod, I was looking forward to this, especially because I thought it was a interesting choice to have Ramsay involved. Could have been great, but oh well. I still hope a capable director can sign on in enough time, because I really want to see Portman in a good female role, a la "Black Swan"
Guy Lodge As opposed to seeing Portman in a good male role? ;)
March 19, 2013 at 4:20PM ESTDylanS hahaha, i can see how it might read the way. but the intended opposite was "BAD female role"
March 19, 2013 at 10:27PM ESTSURT
March 19, 2013 at 5:13PM EST Reply to Commentgood luck with getting hired again, Mrs. Ramsay.
Kate
March 19, 2013 at 6:15PM EST Reply to CommentThis story is crazy. According to HuffPo, Lynne Ramsay's agent/manager was the producer Scott Steindorff's daughter. She no longer manages Ramsay because of this fiasco. "Family first" is a direct quote.
Kate
March 19, 2013 at 7:54PM EST Reply to CommentScreen Daily is reporting that Fassbender left the project because of a "falling out" with the director. Then Ramsay tried to renegotiate terms and when that failed, she left. They do already have a replacement.
W.J.
March 19, 2013 at 9:25PM EST Reply to CommentThis is obviously speculation, but based on ScreenDaily, it sounds like the producers may have already had a replacement lined up. Perhaps Ramsay checked out before the first day and this is part of a smear campaign over some lingering resentments. Again, pure speculation, but I doubt the story is as simple as Deadline made it sound.
Regardless, I was looking forward to Ramsay's take on this story. I guess it'll be another 10 years before we see a film from her; that is, if she isn't completely blacklisted.
Kristopher Tapley How do you take "it sounds like the producers may have already had a replacement lined up" from the Screen Daily story? Because they're in negotiations for a replacement? I'm not saying they DIDN'T have someone lined up, just that it seems like pure extrapolation to take that from the Screen Daily story.
March 19, 2013 at 10:02PM ESTAnd even if they DID have a replacement lined up, shouldn't the question really be "why?"
W.J. A healthy dose of skepticism is always a good thing. And, yes, why is a very good question. We may never know the answer to that, given we don't have the full "what" of the situation.
March 20, 2013 at 12:54PM ESTDylanS
March 19, 2013 at 10:33PM EST Reply to CommentIn case anybody involved in the film read's this article, I'd like to toss my name into consideration to take over directing "Jane Got a Gun". I have very little experience as a filmmaker, but I can learn fast ;)
The Dude
March 19, 2013 at 10:58PM EST Reply to CommentWell, whatever is the explanation, that's a bizarre story even for Hollywood standards.
Steven Flores
March 19, 2013 at 11:29PM EST Reply to CommentThis is terrible. I really hope there's a lot more to the story about what happened. I really hope I don't wait another 9 years for a new Lynne Ramsay film. She is definitely one of the best filmmakers working right now.
Alex
March 20, 2013 at 2:25AM EST Reply to CommentI hope there is more to the story. This project has been brewing for a while so she would have had plenty of opportunities to drop out. The cast is solid, from what I have read the budget is ample, and she wouldn't have signed on if she wasn't happy with the script. I'm surprised she hasn't put out a statement yet because it's her reputation on the line, unless she is just crazy and beyond reason.
loyal_mehnert
March 20, 2013 at 4:10AM EST Reply to CommentSomewhere Kathryn Bigelow and Sofia Coppola are saying "And this is why we can't have nice things."
Guy Lodge I just don't understand this line of reasoning at all, though I'm hearing it repeated a lot. Female directors face plenty of other obstacles, sure, but why would anyone make a connection between this odd occurrence and an entire gender?
March 20, 2013 at 7:24AM ESTDylanS yeah, I agree with you Guy, very odd. Why on earth would Lyne Ramsay's behavior have any effect on what Kathryn Bigelow or Sofia Coppola do or think? As much as directing tends to be a more male dominated profession, we are well past the point as a society where we need to be drawing broad gender parallels like that.
March 20, 2013 at 8:08AM EST
March 20, 2013 at 4:25PM ESTmsd The fact that people think this might hurt the chances of women directors in the eyes of producers or money men or studio heads is a reflection of how low people's opinions are of the film industry and how sexist they think it is.
March 21, 2013 at 9:53AM ESTJoe7827 "why would anyone make a connection between this odd occurrence and an entire gender?"
March 22, 2013 at 10:43AM ESTBecause, for better or worse, Ramsay is one of the few female directors. It won't hurt the Bigelows or Coppolas, or a great many other established female directors; but when something like this happens, it gets magnified a bit, and it hurts the lesser-known filmmakers. The next time an executive thinks of hiring a relatively unknown female director, let's hope they look to Kelly Reichart's or Patty Jenkins' examples, and not this incident.
Kristopher Tapley Gets magnified because of careless comments like Loyal's, no doubt.
March 22, 2013 at 4:49PM EST
March 23, 2013 at 4:33AM ESTScott
April 8, 2013 at 3:26PM EST Reply to CommentI sure hope they find a male cant afford to lose money if next one has a period and leaves too