Natalie Portman and Jude Law's New Movie Down a Director

Lynne Ramsay reportedly leaves the cast and crew hanging just as production was about to begin on Jane Got a Gun

By Natalie Finn Mar 20, 2013 1:41 AMTags
Natalie Portman, Jude LawJason Merritt/Getty Images

It isn't every day the likes of Natalie Portman and Jude Law get stood up.

Lynne Ramsay, who was supposed to direct the pair's latest movie, the Western drama Jane Got a Gun, was a no-show Monday, which was scheduled to be their first day of production in Santa Fe, according to producer Scott Steindorff.

"I have millions of dollars invested, we're ready to shoot, we have a great script, crew and cast," Steindorff told Deadline.com. "I'm shocked and so disappointed someone would do this to 150 crew members who devoted so much time, energy, commitment and loyalty to a project, and then have the director not show up. It is insane somebody would do this to other people. 

"I feel more for the crew and their families, but we are keeping the show going on, directors are flying in, and a replacement is imminent."

Ramsay—who directed and cowrote the adapted screenplay for the critically acclaimed We Need to Talk About Kevin, starring Tilda Swinton as the mother of a teen who carries out a school shooting—has not yet commented on what went down.

"She was pay or play, and [L.A. litigator] Marty Singer has been retained," Steindorff added. "My focus is on making this movie, but I will protect all my rights. This comes down to an irresponsible act by one person."

In Jane Got a Gun, Portman plays a frontierswoman who takes it upon herself—with the help of an ex-beau—to protect her land and family from her outlaw husband's gang of presumably nasty gunslingers. Rodrigo Santoro and Joel Edgerton also star with her and Law.

This will be Portman and Law's fourth film together after CloserCold Mountain and My Blueberry Nights.