Paul Schrader Furious Producers Shut Down His Movie Over Coronavirus Concerns
Production has halted on director Paul Schrader’s latest movie, The Card Counter, just five days before principal photography wrapped in Biloxi, Mississippi. According to Deadline, the decision to put the movie on an indefinite hiatus was made by the producers, who became concerned when an actor on set tested positive for coronavirus.
The Card Counter is Schrader’s first movie since First Reformed, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Starring Oscar Isaac, Willem Dafoe, and Tiffany Haddish, The Card Counter follows a gambler and former soldier who teams up with a young man to get revenge on a mutual enemy. Schrader is not happy about the producers’ decision to put filming on hold, taking to Facebook to vent his anger:
As stated in his post, the actor in question was a day player who flew in from Los Angeles to film only a couple of scenes, adding to Schrader’s frustration. Schrader is 73 years old and a self-proclaimed asthmatic, so he’s in the target demographic that’s particularly under threat from the virus. And yet, he would have finished the movie if it literally killed him. Well, maybe not literally, but you get the point. It has not been announced when The Card Counter will resume shooting, but for now it joins the heap of movies whose productions have become thwarted by the global crisis.
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