Netflix paid big bucks to replace Chris D’Elia with Tig Notaro in ‘Army of the Dead’
Netflix spared no expense in removing scandal-ridden comedian Chris D’Elia from director Zack Snyder’s “Army of the Dead” and replacing him with Tig Notaro.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, husband-and-wife team Zack and Deborah Snyder didn’t disclose the exact amount it took to reshoot scenes with Notaro but said it was a “fairly easy” decision to remove D’Elia. Deborah, one of the film’s producers, told Vanity Fair it was an “expensive” choice, while Zack put the cost at “a few million.”
“I will say, Netflix did the right thing,” Deborah said. “They put their money where their mouth is.”
Notaro replaced D’Elia in Snyder’s movie, which follows a group of mercenaries traveling inside a Las Vegas zombie quarantine zone to pull off a grand heist, last summer after D’Elia was accused of sexual misconduct with underage girls.
Amid multiple social media allegations against Chris D’Elia, women spoke to The Times about encounters with the stand-up comic and TV actor.
In June, D’Elia released a statement to TMZ saying he had “never knowingly pursued any underage women at any point.” In the following two months, Netflix cut all ties with D’Elia, dropping his prank show and removing him from “Army of the Dead,” which had already completed shooting at the time.
The reshoot process with Notaro used green screen and CGI to digitally add her to the existing footage. The comedian and actor, known for her deadpan delivery, plays helicopter pilot Marianne Peters but has not met many of her costars except Ana De La Reguera. The “Army of the Dead” ensemble cast also features Dave Bautista, Omari Hardwick, Theo Rossi, Ella Purnell, Huma Quereshi and Hiroyuki Sanada.
“I’ve never met Dave Bautista in my life,” Notaro said Friday on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” “I’ve never met the man.”
If the Bill Cosby scandal has caused many to reexamine the dangers of fame and fandom, the documentary “Tig,” which begins streaming Friday on Netflix, offers most welcome proof that not every revelation by or about a famous person need be scandalous.
The “Star Trek: Discovery” star told Jimmy Fallon in April that her role in “Army of the Dead” had her trending as “sexy AF” following the release of the movie’s trailer.
“So much has changed, Jimmy. It’s really been nuts around here since I was trending for being ‘sexy AF.’ I didn’t even know what ‘AF’ was, to be honest,” Notaro said to Fallon. “My friends were texting me images of Twitter, like, ‘You’re trending for being badass and sexy AF.’ And I was like, ‘What is that?’”
“Army of the Dead,” Snyder’s second release this year after the eagerly awaited “Snyder Cut,” is available to watch on Netflix.
Only good movies
Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
