How Film & TV Handle the Death of a Director
Swap Them Out & Keep Going
Thankfully, there aren’t an overwhelming number of cases in which the untimely death of a director has thrown a chaotic wrench into a production. But with that in mind, it’s important to note that it has happened, and it’s posed significant problems (but you probably would have guessed that). In most instances of such a passing, it may not be a huge surprise to learn that, in order for movie studios to protect themselves and their sizable investments, they’ll simply hire another director to fill the shoes of the deceased.
This can produce interesting, sometimes morbidly amusing results, like in the case of director Robert Altman’s final film, 2006’s“A Prairie Home Companion”. The influential filmmaker, who died aged 81 just a few months after it was released, was already in failing health from leukemia. In order for an insurance company to sign off on the production, Altman agreed to hire a backup director, in the event that he fell ill or even died during filming. Given his outsize reputation, Altman secured a pretty good benchwarmer: multiple Oscar nominee Paul Thomas Anderson, then best known for “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia”. Ultimately, Altman was able to finish the shoot without Anderson needing to step in (although we can’t help but wonder what an Altman/Anderson mashup might have looked like).
Of course, that doesn’t quite answer the question. What about when the person helming a film actually does pass away? Unfortunately, a handful of historical movie productions have had to learn the hard way. Decades before Altman, Anderson, and “Prairie Home Companion”, German-born director Ernst Lubitsch died a mere eight days into the filming of the 1948 musical “That Lady in Ermine”. Luckily, Lubitsch had a trick up his sleeve: that would be his friend and fellow director Otto Preminger. Preminger was hired by 20th Century Fox co-founder Darryl F. Zanuck a few years earlier to substitute for Lubitsch on 1945’s “A Royal Scandal”, while Lubitsch recovered from a spell of poor health. That made Preminger a natural fit to take over for Lubitsch in the case of “That Lady in Ermine”. Despite helming the majority of the shoot, Preminger refused credit for his work, out of respect and reverence for Lubitsch and his esteemed career.
A similar instance occurred during the production of the 1968 British spy film “A Dandy in Aspic”. It would turn out to be versatile auteur Anthony Mann’s final project as, much like Lubitsch, he would die of a heart attack in the middle of production. However, instead of hiring a pro like Preminger, Columbia Pictures chose an interesting alternative route: allowing Laurence Harvey, who starred alongside Mia Farrow, to command the director’s chair. Admittedly, Harvey had directed 1963’s “The Ceremony”, meaning he wasn’t a totally left-field choice. The actor-turned-director would, himself, die just five years later. Ironically, Harvey was similarly ill during production, and passed away before the release of the film, 1974’s “Welcome to Arrow Beach”.
Generally, it seems that the preferred option is simply filling the late director’s seat with another qualified professional. This includes even incidents in which the filmmaker tragically lost their life to an on-set incident. Consider the mostly forgotten 1982 NBC miniseries “World War III”, originally set to be directed in its entirety by industry vet (and father of Katey) Boris Sagal. In a shocking, bizarre, and deeply disturbing accident, Sagal was fatally wounded after inadvertently stepping into a helicopter’s tail rotor blades. Having turned the wrong way upon exiting the helicopter, Sagal died just hours later of his injuries. In this case, he was promptly replaced by British TV director David Greene. As the old phrase says, “the show must go on”.
Scrap the Project Altogether
You probably haven’t heard of actor, filmmaker, and stunt driver H. B. Halicki. But you may have heard of his magnum opus: the 1974 indie action flick “Gone in 60 Seconds”, which became a sleeper hit and was remade in 2000 with Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie. Halicki wrote, directed, produced, and starred in “Gone in 60 Seconds”, and recruited his friends and family to act in it. A sort of proto-“Fast and Furious”, Halicki’s film is perhaps best known for its central 40 minute long car chase scene, which, at 40 minutes, clocks in as the longest chase scene in movie history. It’s fitting, then, that for its sequel, Halicki chose to go bigger, aiming to topple a 160-foot-tall water tower. Said the Los Angeles Times in announcing his death, “Witnesses told police that Halicki, 48, of Gardena, died when a cable that was attached to a water tower snapped and severed a telephone pole, which fell on him.” Without its creative driving force, “Gone in 60 Seconds 2” was permanently cancelled — also likely a consequence of it being an independent production.
Enter Development Limbo
This is definitely the least preferred option when a director dies. Japanese filmmaker Satoshi Kon was best known for the 1997 animated psychological thriller “Perfect Blue”, and was 46 when he died in August 2010 of pancreatic cancer. At the time of his passing, Kon was knee-deep in the production of his fifth feature-length film “Dreaming Machine”. The auteur had mostly kept his grave illness a secret from the crew at animation studio Madhouse, and his death essentially ground production to a seemingly permanent halt. The last update on the project (as of 2025) came in August of 2016. Said producer Masao Maruyama, “For 4-5 years, I kept searching for a suitable director to complete Kon's work. Before his death, the storyboard and script, even part of the keyframe film was already completed. Then I thought, even if someone can mimic Kon's work, it would still be clear that it's only an imitation.” While Maruyama has declined to put “Dreaming Machine” to bed, the film now serves as an unfortunate cautionary tale as to what can go wrong when working on a movie – and how it can be impossible to recover from.
What do you think is the best way to handle a director’s unexpected passing? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!