Rumors swirled last week when it was reported that first time director Carl Rinsch had been removed from the editing room on the upcoming Keanu Reeves action film 47 Ronin, a project that has already seen its fair share of delays - but now Universal Pictures has responded by saying that everything is just fine and that the filmmaker is still responsible for getting the project ready for its Christmas 2013 release date.
Last Wednesday a story surfaced on The Wrap saying that Rinsch had completely buckled under the pressure of the major Hollywood production and had been replaced by Universal Co-Chairwoman Donna Langley on the film after the budget ballooned from $175 million to $225 million. It was said that reshoots were done to try and focus the movie more on Reeves and included "a love scene, close-ups and individual lines to boost Reeves' presence." It was said that Rinsch was kept around for the new scenes so that the studio wouldn't be in violation of Directors Guild of America, but that when those scenes were done he was taken off the project.
Deadline, however, says that the initial story is not true. Contrary to the initial reports, the site says that "Rinsch has been in the editing room all week, working side by side with the studio on the challenged Universal picture." While no sources are directly cited, the story says that Universal has taken a bigger role in the editing room of the movie, but according to the reporter that's not uncommon when dealing with such an expensive movie and a first time director.
The situation is reminiscent of a development late last year when it was reported that director Pete Travis had been removed from the editing room of Dredd and that writer Alex Garland had taken his place. The situation was resolved when Travis and Garland issued a joint statement saying that the initial rumor was untrue and that what was going on had been misinterpreted. It's worth noting that while Dredd wasn't successful at the box office, it did receive positive marks from critics.
47 Ronin will be in theaters next year and you can read more about it in our Blend Film Database.
