"Jane Got a Gun" is a little movie with some huge buzz, and not just because it stars Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton, and Jude Law. Director Lynne Ramsay, whose credits include dark indie fare like "We Need to Talk About Kevin," "Morvern Callar," and "Ratcatcher," didn't show up yesterday for the first day of shooting.
This isn't the only last-minute snag the production has faced.
In "Jane," Natalie Portman stars as a woman who teams up with an ex to protect her farm from a gaggle of outlaws who are after her husband. Michael Fassbender was cast as Portman's ex, and Edgerton was to play the villain. Instead, Fassy dropped out, Edgerton was recast as the former love, and Jude Law took on the role of the lead baddie.
The reason for Fassbender's exit? It's been reported that the actor left the movie due to scheduling problems. But what was previously explained as calendar conflicts with the filming of "X-Men: Days of Future Past" is now rumored to be friction with now ex-director Ramsay.
There's been no official word from Ramsay's camp on her side of the story, but Gavin O'Connor has already stepped in to replace her. Connor wrote and directed "Warrior," a family drama slash MMA action movie starring Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, and Edgerton. While "Warrior" didn't fare so well at the box office, it benefited from a slow and surprising word-of-mouth buzz. Nolte also got an Oscar nom for his portrayal of the hard-drinking father of estranged brothers.
But having to replace a director that quits the day shooting is scheduled to begin is a SNAFU on a whole other level.
Portman is also a producer on the film, along with producer/financier Scott Steindorff and a number of others. It was up to them to hold it together yesterday after Steindorff announced to the cast and crew that Ramsay was off the project. (Steindorff chalked it up to "a series of negotiating twists and turns [that] took place over the weekend.")
Shooting is set to begin tomorrow in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Meanwhile, the actors are rehearsing and everything else seems to be in order.
[via Deadline, Deadline]
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