[UPDATE: The Roller-coaster continues. Now Jude Law has left the film.]
There was a bit of drama earlier this week when news broke that the upcoming western drama Jane Got a Gun – which is produced by and stars Natalie Portman – had lost its director on the very first day of production (Lynne Ramsay, of We Need to Talk About Kevin fame) . When Ramsay simply failed to show up for work, the whole cast and crew – which includes Jude Law, Joel Edgerton and Rodrigo Santoro – was understandably thrown into a bit of chaos.
However, as financier/producer Scott Steindorff promised, a new director for the project has quickly been found… in the form of Gavin O’Connor, best known for the 2011 MMA drama, Warrior.
Deadline reported the update, saying that O’Connor is currently in final stages of negotiation to take over directing duties; word is that there was some sort of negotiations breakdown with Ramsay, which led to her departure after nine months of development on the film. Needless to say, the repercussions from such an unprecedented move will be making headlines for months to come (seriously, this thing is making waves).
UPDATE: For instance, Deadline now updates us with news that Jude Law has dropped out of the film. Apparently Law wanted to work with Ramsay, and with her gone, his interest has dissipated. We’ll keep you updated regarding his replacement.
O’Connor may not be a widely-recognized name in directing – but his work has certainly left an impression. In addition to the breakout success of Warrior, O’Connor made the Kurt Russell hockey drama Miracle (2004), and more recently directed the well-received pilot for FX’s critically-acclaimed new series The Americans (which he also executive produces).
In each of those cases, O’Connor’s work earned fair praise from critics – but didn’t necessarily generate big buzz with moviegoers. Warrior and Miracle earned word of mouth support that provided a slow and steady boost in exposure; The Americans is similarly starting off slow (about 1.7 million viewers a week), but could potentially be talked-up enough to achieve similar successes. This type of career arc would explain why O’Connor is not yet a household name, but may be perfect for Jane Got a Gun.
For those unfamiliar: the film centers on a woman named Jane (Portman) whose outlaw husband suddenly returns home riddled with bullets, having been betrayed by his gang. Facing the threat of the gang’s retaliation, Jane reaches out to an ex-lover (Edgerton) to help defend her farm from John Bishop (formerly Law) and the rest of his bandits.
Like O’Connor’s aforementioned work, there’s a nice mix of personal drama and gripping melodrama/action to explore – and the script by Brian Duffield apparently explores it well enough to have earned a spot on the Hollywood Black List of the best unproduced screenplays. Given O’Connor’s strengths (which are a nice compliment to the subject matter of Duffield’s screenplay), this may all turn out to be a serendipitous calamity, when all is said and done.
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Jane Got a Gun is currently back on track to make its 2014 release date:
Source: Deadline
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Good director
Great news! I mean, We Need to Talk About Kevin was greatly directed, but I liked Warrior even more. Smart move, studio.
Warrior was an excellent movie and I think Edgarton is very underrated. I think O’Connor will do this movie justice. Western are always the best choices for directors who like the gritty directing style.
Don’t know either director or films but one question….
9 MONTHS of pre-production and there was still negotiations going on between the producers and the director???
Not being in the business so i can’t say for sure but that’s not a normal situation surely and some alarm bells must of been ringing for the producers
According to an article on Collider, Jude Law is out now too because he signed on to work with the original director. I say they throw Tom Hardy in there and make it a Warrior reunion. Why not, right?
Agree! Yet another villainous role for Hardy!
Nick nolte hehe is were going with warrior actors. Hed make a surly old mean outlaw
Loved Warrior! This is fantastic news.
I’m still kinda confused as to how someone just doesn’t show up to the first day of filming… I mean, is it confirmed that there was a negotiation breakdown and she plainly didn’t show up, or is she like properly “missing” (i.e. no one can get a hold of her) altogether?
In the case of the latter, what if she’s been kidnapped or lying in a hospital bed or something? I know that sounds crazy, but who knows?
if it’s the former though, and it’s just a case of “I decided not to do it”, then Ramsey can kiss her career goodbye, but I really don’t understand how someone wouldn’t have the decency to say “I’m quitting. I won’t be there tomorrow”, instead of leaving an entire cast and crew hanging.
Indeed, if she did bail in the eleventh hour on the studio/the crew etc oh my that is career suicide.
This is such a strange story.
Unfortunately for Ramsey not matter what her excuse/reasons for leaving are she’s going to have to do some serious damage control.
9 months of preparation and all that money spent and she just doesn’t show up???
I usually hate the gossip and rumors that can make following the movie business seem petty but for this story I’m curious for answers.
Now its “Jane Got a Gun, and a Director, but No Villain”
I’ll do it for free
Portman can beat me up anyday
I think Jude Law is kind of an idiot, sure he wanted to work with the director and just because she left he has lost all interest. He can work with her in another movie after this but it seems like she Just committed career suicide
Jude law got it right. Get out while you still can. This movie is doomed.
I enjoyed “KEVIN” and certainly can see why Jude Law wanted to work with the director; Ramsay leaving a production and an actor following such as exodus is not uncommon in the film industry. The way in which she quit the show is. Yep, there’s more to this story and sure we’ll learn about it in a future Entertainment Weekly issue or Vanity Fair.