2ND UPDATE: The Screen Actors Guild is investigating the Proud Mary (aka Yellow) film production after receiving complaints from guild members about not being paid on location in Oklahama this month after a stint in Los Angeles. “We’ve received information that there are issues with the production Proud Mary. We are following our normal procedures and investigating the situation. If there are problems, we will take appropriate action,” an insider tells me. I’ve learned that director Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook, Alpha Dog), the film’s director and co-writer with his actress/wife Heather Wahlquist but not the producer as well, is telling cast and crew that the financier is having problems, leaving a large number of union and non-union workers on the film unpaid. Cassavetes “too is owed money by the producers,” an insider just told me. A rep for Cassavetes tells me that the producer on the movie, Joe Q. Bretz from Rose Max, is assuring IATSE that the payroll money will be forthcoming. The story follows a young female drug addict who deals with a host of problems not related to her habit. The cast includes Sienna Miller, Lucy Punch, Ben Foster, Melanie Griffith and Nick’s mother Gena Rowlands.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.






Nick, don’t look to Stan Brooks for any help on this. Just sayin’….
So this is what a decent guild does for its members!!!
Shut it down! That’s how the Guilds help their members.
There has been no filming in Oklahoma. The movie is in pre-production..Where do people get this stuff?
The movie is NOT is pre-production. I worked on it in L.A. and have NOT been paid.
I worked on this show…yeah, no one was paid in LOS ANGELES…so, they let this production MOVE to other state. SHUT IT DOWN..STOP THE FILMING!!!!!!! I talked to a PA who worked 97 hours on that show and he had not been paid yet.
This shouldn’t be a surprise. 10 minutes on google and you can follow the trail of failures from Bretz. Failed to purchase Image Entertainment due to lack of funds. Sits on the advisory board for Gigapix Studios, who had to shut down their production due to lack of funds. Did anyone on this production do their homework?
Don’t worry, it won’t last much longer.
As soon as you stop paying the Teamsters, they will walk.
tip of the iceberg.
SHUT IT DOWN SAG!!! THEY THINK YOU WILL NOT DO ANYTHING!!!
Necrosis isn’t a real film.
It’s going to be hard for the producers involved (Joe Bretz, Erick Geisler, Pat Murray, Tim Peternel, David Hillary, Chris Hanley, Jordan Gertner, Chuck Pacheco, Kelly Cabral, Matthew Barry,Nancy Green-Keves, Horatio Kemenv, Cyrus Ahanchian) to get crew to work for them in the future. But at least it’s being publicized so crew can watch out!
Especially since it’s not the first time Bretz, Peternel & Hillary stiffed folks. hundreds of thousands of dollars still owed vendors & crew on The Chosen One which is currently in release by Blockbuster illegally. But Nick knew that when he got in bed with them.
And we wonder why everything is non-union these days… Movies are so hard to get made in this town, I appreciate people are out there trying. Granted, you shouldn’t start shooting without the funds to pay for it, but do we really want to SHUT DOWN a potentially good film? Of course it’s not fair to those who have worked hard and haven’t been paid, but I think our general attitudes need to change a little bit. We need to focus more on fixing the problem and less on bringing everyone down, because then we all lose. But hey, I’m just a SAG actor who would’ve worked for free!
And that’s the problem. “I’m just a SAG actor who would’ve worked for free.” If you’re willing to work for nothing, that’s what you’ll get.
Any update on if anyone was paid and if this film will be finished?
Shame On You Cassavetes!!!! I don`t care if you are owed money, You have something in the bank I`m sure!!! It is not fair to request talented people to report to work on time, do the job, work overtime, be yelled at and not get paid! Let Us decide what productions we will do for free. No one that I know of reported to work on this production for free. So Man Up Stop whinning and get your folks together and pay your bills!!!
As an investor who was stiffed by Joe, I would enjoy having any information on his whereabouts. Please be kind and post his location. It would be greatly appreciated by many people.
I worked on this movie Yellow as a Motor Officer in Beverly Hills. I have been paid in full by this production co : )
Please send me the information on the production company that paid you. Thank you