Yesterday, the independently financed, Natalie Portman-starring Jane Got a Gun got ready to start principal photography… until director Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin) pulled a shocking no-show and left 150 cast and crew stranded with no way to shoot.

In the aftermath, producer and financier Scott Steindorff was determined to find a new director and keep the film from falling apart. He appears to have pulled off a minor miracle, coming close to closing a deal with Warrior director Gavin O’Connor.

Ramsay’s abrupt departure yesterday sent a few shock waves through Hollywood; no one can recall a director ever backing out of a project on such short notice. “I have millions of dollars invested, we’re ready to shoot, we have a great script, crew and cast,” said Steindorff yesterday. “I’m shocked and so disappointed someone would do this to 150 crew members who devoted so much time, energy, commitment and loyalty to a project, and then have the director not show up. It is insane somebody would do this to other people. I feel more for the crew and their families, but we are keeping the show going on, directors are flying in, and a replacement is imminent.”

It’s pretty amazing that Steindorff has found a replacement director as accomplished as O’Connor on such short notice.

Jane Got a Gun stars Natalie Portman (also a producer) as the title character, a woman who must turn to a former lover to help her protect her farm after her outlaw husband’s gang turns on him. The movie is also set to star Jude Law, Joel Edgerton and Rodrigo Santoro.

via Deadline