Thora Birch Released from DRACULA; Understudy Bridges to Play Lucy

[Rob]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 10:43am

Click Here to Read Thora Birch Released from DRACULA; Understudy Bridges to Play Lucy

[AC126748]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 11:03am

Anybody know the story here? Could she just not cut it on stage? It's the eve of the first preview--seems very sudden, unless this has been in the works for a while and is just being announced.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 11:15am

Isn't the understudy the one featured in those press picturs released yesterday?

[PurpleFanta]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 11:17am

Apparently she was fired because of her dad's behavior, not because of her acting ability. Sounds like some serious, serious drama.
NYTimes Article

[AC126748]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 11:17am

Pat Healy has some interesting information.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/actress-thora-birch-fired-from-dracula/

[fallingawake]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 11:19am

Jake Silbermann alluded to "upcoming cast changes" on his fan facebook last week, and when the press photos were released without Thora Birch, I thought she had dropped out. That NYT story sounds crazy though

[Tom1071]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 11:22am

Follow the link. The article will tell you what happened and why. She was released due to the antics of her manager/father.

[AC126748]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 11:27am

This actually isn't the first time that she was fired on short notice--she was the original Tracey Flick in Election and was let go just before shooting was about to start.

[PurpleFanta]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 11:30am

^ Hmm, that's interesting. I never would have pegged her as Tracey Flick. I'm glad it went to Reese Witherspoon, she was fabulous.

[AC126748]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 11:32am

I was mistaken; she was supposed to play Tammy, but was fired.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 11:33am

"(It is unusual for anyone other than a production’s director to instruct an actor.)"

The NY Times needs to stop having their interns write material.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 11:36am

Thora's father sounds creepy.

And it wouldn't be the first time an actor has been fired because the producers don't want to deal with crazy stage parents.

She won't be able to get any other work until she dumps her father.

[chellie]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 11:36am

It sounds like she and her father have a very strange relationship. She's nearly 30 years old and her father follows her to work? Sure, he's her "bodyguard", but the whole thing is really odd.

[AC126748]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 11:38am

The dad does sound creepy. I mean, would you want to hang around the set while your daughter films a sex scene? Plus, 28 seems a little old to still have stage parents hanging around.

Perhaps this could explain why she hasn't done a major film since Ghost World.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 11:56am

She is his meal ticket. It's likely that she is his only client and the only one in his family bringing in steady income for the last 2 decades. Evidently, he used to be an adult film star. He was in Deep Throat.

[Boq101]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 12:00pm

He wasn't, the mother was.

I love how everyone involved in this cast change has famous parents, all of this lineage talking makes it sound like a tolkien novel.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 12:02pm

Actually he was in Deep Throat as well. You can find it on IMDB. It's likely where he met Thora's mother.

[Boq101]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 12:04pm

I must admit I was not familiar with the movie as you are. I stand corrected.

The creepiest part of this whole thing is the idea of the father being backstage looking at a scene from a set window. That's just wrong.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 12:09pm

I am not familiar with the film. I have never seen it. I just googled his name and the IMDB link came up.
Updated On: 12/14/10 at 12:09 PM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 12:10pm

Why in the world would they allow him to attend rehearsals?

[AC126748]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 12:13pm

Per the NY Times article:

Mr. Birch had been a frequent presence at “Dracula” rehearsals. Ms. Birch’s contract had called for her to have a bodyguard, and Mr. Birch said that he was serving that role because “Thora had had some stalking issues in the past.” But he and Ms. Birch also said he had been on hand to offer support and advice to Ms. Birch and confer with her about upcoming projects, including a film that Ms. Birch said her father was co-producing.

“My dad is my support, and he is the best support that I could ever have,” Ms. Birch said.

Mr. Alexander, the director, said that “it was odd to have Jack Birch around so much, but that it hadn’t really been a problem until Thursday.” At another point during Thursday’s rehearsal, Mr. Alexander said he noticed Mr. Birch peering through a window that was part of a library set while a scene with Ms. Birch was underway.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes and turned to a crew member and said, ‘Is that Jack Birch looking through the window at Thora?’ ”

Mr. Birch said that he had been backstage at that moment examining “a loose, very wobbly platform that Thora and others had to walk across.”

Weird.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 12:29pm

She needs to change her name. Everytime I see her name, I immediately think of the British actress Dame Thora Hird. I saw this thread and thought "They fired that poor old lady?" Then I realized that Dame Thora passed away several years ago.

[hpeabody930]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 1:20pm

http://www.popcornnation.com/news/thora-birchs-dad-likes-to-watch/


This is from a couple of years ago... sounds like a creepy, creepy guy...

[Roscoe]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 2:05pm

This could be a blessing in disguise for Ms. Birch. The production photos look really hilarious -- is that guy really going to play Dracula with that thing dangling in the middle of his forehead?

[AC126748]

Posted: 12/14/10 at 2:19pm

A quote from someone over on ATC:

"This is not the first time that her father has cost her a job. I know this for a fact."

This probably explains why she hasn't made a major film in nearly a decade.