This has been an absolutely terrible week for the production of the upcoming Natalie Portman-starring western Jane Got A Gun. The drama began on Tuesday when director Lynn Ramsay failed to show up on the first day of shooting, leaving her entire cast and crew shrugging their shoulders. While Warrior director Gavin O'Connor has stepped in to take over the film, the project received another devastating blow when Jude Law, who only joined the cast last week, decided to drop out. As can be expected, the production is scrambling a bit now to find an actor to replace the two-time Oscar nominee, and apparently there are three names that they are looking for in particular.
In a write-up about all of the drama currently going on behind the scenes of Jane Got A Gun, The Los Angeles Times has revealed the shortlist of actors being considered to replace Law in the western...and the names may surprise you due to their variety. The newspaper's sources say that they are currently looking at Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire and Jeff Bridges as possible options. The studio is specifically looking for an actor who is both "an international brand who also happen to look good in a hat."
Based on a 2011 Black List screenplay written by Brian Duffield, the new film is about a woman (Portman) whose outlaw husband (Joel Edgerton)has run into trouble with a local gang. Realizing that their lives are in danger, the woman is forced to reach out to a former lover for help. Gyllenhaal, Maguire and Bridges, who all have western experience having made movies like Brokeback Mountain, Ride With The Devil and True Grit, are being considered for the former lover part.
It's interesting to note that both Gyllenhaal and Maguire starred with Portman in the 2009 drama Brothers, but Bridges seems to be a bit of a wild card in this situation. Isn't he just a tad old to be playing a former lover of a 31 year old? Perhaps they have re-writes in mind.
