Elaine May’s ‘Crackpot' Needs an “Insurance Director"

Elaine May hasn’t directed a narrative film in almost 40 years. The unfairly ill-received “Ishtar” broke her. However, May is ready to direct again, with “Crackpot,” starring Dakota Johnson and Sebastian Stan. If it ever happens, it’ll be her very final film.

Five years ago, May had cast Johnson. We didn’t know much else about the project, including plot details and what the rest of the cast might look like. We’ve had total radio silence on this project now for five years, and May hasn’t gotten any younger — she’s now 92.

It turns out that the main obstacle delaying the project from going into production is, given May’s age, the need for an “insurance director.” Stan tells The Big Picture podcast that he’s still attached to the film, but the insurance person still hasn’t been found (via The Film Stage).

“I have this thing, I don’t know if it’ll ever get going. I have this thing that Elaine May was going to direct. It was going to be her last film and her first film since “Ishtar” (1987). It’s this crazy, kooky comedy,” Stan said. “It’s supposed to be with Dakota Johnson and myself. We’ve been trying to find a shadow director for Elaine May for the insurance company. So if anybody out there is hearing this and you want to fucking shadow Elaine May for her last film, let’s go do it!

Having an insurance director is not uncommon in Hollywood. Aging filmmakers, in case a health issue arises, sometimes need to have one. The one example that comes to mind is when Paul Thomas Anderson acted as an insurance director by shadowing Robert Altman on 2006’s “A Prairie Home Companion.” Altman sadly passed away during post-production work on the film.

I truly hope somebody steps up to make this film happen. Despite having only directed four narrative films – 1971’s “A New Leaf”, 1972’s “The Heartbreak Kid”, 1976’s “Mikey and Nicky”, and 1987’s “Ishtar” – May is a total acting and directing legend.