Kudos to the L.A. Times, who this weekend produced a thorough piece on what’s been going on with the latest film from writer-director Kenneth Lonergan (“You Can Count On Me”). Having wrapped in 2005, “Margaret” has been sitting in limbo, a few promotional pictures being the only thing to tide us over. Well, turns out, the courts are to blame. While Times reporter John Horn couldn’t get any of the participants to share because of legal arrangements, he doesn’t paint a pretty picture of the troubled project, and all signs point to Fox Searchlight simply burying the leftover footage.
According to Horn’s fascinating article, detailing not only a suit but a countersuit between Fox Searchlight and the film’s producer Dan Gilbert, Lonergan bottom line simply could not find the picture in the editing bay. Lonergan apparently requested further time in the editing room with to a million-dollar loan from Matthew Broderick (which is called into question but not disputed) while multiple editors took control of the film with and without Lonergan’s ok. The passage involving late producer Sydney Pollack becoming infuriated with Lonergan’s “unprofessional and irrational behavior” certain seems damning. Sadly, as of now, not a single person is working on the film, and it may be on its way to becoming a curiosity rather than an actual finished film.
