Oh, Joe Carnahan, what are we going to do with you? The notoriously outspoken filmmaker has long been a fan favorite thanks to his films NARC, THE A-TEAM, SMOKIN’ ACES, and THE GREY which all elevate action movies above the rest of the crop. Well, except for THE A-TEAM. But Carnahan’s involvement with a gritty potential DAREDEVIL movie and the remake of DEATH WISH had movie fans excited to see what he would deliver next. Unfortunately, both projects are now in the hands of other studios or other directors.
In the case of DEATH WISH, Carnahan was actually attached to make the film but after the studio pushed for Bruce Willis to star, Carnahan was removed and replaced by Gerardo Naranja, a first time English language director. Joe Carnahan felt the rage grow and penned a pretty vitriolic email to MGM President Jonathan Glickman. An excerpt from the email was posted on The Hollywood Reporter.
“You had a potential Oscar-winning film with maybe the best script in Hollywood but because you’re a coward and a dumb c— you now have an untested, second-time director and an arrogant, lazy, aging action star that will run that poor kid into the ground.”
“Good luck, asshole. You’re a spineless, gutless turd who doesn’t belong in the business. Enjoy your run as a ‘studio head,’ Glickman. It’s going to be a short one. F— you, Joe Carnahan.”
Since the release of the letter Carnahan’s reps have sad that he and Glickman are friends and the letter is in fact framed in the studio head’s office. Whether that is true or not, revealing the content of this message is not going to help Carnahan make friends in Hollywood, especially with Bruce Willis.
Carnahan is currently filming STRETCH with Chris Pine, Brooklyn Decker, Patrick Wilson, Ed Helms, and Jessica Alba. He does have a TV project in the works at MGM called DOGS OF WAR, but no features. DEATH WISH currently has no set release date.