Filmmaker Gene Fallaize, who directed Kevin Spacey’s most recent project Control, continues to stand by his controversial casting decision.
As reported by Variety, Fallaize doesn’t “regret casting Kevin” and “would do it all over again.” Fallaize cast Spacey in his micro-budget thriller Control while the actor was still awaiting trial on several sexual assault charges. The former House of Cards star has just been found “not guilty” on all accounts, which means that Fallaize might manage to avoid any further controversy upon the movie’s release.
Multiple industry professionals reportedly warned the filmmaker about the financial and reputational dangers of casting Spacey in Control, but he ultimately decided to move forward with the actor on board. However, Fallaize did everything in his power to “minimize any potential risk,” including keeping the film as low-budget as possible in case the verdict went the other way. Spacey still had “a fan base,” and the movie had “sales offers from the very beginning,” which is why the director didn’t worry too much about the casting decision he had made.
Filming Kevin Spacey in Control
Spacey’s scenes were filmed last December, and Fallaize recalled the whole experience as positive. He described the actor as “really good to talk to” and mentioned that he “seemed like a nice guy.” The filmmaker did mention that he hadn’t collaborated with Spacey prior to Control, so he couldn’t “say what he was like [now] in comparison to what he was like before.”
Following the announcement of Spacey’s attachment to the project, the movie initially received some backlash, but Fallaize said that there was also a “wave of positivity from [Spacey’s] fan base” even back then. Since the verdict has been given, that response has only grown warmer. The director added, “Since yesterday I’ve received only positive so far.” As soon as the news broke, he congratulated Spacey “on the outcome” and wished him a happy birthday, to which the actor responded with “a very brief emoji” – supposedly, a positive one as Fallaize stated that it wasn’t “a middle finger.”
The upcoming film stars Spacey in the lead role, although it is entirely a voice acting part. Control follows a mystery man, played by Spacey, who hijacks a self-driving car of the government official Stella Simmons and plans to take revenge on her. The much-anticipated thriller has already been sold to distributors in Russia, Germany, and the Middle East. Now that Spacey has been cleared of all charges, a U.S. and a U.K. release are under discussion as well.
Control is expected to hit theaters in 2023.
Source: Variety