At any point this week when things seemed a little too overwhelming or frustrating, we've been able to honestly say "Well, it could be worse. We could be working on Jane Got A Gun." The Western that looked so promising just a week ago has become a swirling mess of rumor and chaos, after director Lynne Ramsay failed to show up to set on Monday, spurring Warrior director Gavin O'Connor to step in and replace her and Jude Law to back out as well. While very little has been said officially, beyond producer Scott Steindorff claiming to be "shocked and so disappointed," the general tone of reporting has put the blame on Ramsay, for feuding with the producers and then irresponsibly bailing on the shoot without warning anyone.
Except… what if she actually quit 48 hours before production was supposed to start on Monday, and all because she still hadn't gotten an approved schedule, script or budget from her producers? Some details dug up at The Hollywood Reporter suggest just that, saying that Ramsay's departure last Saturday was kept secret even from star Natalie Portman as they scrambled to find a replacement. Ramsay had reportedly been feuding with producer Scott Steindorff well before she bailed, including struggling to cast a replacement for Michael Fassbender, who left due to scheduling conflicts on X-Men: Days of Future Past (Joel Edgerton eventually stepped in). That replacement process cost them 10 days of prep time and left the financing in disarray because Edgerton is not as big a name as Fassbender-- a big deal for a movie budgeted at just $15 million.
Like any other disagreement you weren't a part of, there are conflicting details that are hard to sort through-- some sources say Ramsay was frustrated with a disorderly production, and others say she displayed "increasingly bizarre behavior." A satisfying post-mortem explanation may never come, but it's at least good to see some side of Ramsay's story come out-- and ought to raise a lot more questions to realize we were fed a misleading version of the reasons behind her departure from the very beginning. The difference between quitting on Saturday and simply failing to show up on Monday is enormous, and adds an important wrinkle to what's already an incredibly complex story.
