When Swedish director Lasse Hallström (“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?” “The Cider House Rules“) announced he would be directing the Sweden-set crime thriller “The Hypnotist” this year, we asked, ok, what did this mean for Nicole Kidman‘s Blossom Films‘ developing transgendered drama “The Danish Girl”?
Well, it apparently means that Hallström has bowed out, as has the loosely-attached co-star Rachel Weisz.
“There has been too much back and forth with the film, I don´t think the script is perfect and since Rachel Weisz left the project two weeks ago, there is not a complete cast,” Hallstrom told ScreenDaily today. “This is a sensitive subject, and I feel a film about it should not be rushed into production without everything being perfect. But I have told the producers that if they don´t find a new director now, I´d be happy to make the film at a later stage.”
Weisz recently signed on to not just one, but two high-profile tentpoles, Disney‘s “Oz The Great and Powerful” and Universal‘s “The Bourne Legacy,” so we imagine that’s where the scheduling conflict came from. The picture about the world’s first sex change operation was set to go into production (as rumored) this summer in Germany, but now it might be back to the drawing board as the producers need to find a helmer and co-star.
“The Danish Girl” has gone through several permutations with Kidman at its core. Tomas Alfredson, the filmmaker behind the celebrated Swedish vampire drama, “Let The Right One In,” was once set to helm before he left for “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” and both Charlize Theron and Gwyneth Paltrow were once set to star in the role that Weisz just vacated (Marion Cotillard was at one time rumored to be a replacement as well).
Written by Lucinda Coxon (“Wild Target” starring Emily Blunt), gestating since 2009 and reportedly ready with the funds to shoot this summer, it remains to be seen whether replacements will be found in time, especially since the former director is publicly voicing his script concerns. Then again, it won’t be the first project to take a few years to materialize on screen.
