‘Dying of the Light’ Edit Protested by Paul Schrader, Anton Yelchin, Nicolas Refn, and Nicolas Cage

Dying of the Light protest

Yesterday we saw the trailer for Dying of the Light, the new film directed by Paul Schrader from his own script, with Nicolas Cage and Anton Yelchin starring as intelligence agents. But there’s some troubled backstory to the movie, and it isn’t really Schrader’s film now. He was locked out of the edit as the producers took over final cut and added their own score. Nicolas Winding Refn, who is on the film as exec producer, called the process “artistic disrespect.” Now the creators have lodged a creative Dying of the Light protest.

Schrader can’t talk about it because of the non-disparagement clause in his contract. So he, Refn, and his stars have posed wearing shirts bearing the text of that contract. Those images accompany a statement from the director, released today.

dying-of-the-light-poster

Schrader posted the pics and statement to Facebook. I’m curious to hear more of both sides of this story, but it’s obvious that it’ll be a long time before Schrader is willing and/or able to talk in more detail.

We lost the battle. “Dying of the Light,” a film I wrote and directed, was taken away from me, redited, scored and mixed without my imput. Yesterday Grindstone (a division of Lionsgate) released the poster and the trailer. They are available on line. Here we are, Nick Cage, Anton Yelchin, Nic Refn and myself, wearing our “non-disparagement” T shirts. The non-disparagement clause in an artist’s contract gives the owners of the film the right to sue the artist should the owner deem anything the artist has said about the film to be “derogatory.” I have no comment on the film or others connected with the picture.