Simon Pegg’s upcoming film Angels in the Asylum has paused filming indefinitely after running out of cash.
The movie, which is based on true events and centers around women who were incarcerated after being deemed to be typhoid carriers in the 1930s, halted filming in February just 15 days into a month-long shoot, with no current plans to resume and crew members said to be owed at least £600,000 in wages.
Producers Rob Sorrenti, who is also directing the film, and Heather Greenwood said the situation is “devastating” but they are in talks with other financiers to resurrect the project and “remain determined to find a solution.”
They claimed funding under an arrangement with distributor Parkland Pictures has failed to materialize, but that firm’s CEO John Cairns told Deadline they had no agreement to finance Angels in the Asylum beyond its work as a sales agent.
He also claimed proposed tax credit funding through Parkland Film Capital was not finalized and, even if it had been, there would still be a “very large gap” in the budget.
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Production had started thanks to funding from other investors, while the producers also put money into the venture.
In an email update to the crew, who are believed to be owed at least there weeks wages, earlier this week, the producers expressed their sadness.
They wrote: “We appreciate how difficult this is for everyone. We’re incredibly sorry. We endeavor to give you all an update as soon as possible, but the situation is incredibly complex … Please know we are in this with you, neither of us intended to be in this situation and have been personally affected by it too.”
And in a statement, they said: “Angels In the Asylum is a story of an extreme injustice in the 1930s where numerous women were locked away in a mental asylum, one we feel extremely passionate about bringing to public recognition. It has taken 15 years to bring the film into production. It was devastating when we were forced to halt filming due to our second round of financing failing to materialize. After being let down we were forced into hiatus.”
“Since that time, we have been desperately trying to raise finance with the goal of addressing our outstanding obligations to both our cast and crew. We have also put some of our own funds into the project, but sadly, it hasn’t been enough to rectify the situation. We remain determined to find a solution. We also want to make it very clear that we, the producers, have not been paid for our work on the production.”
The film also stars Katherine Waterston, Minnie Driver, Lesley Nicol, Rose Williams, Aurora Perrineau and Alex Jennings.
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