This was very much expected news. Following the tragic and untimely death of Tony Scott over the weekend, Ridley Scott (Tony’s elder brother) has halted production on his next feature: The Counselor. Production has been postponed for the rest of the week and we presume it might go on for a little longer as the Scott family overcomes this tragedy.
The Counselor is written by Cormac McCarthy and produced under the Scott Free banner. It stars Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz and Dean Norris and tells the story of a lawyer who becomes involved in the drug trade. As one might predict, things don’t go totally according to plan.
The film is currently shooting in London and has been doing so for the past three or so weeks, as evidenced by pictures that have been snapped on the set of Fassbender and Pitt in costume. A substantial portion of the film may have already been shot but considering this is a Ridley Scott film, his infamous perfectionism may mean that the schedule will have planned for a couple more months of production.
Although the Scott brothers were very close and the unexpected nature of his death may mean that the hiatus may extend for another week or so, I don’t think production will postpone indefinitely. Ridley Scott is a fearless filmmaker and has in the past made films while going through emotional turmoil. He agreed to sign on for Blade Runner and got right into pre-production when his brother Frank died in 1980 from skin cancer.
Ridley Scott is a fighter and I have no doubt that we will see The Counselor on screen as planned. Once again though, our thoughts and feelings are with the Scott family at this time.
Source: Variety