It cost "millions" for Netflix to reshoot Chris D’Elia's part in the newly released "Army Of The Dead" following accusations of sexual misconduct.
It was an expensive decision, having actor-comedian Tig Notaro come in to redo all D'Elia's scenes in the film, but it made the film better, filmmakers Zack and Deborah Snyder told Vanity Fair.
"I think the movie is better with Tig Notaro, frankly, because she’s more unexpected and she’s more fun," Zack Snyder said. "She’s like, 'Zack, clearly you knew that I had an action hero in here somewhere. I don’t know where it is, but you found it.' She’s so bone-dry, but in the best possible way."
The decision came in August last year. D'Elia had already finished shooting the film when the allegations against him emerged. Two months later, Netflix, along with Zack and Deborah Snyder, announced that they would be scrubbing every trace of him from "Army of the Dead" and replacing him with Notaro. There was just one challenge -- how would they reshoot all the scenes that initially featured D’Elia? Reassembling the cast for new takes was not an option as Hollywood had been shut down amid the pandemic.
The only choice was to insert Notaro into the film without any cast members present. This would require digitally erasing D'Elia from the footage, then reshooting Notaro in his place, and using visual effects to integrate her into these scenes without it being obvious. It cost "a few million," Zack said, but it was money well spent.
"It just so happens that the group makes giant visual-effects movies, you know what I mean?" he said of Netflix stepping up to assist. "It worked out that we were like, 'Oh, yeah, I know how to do this.'"
Deborah added that the streaming service "did the right thing."
"They put their money where their mouth is," she said.
D'Elia has been accused of sexually harassing multiple women. Many of the alleged victims were underage. As a result, he was dropped by CAA and also let go from 2 Arts Entertainment, according to Deadline. D'Elia denied the allegations and in February he addressed them in a YouTube video.
"I do know how it looks with all the stuff that’s been said. I know it looks bad, and it doesn’t show the full scope of what happened. I stand by the fact that all my relationships have been consensual and legal. That’s the truth," he said.
"I know I have said and done things that might have offended people during my career, but I have never knowingly pursued any underage women at any point," D'Elia added.
"All of my relationships have been both legal and consensual and I have never met or exchanged any inappropriate photos with the people who have tweeted about me. That being said, I really am truly sorry. I was a dumb guy who ABSOLUTELY let myself get caught up in my lifestyle. That’s MY fault. I own it. I’ve been reflecting on this for some time now and I promise I will continue to do better."
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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