Heading into the Edinburgh Film Festival, the breakout filmmaker proudly confirmed to the trades that she ignored every basic tenet of production safety just to see what would happen to Rhys Ifans.
The Rhys Ifans and Lily Rabe indie vehicle was reportedly first pitched to financiers as a contained, low-budget drama set in a suburban kitchen. However, sources close to the production indicate Ryan aggressively rewrote the script weeks before principal photography, relocating the entire 40-day shoot to a violently rocking vessel in open water, casting two uncooperative child actors, and demanding a live rodent be present in every major scene.
The decision to actively combine the three most notoriously difficult elements of filmmaking sent immediate shockwaves through the picture's completion bond guarantors. Daily call sheets reviewed by the trades show production routinely stalled for lighting adjustments, generator failures, and a hamster that consistently missed its blocking.
We begged her to just shoot on a soundstage with a green screen. She looked me dead in the eye and said true cinema requires the crew to be actively vomiting over the port bow.
Reps for Ifans and Rabe declined to comment on the grueling production, though set insiders noted both actors spent the majority of the first-look press tour staring blankly at the horizon. Despite the harrowing working conditions, early buzz out of the festival circuit suggests the resulting picture is a triumph, proving to executives that a completely unforced logistical nightmare remains a viable path to awards season.
The feature is currently seeking domestic distribution, provided buyers are willing to absorb the $400,000 in overtime incurred by a rodent that refused to find its light.