With Lynne Ramsay shockingly and mysteriously bailing on the western “Jane Got A Gun” yesterday, producer Scott Steindorff of Scott Pictures promised a director would be found imminently. He wasn’t kidding. Less than 24 hours later, the film has a brand new helmer to get the movie going, and likely keep any delays minimal.
Deadline reports that “Warrior” director Gavin O’Connor has replaced Ramsay on the picture. If the producers were looking for someone who could step in and keep things gritty, they found it in O’Connor. The film will follow Jane Hammond (Natalie Portman), a good girl married to one of the worst baddies in town. When her husband Bill turns against his own gang, the vicious Bishop Boys, and returns home barely alive with eight bullets in his back, Jane decides to grab a gun and take matters into her own hands. As the relentless leader John Bishop (Jude Law) gears up for revenge, Jane’s best hope for her family’s survival rests with her old love Dan Frost (Joel Edgerton) – a gunslinger whose hatred for Bill is only slightly overshadowed by his love for Jane.
Meanwhile, the circumstances around Ramsay’s departure are still unknown, with no word from her camp. However, Screen Daily says that according to their sources, the originally cast Michael Fassbender left the film after “falling-out with the director” while Deadline adds that “a series of negotiating twists and turns” last weekend couldn’t keep Ramsay on the film.
But everyone will put this behind them for now and just focus on getting the movie made — production will resume/start on Thursday.
