Nicolas Winding Refn—a guy who kindly suffered through a terrible interview I conducted with him for Bronson—is no longer directing The Bringing, a true crime story about the mysterious disappearance and death of Elisa Lam. That’s both too bad and maybe a little heartening. The Elisa Lam story is SPOOKY, but it’s also tragically sad in much the same way that the Malaysia Flight 370 story is. The gaps from point A to B are what make these stories so fascinating, but any attempt to fill them in not only kills the mystery, it’s also just really, really distasteful.
News of Refn’s departure comes from Justin Kroll, a film reporter for Variety:
Well this is a bummer, hearing Nic Refn will not direct THE BRINGING at Sony as negotiations have stalled. Too bad
— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) June 13, 2014
Whatever the reason for the “stall,” I’m proud of Refn for walking away. His next film, I Walk With The Dead is an all-female horror project, so those looking for a genre-quivalent project without the icky, morally dubious aftertaste of The Bringing are in luck. And for those unfamiliar with Elisa Lam’s (again, seriously spooky) story, start here: