Record-Breaking Memorial Weekend 2013! ‘Fast & … 
Cannes: Competition Movies Divide Critics; How Much Do … 
SAG-AFTRA Sued For Witholding Foreign Residuals And … 
Zach Braff Ends $3+M Kickstarter Campaign 
Fox Unscripted TV Czar Mike Darnell To Exit 
NBC Sets Oklahoma Tornado Benefit Concert For May 29 
Cannes: Directors’ Fortnight Honors ‘Les … 
SHOCKER: Tom Cruise Exits ‘Man From … 
A+E Rebuild: BBC’s Jana Bennett To Run Bio And LMN … 
RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Hannibal’ Hits Low, … 
‘Katie’ Shakeup: Rachel Miskowiec Replaces … 
Hammond On Cannes: French Hero Jerry Lewis On His Return To … 
Cannes: Another Jewelry Heist? $2.6M Necklace Missing After … 
Hammond On Cannes: Leo DiCaprio’s Moon Trip Tops … 
Specialty B.O. Preview: ‘Before Midnight’, … 
2012-2013 Season Network Rankings: CBS Sweeps In Final … 
Full 2012-2013 TV Season Series Rankings 
TOLDJA! Paramount Pocketing $190M From Disney For Marvel … 
‘Good Morning America’ Hits 19-Year Viewership … 
MGM Buys ‘Modern Family’ Producer Ben … 
‘Fashion Police’ Writers Chant On Picket Lines: … 
EXCLUSIVE: When We Need To Talk About Kevin helmer Lynne Ramsay pulled a no-show and dropped out of helming Jane Got A Gun on the first day of shooting, producer and financier Scott Steindorff said they were determined to set a new director quickly and keep the picture from falling apart. Well, it looks like they’ve gotten themselves a good one. A deal is closing with Gavin O’Connor, the writer-director of Warrior, Pride And Glory, Miracle and Tumbleweeds. O’Connor will get the picture underway Thursday.
Related: More Fallout On ‘Jane Got A Gun:’ Jude Law Exits Picture
Considering how fragile independently financed productions can be, this is fairly remarkable that Steindorff and his fellow producers including Natalie Portman and Aleen Keshishian have managed to keep this picture from falling apart, and prevent the cast and crew from leaving the Sante Fe set and scattering to the winds. 
As Deadline revealed exclusively yesterday, the production endured what has to go down as the worst first day of shooting in movie history, when Steindorff was forced to gather the crew and castmembers Portman, Joel Edgerton, Jude Law and Rodrigo Santoro to tell them that after nine months of developing the project, the director wasn’t showing up after a series of negotiating twists and turns took place over the weekend.
Related: SHOCKER: ‘Jane Got A Gun’ Loses Director Lynne Ramsay On First Day
Her exit was the talk of the town yesterday and no one I spoke with could recall an example of a helmer dropping out in similar circumstances, as this was akin to being stood up at the altar. Steindorff told me yesterday Ramsay was pay or play and that he’d retained litigator Marty Singer to keep his legal options open. I’m sure this one isn’t over. Repeated attempts to get comment from Ramsay’s side were unavailing yesterday.
“I have millions of dollars invested, we’re ready to shoot, we have a great script, crew and cast,” Steindorff told me yesterday. “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.”
I wondered at the time whether some of this was bluster, and maybe he got lucky in landing an accomplished helmer who happened to be available. O’Connor is exec producer and directed the pilot of the FX series The Americans, and has done gritty dramas before. In this Brian Duffield-scripted Jane Got A Gun, Portman plays the title character, a woman whose outlaw husband returns home riddled with bullets. Convinced his gang will return to finish him off and destroy her farm, the woman turns to an ex-lover she hasn’t seen in a decade to help her defend the farm.
Loading ...
I am glad that the film was able to get a replacement so fast.I hope that someone will interview Lynne Ramsey real soon and learn why she didn’t show up to work.
Lynne Ramsay interviewed? She needs to be fucking interrogated and forced to give back every penny of her director’s fee then kicked out of the DGA. What, does she think she works for the government and can get paid to not work?
I like you!
Her career is over because from now on, she’s un-insurable.
That’s hilarious.
Get a clue. Actors want to work with her & she can make co-pros between the BBC & Canal+ for the rest of her living days.
I wonder what will be Lynne Ramsey’s defence for walking on the first day of shooting and leaving the whole production hanging, because unless it’s a near magical whopper, possibly involving unicorns, or she runs the risk of never working again.
Difficult can be dealt with, but this level of unreliability could be a career killer.
Maybe her defense is that some greedy producers were giving her a shit deal rather than the great one they promised her? You know, for the ‘privilege’ of working with such esteemed artists.
Let’s not assume she’s wacko just because the article is slanted that way.
And remember, Edgerton got second billing on Zero Dark Thirty and he has less than five lines in the film. I’m going out on a limb and saying that he and his representation have some pull, ya think?
I can’t like this comment enough. People are so ready to believe what comes from the mouths of producers.
Perhaps they conveniently omitted that due to Fassbender leaving they were cutting her budget by millions.
Career Over.
Even if it wasn’t totally “her” fault, she still has to deal with reality. And reality is that films are ultimately “run” by the guys that pay for them, be it independent producers or huge studios. And she just got a rep for scrooing the guys that write the checks.
There are too many talented people in Hollywood (which this out of state, not in the business, run of the mill movie goer STILL believes) for her to get work. She will have to work her way back up the list, unless she has a major alternative in her back pocket.
OK, so you aren’t in the business, but you’re positing that you know exactly how her career will play out in an industry you don’t work in…? First thing you should learn about the business- it’s the sharkiest of shark tanks. This producer is probably just covering his ass to make himself look like to hero in the scenario. Probably not actually the case.
I can’t find a case of a director walking off a picture like that, and let’s not forget that a director’s career is dependent on producers who may not make films, but they get films made.
Whose side will most of them take?
Unless she can prove some sort of egregious malfeasance on the producer’s part she’s put herself into an untenable position.
Also, what Hollywood career? It seems like Lynne has always had zero interest in being some working journeyman director. Allot of the commentators here don’t seem to grasp the idea artistic goals trumping craven ambition.
Then here’s some great advice for her: DON’T DO A HOLLYWOOD FILM. Simple. After ‘Kevin’, she could have done a $2 million film in which she has complete control over the project, but she didn’t follow that path. Instead, she wanted to build a bigger audience with a commercially-driven project. However, you can’t take the bigger budget, bigger toys and bigger stars and then whine about producers’ notes. It’s part of the deal. Hollywood has been doing this forever, yet people are still shocked – SHOCKED – that LA is driven by money. Hasn’t anyone seen ‘Barton Fink’?
I hope that someone will interview Lynne Ramsey real soon and learn why she didn’t show up for work.
Wow. This is a hell of a save out of the bullpen!!!! “Warrior” totally rocked (from script to screen) and from interviews I’ve read/seen about Gavin, he seems like an uber mensch. In fact, one docu short I saw talked about his friendship with the late Charles Lewis, one of the “TapouT” clothing line co-founders. Gavin came across as sincere, smart, down to earth…. and I’ve heard working on his set is cool because he’s respectful to all of the unheralded worker bees. This is good news, and if he knocks “Jane Got A Gun” out of the park, as I fully expect he shall, the sky will be the limit for him.
Do your thing, Gavin! And congrats!
Warrior deserved Oscar nominations-especially for the unforgettable performances of Tom Hardy & Joel Edgerton. Talk about a combustible duo with killer chemistry. I still don’t understand why that movie wasn’t a big box-office hit.
Oof, what a major step down. Sorry Natalie, I know you thought you were going to be working with a good director.
Nice try. Did you see WARRIOR?
Exactly. What an idiot comment from “Anonymous”.
Wow, Yes, DID you see Warrior? Or The Americans pilot? OR Miracle? Amazing, poignant, well-acted, well-directed pieces of entertainment. Can’t WAIT to see what Gavin does with this film. It’s going to be visually stunning, intense, surprising, and thrilling no doubt. I’m completely on board.
So Lynne ramsay doesn’t show up and within 24 hours a new director is lined up to take over a week from now? Bull. I call bull on that. There’s something very strange and suspicious going on here. Couple that with Michael Fassbender leaving days before shooting commences also makes it clear that there’s some serious behind the scenes drama going on.
This is indeed very suspicious. Actor drops out, director drops out, replacement is found within hours!
I agree. It’s pretty simple to read between the lines on this one. Ramsay was butting heads with her star and producer. Gavin was called to replace her. Ramsay caught wind that she was going to be fired and quit before getting sacked.
Fassbender left due to scheduling conflicts w/ X-Men I think.
“within 24 hours a new director is lined up to take over a week from now? Bull”
What do you find shocking, that skilled professionals were able to do their jobs effectively and quickly? Or that skilled professionals stuck around and did their jobs when troubles came up, rather than, say, just walking away like childish brats?
lol, or it was exactly as Mike has said in his comment. Producers screw her over and get a replacement, so she quits before they can fire her.
Producers are rarely the good guys and when they control the mouthpiece we all get our information from you get a jumble of articles that don’t quite make sense and leave you with a lot of questions. i.e. they’re omitting A LOT of facts.
Don’t forget to point out that she fired her manager.
this story is being conveyed in an oddly credulous way. directors leave movies all the time.
What never happens is a director reading a script, negotiating a deal, agreeing to an immediate start-date in under 24 hours. Its not remotely plausible this went down as innocently as its being reported.
But, who am I, just a looky loo, rubber-necker.
Bottom line– ITS SHOW BUSINESS, NOT SHOW FRIENDS. ALL OF THIS IS PAR FOR THE SAUSAGE FACTORY. Sounds like a great movie, a strong female lead, a truly gifted cast and crew, and everybody will land on their feet. THE SHOW MUST GO ON!
Agreed. This is something rotten in the state of Denmark. People have to understand, that their is always more than one point of view. Bottom line. Jude Law & Lynn Ramsey are not known for dropping film projects on the day of filming ( or close to the day of filming ) .
Pretty solid replacement considering the position Portman and Steindorff were backed into. More to the Ramsey story than has been revealed, nonetheless the fact that they don’t have to push back production is a better scenario than yesterday.
Gavin O’Connor’s a great choice. After all that’s happened, if anyone can pull it together and get things back in line, it’s that guy.
And he got a career-best performance out of Edgerton in “Warrior,” so that helps, too.
Fassbender walks ‘citing scheduling conflicts etc’, Ramsey no shows, and then a director of O’Connor’s quality just happens to be walking by?!
Steindorf’s not the victim here. Knowing him, he probably backed Ramsey into a corner where she had no choice. Someone should be looking into the REAL story here as the fact that Steindorf already had his litigation lawyer lined up is pretty telling. By many accounts, he is certainly no saint and shouldn’t be treated as such by the media who should do a bit more “probing” into what really went down during the weeks leading up to first day of pp. Can’t imagine that after Kevin, Ramsey would jeapordize her career to this extent without something very non-kosher going down during the final days before the shoot was scheduled. Funny how O’Connor showed up right on cue to “Save the Day”….Hmmm…
Anonymous, you do know that is very common for films to have legal reps retained by the producer; during the development and preproduction stage.
But not litigators, Eli.
Eli – not litigators, and especially not Marty Singer. You don’t just casually have him around.
Jeez, Eli. Stepped in it again.
When all hope seems lost, the chips stacked against you and you got a fight on your hands leave it up to O’Connor to run towards it…let the haters hate, they haven’t achieved anything. I see why we’re friends…go get ‘em Gav!
Congrats Terry you deserve it! and when do we get the wme statement on their director? BTW Fassbender’s peoples should also release a statement as he quit a week or two before the production, im sure that had something to do w Lynne and Natalie? Deadline’s “keeping them honest?”
G p.g.a.
Frantic calls yesterday rounding up Gav? Yes, perhaps…perhaps not. If Scott, et al, were smart they saw the hysterical ramblings of Ramsey on the wall and had O’Connor on the bat phone just in case.
Portman is focused on the acting and is taking an arm’s length approach with this little drama, though she’s been on every call — I suspect. However, you should all expect a comment from the clearly P.M.S.’ing Lynne Ramsey this week, and Nat coming to her defense in a Gloria Steinem-like female solidarity move.
There is more to this story, so stay tuned; it’s equal parts mundane & juicy — I suspect.
The Fassbender bail is a little more of a head-scratcher, rumors of selfishness are there, but he at least did it like a gentleman and a pro.
Re “clearly PMS’ing” and “did it like a gentleman and a pro”…
@Polo, you’re the nightmare male that makes the rest of us look bad. I truly hope that your comment was satirical. Also, I hope you find better things to do with your time beyond writing comments on sites that are clearly designed to irk & offend. Your comment is crazy BS either way, tho.
I hope that the movie turns out to be as juicy and fundamentally dramatic as the shoot has been.
Not trying to “irk & offend” at all…why would you say that? And why do you people throw misogyny into the mix? You want to quit, you quit – you give ample notice. Happens every day.
But, when you are HELMING a film irrespective of, well, anything, you don’t fail to show on the first day of shooting leaving lives, money, and the picture in the lurch! Now, I have yet to hear about any sickness or accident that would force Lynne not to show up, and not to notify the producers, so the ONLY inference is an unprofessional, overly-emotional, classless move. Being a woman it is not unreasonable to assume that an emotional imbalance brought on by anything from PMS to not being able to handle the psychological pressure of not having everything perfect before a film. I was actually giving her the benefit of the doubt! Would you prefer that I accuse her of being to frail to handle the pressures of working to launch a successful film?
Look, I am passing not judgement on what happened (I suspect from what I heard it is equal parts mundane and juicy, i.e. a good story we’ll be talking about for a bit), but even if Lynne was totally screwed, and Scott is to blame, you simply don’t fail to show up for work on day one without valid explanation! That is the actions of an emotional wreck and an unprofessional. Simple as that.
Something not to dissimilar happened years and years ago on a very decent Orion picture. And the result? That individual became radioactive, and totally untouchable. It does NOT matter if you are in the right 100%, you act like a professional, not a jilted lover on prom night.
But, as I said, look for her peeps to send out info this week in her defense…there are two sides of the story, but Lynney chose to handle herself in a grossly irrational, emotional, and unprofessional way.
The thing is if a man dropped out you wouldn’t assume that it was because he was overly emotional. And PMS does not make women incapable of directing a film! That is absurd! And sexist.
@PoloLoungeDrunk YOU are a misogynist and you don’t even realize it. I pity the women in your life and grateful I don’t know any men like you in the real world. Blaming Lynne’s departure on P.M.S. is the lowest of the low. Any valid point you might have made is now completely made irrelevant with such an ignorant and childish remark. I hope you enjoy being single the rest of your life ’cause no woman wants to date a disgusting pig like yourself. Do you think a woman can’t be President of the United States because she might get too “emotional” every 28 days and maybe call in the launch codes ?
Misogyny because you mention “PMSing” like it’s a disease moron. And “that an emotional imbalance brought on by anything from PMS to not being able to handle the psychological pressure.” Uhh…WTF is wrong with you???
I’m someone who thinks the “war on women” is bullshit but after reading your BS I’m starting to rethink that.
One things for sure — you’re definitely not getting some. And fyi, not every women turns into a lunatic because PMS. I get cramps. That’s it.
in 2013, mentioning ‘pms’ to explain a woman’s behavior doesn’t make you look like a misogynist, it makes you look like a hack
Little misogynist comment inserted there, blaming a director quitting on PMS. You sure hold women in high esteem don’t you?
Gavin is a great choice. I never thought Natalie and the script made sense with Ramsay. She’s a BBC director, and the script and Natalie are a recipe for a wide release movie. Gavin will deliver a movie that puts butts in seats. I think there’s a part of all of us that was curious to watch something on Netflix that creepy, dark Lynne Ramsay concocted, but no one would have rushed out to buy a $12 movie ticket for. Now this feels like a studio movie, which was what it was written to be. The filmmakers here made a good save and I think will be rewarded for it. I do hope Lynne can keep making movies and I’m sure she was in a dark place when she made the decision to leave this film. She will go back to the UK, lick her wounds and keep making BBC movies that we love to watch late at night on Netflix.
Jones gets it
I heard every director agent in town was trying to get their client on this film. It’s a dream come true – prepped by a visionary genius, from one of the best scripts in town, all cast and financed and ready to go. Directors don’t get this opportunity. If someone has the courage and can put their ego in the backseat and just walk into this, they are destined for success. Gavin O’Connor has his work cut out for him, but he’s a lucky dude.
Great save. Warrior is an incredible film.
Glad they pulled this one out of the fire. I have to agree with comments that Lynn Ramsay will have trouble getting her next gig — unless some major exculpatory info emerges. As a producer, I personally would run the other way. But the rapid fire events of Fassbender’s departure, Ramsey’s no-show and O’Connor’s immediate arrival do make one wonder about the machinations leading to this near meltdown…
Jones is right. You don’t bring on a director on Wednesday and start shooting on Thursday. Mr. Fleming — what’s the real scoop???
“Gavin, this is Joel. We need you on this film Jane Got A Gun, mate. Director went AWOL.” Gavin, “Who’s in it?” Joel, “Natalie Portman”. Gavin, “See you soon buddy.”
Typical wealthy financier/producer spin – I hear is its all about creative control . Word from the set is is that the film wasn’t bonded, that there were pages, upon pages of script notes from the producer camp to Ramsey and that the real row was over final cut. Note that all the heads of department walked with Ramsey and that the producers has a director lined up to walk into the job a day later.
Maybe SOMEONE should be looking more into this “all the heads of department walked with Ramsey” situation. Seems quite telling to me…?
I’d like to know more about that as well, especially now that Jude Law also dropped out. He didn’t have much faith in the project once Lynne was gone.
Wow! I knew it wouldn’t take long at all and what an upgrade. Consider this film saved.
This guy is amazing!!! Love Gavin, cannot wait to see this film…what a great turnaround.
Good always prevails and I think that’s proven true here. Steindorff got one of the best directors. Deserved and bravo!! Ramsay is in the past, keeping looking forward and best of luck to cast and crew. Can’t wait to see this film.
Now there’s a sentiment with which all of us who work in Hollywood can unreservedly agree: “Good always prevails!” It’s amazing how it always works out that greedy backstabbers end up with nothing and honest, decent people get everything they deserve.
Interesting, intense director fired to be replaced by talented hack. I’ve heard this story before. I think your first instincts were right Mike.