Hello all I know that I am not the most active poster but this is a topic that has to do with entertainment and is important to me so I thought I would share. This is a petition to get the director of the up coming Punisher Warzone movie reinstated. Lexi Alexander was released from the project after the studio decided that they wanted to cut twenty minutes from the film. After being released from the project Lexi was forced in to signing and NDA, a Non Disclosure Act, effectively silencing her opinions from the fans.
If you do sign and do not have your own comment to leave if you could leave the comment "Give us our Driver Back!" that would be great!
Sites such as film school rejects and ain't it cool news have made various reports but the most reliable of these many reports is from Tim Book, who replies in response to Neil:
QUOTE(Tim Book)
Tom Book says:
July 29th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Neil,
Did Gale Ann Hurd promise you a crew jacket? A job as her assistant? You clearly have
your facts wrong and if you would have done some responsible research and interviewed
any member of crew or cast, then you too would have joined the opinion shared by the
entire PWZ cyber community. You think it’s an accident that most of her crew and cast
members signed that petition that was created by a random fan? She has our loyalty
because she fought for all of us and she was there everyday, or better said every night,
in the freezing cold on brutal locations. ( I believe the actor who portrayed Paul
Budiansky signed the petition with the comment “loyalty for loyalty”.)
I have made over 30 films, many of them big budget and I have never experienced a
tougher shoot, nor have I ever seen a director more abandoned during production. They
just left her to run this machine by herself and if the great Gale Ann Hurd says anything
different, she is full of it. She showed up once in a while, but the Hulk was shooting
simultaneously and any of their crew members will tell you that she was with them
(although equally as ineffective on that production I hear).
As a matter of fact, some of us had a running joke about the legend producer. When we
were in the worst toxic location, Gale Hurd, we were told, was on location in sunny Brazil
for the Hulk. So whenever somebody was late or MIA on set, instead of saying “half day?”
we would say “Brazil?”
Lexi on the other hand, not only showed up every night even while she ran a fever and
had the skin literally frozen off her face, she also managed to inspire the entire cast and
crew to think of this film as a very special, special production.
When I first signed on to the job, I only did it for the paycheck. Punisher 2 wasn’t
necessarily on my wish list of movies I was dying to work on. After a few days working
with Lexi and her talented DP, we all felt we were working on a masterpiece. They were
so passionate about the film that we all got totally swept up in it.
In the beginning of principal photography, I used to feel sorry for Lexi because she was
so young and so little to be left alone on a shoot like that. I was certain she would fall
apart. I couldn’t have been more wrong. She is one tough cookie and essentially she
ended up getting all of us through this hell of a production.
After all of that, it makes us sick to see how Marvel, Lionsgate and Gale Hurd treat her.
This is so not right. A bunch of us have seen her cut and are aware of the changes the
studio wants to make and trust me, no Punisher fan would agree with those changes. If
the suits would have any balls at all, they would find a dozen hardcore Punisher fans on
the web, invite them to a screening of the director’s cut and a screening of the studio’s
cut, to see which they prefer. Personally, my money is on Lexi’s cut.
Who ever accused Lexi of being childish and erratic clearly has not met her. The woman
we worked for in Montreal was mature way beyond her years and I doubt she had a
complete change of character within the past six months.
Neil, the way we see it, you are the Judas who crosses the picket line because you were
offered a promotion.
Shame on you.
Head up Lexi, we’re with you
July 29th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Neil,
Did Gale Ann Hurd promise you a crew jacket? A job as her assistant? You clearly have
your facts wrong and if you would have done some responsible research and interviewed
any member of crew or cast, then you too would have joined the opinion shared by the
entire PWZ cyber community. You think it’s an accident that most of her crew and cast
members signed that petition that was created by a random fan? She has our loyalty
because she fought for all of us and she was there everyday, or better said every night,
in the freezing cold on brutal locations. ( I believe the actor who portrayed Paul
Budiansky signed the petition with the comment “loyalty for loyalty”.)
I have made over 30 films, many of them big budget and I have never experienced a
tougher shoot, nor have I ever seen a director more abandoned during production. They
just left her to run this machine by herself and if the great Gale Ann Hurd says anything
different, she is full of it. She showed up once in a while, but the Hulk was shooting
simultaneously and any of their crew members will tell you that she was with them
(although equally as ineffective on that production I hear).
As a matter of fact, some of us had a running joke about the legend producer. When we
were in the worst toxic location, Gale Hurd, we were told, was on location in sunny Brazil
for the Hulk. So whenever somebody was late or MIA on set, instead of saying “half day?”
we would say “Brazil?”
Lexi on the other hand, not only showed up every night even while she ran a fever and
had the skin literally frozen off her face, she also managed to inspire the entire cast and
crew to think of this film as a very special, special production.
When I first signed on to the job, I only did it for the paycheck. Punisher 2 wasn’t
necessarily on my wish list of movies I was dying to work on. After a few days working
with Lexi and her talented DP, we all felt we were working on a masterpiece. They were
so passionate about the film that we all got totally swept up in it.
In the beginning of principal photography, I used to feel sorry for Lexi because she was
so young and so little to be left alone on a shoot like that. I was certain she would fall
apart. I couldn’t have been more wrong. She is one tough cookie and essentially she
ended up getting all of us through this hell of a production.
After all of that, it makes us sick to see how Marvel, Lionsgate and Gale Hurd treat her.
This is so not right. A bunch of us have seen her cut and are aware of the changes the
studio wants to make and trust me, no Punisher fan would agree with those changes. If
the suits would have any balls at all, they would find a dozen hardcore Punisher fans on
the web, invite them to a screening of the director’s cut and a screening of the studio’s
cut, to see which they prefer. Personally, my money is on Lexi’s cut.
Who ever accused Lexi of being childish and erratic clearly has not met her. The woman
we worked for in Montreal was mature way beyond her years and I doubt she had a
complete change of character within the past six months.
Neil, the way we see it, you are the Judas who crosses the picket line because you were
offered a promotion.
Shame on you.
Head up Lexi, we’re with you
If you have taken the time to read through I thank you and if you have taken the time to sign the petition I am enternally grateful. Outside of being a big Punisher fan I hate it when studios chop up movies so this hit home pretty well.
Thanks,
Raze