A back-burner project for Sebastian Stan looks to be heating up — but not for the reasons you might think.
While the actor has been busy the last few weeks promoting his films A Different Man and The Apprentice — both of which are now in theaters — it’s a film that hasn’t even started Day 1 of production that’s got him fired up about the possibilities.
“I have this thing, I don’t know if it’ll ever get going. I have this thing that Elaine May was going to direct. It was going to be her last film and her first film since Ishtar. It’s this crazy, kooky comedy,” Stan said on the Oct. 15 episode of The Big Picture podcast about the film Crackpot, to be directed by the 92-year-old comedian and filmmaker.
“It’s supposed to be with Dakota Johnson and myself. We’ve been trying to find a shadow director for Elaine May for the insurance company,” he added about the film that was first announced in 2019. “So if anybody out there is hearing this and you want to f***ing shadow Elaine May for her last film, let’s go do it!”
Some people might be familiar with the hurdles that come with moviemaking — writing the script, finding the stars, nailing down the financing — but what in the studio backlot is a “shadow director” or “insurance director”?
Basically, it’s a plan B.
A shadow director, aka an insurance director, is essentially a backup director on a film who can take over in case the director becomes unable to complete the project due to issues like illness or even death.
In May’s case, due to her advanced age, an insurance company has allegedly said that to move forward with financing on the production, a standby director must be in place to begin.
A representative for May did not immediately respond to Yahoo Entertainment’s request for comment.
While that process might seem potentially awkward, many directors see it as an opportunity to learn from someone more seasoned in the field in a mentor-apprentice setup.
Famous ‘shadow’ or ‘insurance’ directors
The most recent example of a famous filmmaker serving as a shadow director for another is Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth), who acted as a stand-in for William Friedkin on his final project, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, a 2023 film based on the Herman Wouk play of the same name.
Friedkin, who had directed iconic films including The Exorcist and The French Connection, was 87 years old while the film was in production. The project needed a backup, and del Toro was already a fan.
“He is an original,” del Toro told IndieWire of the famed director. “Billy’s work is endlessly rewarding.”
The Shape of Water director told Friedkin he “would be honored to serve as an ‘insurance director,’ which means you are at hand by the director’s side and ready to step in if any emergency occurs.”
In fact, Del Toro said he learned a lot from his mentor, watching as Friedkin would change the sets up until the last minute. “He would find a painting or a prop distracting and he wanted it out or changed,” del Toro explained.
Friedkin was able to finish the project. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, just one month after his death in August 2023.
“He was the most collegiate, convivial and crew-loving director but was also willing to push everyone to always being on their toes — this lesson I will carry with me forever,” del Toro told IndieWire.
Paul Thomas Anderson, whose 1999 film Magnolia was inspired by Robert Altman’s 1993 film Short Cuts, took on the role of insurance director for Altman’s A Prairie Home Companion.
“Just in case anything happened with Bob, I was hired to sit next to him. I can’t tell you what I took from it,” Anderson said about the 2006 film, according to Far Out magazine.
Anderson’s use of ensemble casts, long takes and “naturalistic, overlapping dialogue” has been compared to Altman’s ensemble films Nashville and Gosford Park, both of which were nominated in the Academy Awards’ Best Picture and Best Director categories.
“Obviously, it was a privilege and an honor and all that, but just such an amazing good time,” the Licorice Pizza director added about the 30-day shoot. Altman died five months after the film premiered.
Although director Beeban Kidron was only 34 when her 1995 film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar was set to hit theaters, the British filmmaker needed her own insurance director when she discovered that she was pregnant during production — which studio executives considered a risk at the time.
When she told the film’s producer Steven Spielberg, he congratulated her and said that he’d made plenty of movies as a father himself. Knowing that her pregnancy was considered an insurance risk, the Academy Award winner offered to step in should Kidron need to exit the project.
Kidron was nine months and five days pregnant on the last day of principal photography, but she did finish her film — with her water breaking at the airport when she landed with the cast and crew.
Where does Crackpot stand?
While there’s no word yet on when May’s film Crackpot will start production, there has already been at least one director who’s raised a virtual hand.
Jane Schoenbrun, who helmed I Saw the TV Glow, didn’t hesitate to speak up on social media when Stan’s comments became public.
“I immediately reached out,” Schoenbrun posted on X on Oct. 16. “But the question now becomes — who will insure me”
A representative for Schoenbrun did not immediately respond to Yahoo Entertainment’s request for comment.
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