Carnahan on Bunny

Last week there was a whole bunch of rumpus (rumpuses? rumpi? whatever) in the trades about actress Reese Witherspoon abruptly abandoning the thriller BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING, the latest project from NARC and SMOKIN’ ACES guy Joe Carnahan. The supposed stir found Joe literally smokin’ mad, and seeking new management. Any truth to it all?

*LOUD BUZZER NOISE*

Ain’t the case, says Carnahan at his own site: “These things happen. Movies go away every day. Reese is dealing with a lot of stuff in her life. So am I. We were running up against it as far as time for prep and shooting and scripting, etc. I had already commited to ‘White Jazz’ and the longer we stretched ‘Bunny’ the more in jeopardy the WJ schedule became. And there was just no way I could let that happen. I need a nice extended prep period for that flick. And now I’ve got it. That’s it guys. I wish there were some truly tasty bits of gossip but there just aren’t. Sorry.”

Guess that concisely resolves that fabricated flap. You gotta appreciate filmmakers who cut through all the bullshit, eh? And while I’d like more Smokin’ Joe flicks, anything that potentially makes WHITE JAZZ even better is okay with me.