In the film world we know that it’s ever-changing. Just because a movie has a cast ready to go does not necessarily mean that everything is perfect. We know stuff happens all the time and sometimes that includes an actor dropping out of a role for reasons we may never know. That seems to be the case with Passionflix‘s current project This Man.
Late Thursday night, or early Friday morning depending on where you are in the world, Passionflix surprised us all when they broke the news that Kristy Dawn Dinsmor who was cast as the lead Ava O’Shea in the This Man movie would no longer be doing the film. The statement which was released by Passionflix stated:
“It is with great regret we inform you that Kristy Dawn Dinsmore will no longer be playing the role of Ava O’Shea in This Man. This was an incredibly difficult decision for all of us, but we agreed, we all want what’s best for this adaptation. We wish Kristy the very best in what we’re sure will be a fruitful future.”
The statement went on to say:
“Production has paused momentarily but rest assured, it will pick up again as soon as possible. We’ll update you all along the way. Thank you for your understanding and support.”
Obviously we were all really shocked to hear this because This Man had been in production in the UK for almost a week. An entire week. Now, we totally get it that shit happens and there are circumstances beyond peoples control.
But, we also realize that filming ain’t cheap. Especially if you’re filming a movie in another country. Production for This Man is now on pause because there is no leading lady to act against Tyler Cook who is playing Jesse Ward.
Now, we don’t know the reason Kristy is no longer playing Ava and there has been no statement from her with regard to this. The only thing that we have seen is a couple of Instagram posts and stories that seem, at least in our opinion, to indicate she may not have been that comfortable with the role. Again, this is us simply speculating into the void. We don’t know this to be true and as we mentioned above we may never truly know the reason.
Because we know that This Man is a challenging story, we can understand Kristy making the choice to step away from the project if it was not something she felt she could do. This would not be the first time an actor has stepped away from a production while it’s filming.
Does it suck? Of course, because depending on how long the pause is, the release date may be pushed back from December to an even later one. We just have to be understanding and accept what is.
At this point we have no clue as to when we will know anything about who will be replacing Kristy or even when the production for This Man will pick back up again. Hopefully it’s soon. We will be watching for all the updates and bring them to you as they come.
I wish Ms Dinsmore much success in her career but if I am being honest her casting was just not the right age or look of the character as described in the book. I feel they got Jesse just right but we need to have the same feeling for our Ava and it was clear from the lead up to her reveal that either her casting was truly delayed and then when it was announced it was totally lackluster like all the others. Then the one teaser she filmed was just not it! Not the Ava of Mrs Malpas creation and it was clear from all the bts pictures with Jodi and Toska with Tyler Cook and absolutely crickets with Kristie that something was afoot. I would love to know who ultimately made the decision but I can live with the suspense because I was so not feeling her for our Ava. Take your time to find the perfect Ava to compliment our effect Jesse nothing less is acceptable. It’s much too important to This Man Stans to nail down the right Ava. And have they just not cast John or has he been left off the adaptation???