EXCLUSIVE: Bryan Cranston has made his position clear regarding the ongoing funding challenges facing indie movie Lone Wolf.
In a message to Deadline, which you can read in full below, the Breaking Bad and Trumbo star said he won’t return to finish filming or promote the feature until all cast and crew that are owed money are paid back in full. A “distressed” Cranston, who himself has been paid for his work to date, has spoken to multiple co-stars who are still owed money.
As we revealed earlier today, there is around a $2M shortfall in funding on the project, whose shoot came to an abrupt halt months ago. Crew, vendors and some cast are still owed at least one week’s wages, and there remains filming to be done. As noted by financier-producer Jordan Wagner to us today, the project suffered a “breakdown in the financing structure”, and financiers have been scrambling to plug gaps. You can read Wagner’s statement and the latest on the situation here and more about the original crew response here.
Shortly after our story went up earlier today, I got a call from another financier on the project who said he hadn’t known a situation quite like this on a movie in more than two decades in the business. As we’ve noted before, legal action is being discussed by different parties.
Indie movies hitting snags is not uncommon, but it is more rare for projects of a certain scale and with as many good elements as Lone Wolf to trip up like this during production.
Mark Pellington directs the conspiracy thriller about a troubled veteran (Lily Gladstone) struggling with addiction who is recruited by a contractor (Cranston) for a covert government plot to assassinate a high-level politician. Cast also includes O’Shea Jackson, Jr., Jennifer Ehle, Chet Hanks and Spencer Garrett. The producing team includes Oscar nominee Christine Vachon and vet Ted Hope, alongside others.
Bryan Cranston’s message to Deadline, which he is happy for us to share:
“The report in Deadline (as far as I know) is very accurate (thank you for that, Andreas). It is very unfortunate that this intriguing little story was sideswiped by a few incidents that temporarily derailed the film’s production. I don’t know all the details – only from what I’m hearing second hand (I am not a producer on this film) so all I can relay is what I do know.
“For some reason money that was promised to be deposited into the escrow accounts for the cast and crew were not done so in a timely manner. That caused a couple stoppages to the shooting. Then, apparently some portion of what was promised was deposited, and that lifted the DO NOT WORK order and we started up again.
“Right now, there is a strong effort to raise the necessary capital to finish the film, and I think that will happen for two main reasons: One, because the missing few scenes (approximately over two shooting days) are vital to the story. And two, that I (and I think I speak for Lily as well) will not do anything to promote the film until every cast and crew member is paid back in full, and we will not appear on screen again (ie return to filming) for this movie until that happens.
“In full transparency, I was paid for my part in this film even before the last temporary work stoppage – so I was surprised when I found out that we had to stop again, and that most of the crew didn’t get, as far as I know, their last two weeks of pay, nor did the co-stars in the movie.
“That is where it stands now…I’m distressed that this has caused so much grief and distrust, and so sorry that this crew (which was fantastic) were not treated with the respect they deserved, but I really believe that the producers will manage these difficult times by making everyone whole, and we’ll finish the film….Man, what a mess. BC.”
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