The same week that it loses lead actor, William Hurt, Midnight Rider has now lost the support of the real Gregg Allman. According to an exclusive from the Hollywood Reporter, Allman wrote to director Randall Miller requesting that he scrap the production out of respect for the deceased Sarah Jones and the other crew who were injured.
Wrote Allman,
“When the idea of you producing the film first came about, I was genuinely excited about the possibility of sharing my story with fans around the world. Unfortunately, all of that changed for me on Feb. 20 of this year … While there may have been a possibility that the production might have resumed shortly after that, the reality of Sarah Jones’ tragic death, the loss suffered by the Jones family and injuries to the others involved has led me to realize that for you to continue production would be wrong.”
Despite Randall Miller’s desire to move forward, he seems to be the only one still invested in Midnight Rider. While the Hollywood Reporter did not specify if Allman necessarily had the ability to revoke the rights to his autobiography, losing his support will be a harsh blow to a film that already has plenty of negative publicity. If Unclaimed Freight Productions is forced to give up on Midnight Rider, it will be the second musician biopic to fall apart for the studio in the past year after The Drummer last December.
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