EXCLUSIVE: Ramifications of the recent incidents on the Australia set of indie action-thriller Runner continue to unfold, as actor Kal Penn has made the decision to part ways with his manager Dan Spilo, Deadline has learned.
Sources close to Penn said that the separation came before yesterday’s reports on the Spilo scandal, as the actor became apprised through the grapevine of what had happened overseas.
Manager-producer Spilo was fired for cause after at least one incident on the Runner set, with the star of the film, his client Alan Ritchson, dismissing him from his team at that time. Sources cited inappropriate behavior on Runner that included bullying and yelling at crew as the reason for his termination, which came over a week ago, following an HR investigation.
Spilo declined to comment when contacted by Deadline this week, but sources close to the producer conceded to a “heated exchange” on set. They at the same time painted a different picture of events, suggesting that while things did get awkward in the aftermath of the on-set dispute, Spilo chose to leave of his own accord, recognizing what was best for the project. Emotions were high for Spilo, we were told, as he’s recently been dealing with the health challenges of a family member in Israel, which is where he set off for as soon as he was dismissed from the project.
Sources close to Spilo maintained that there was nothing personal in Penn’s decision to sever ties with the manager. The perception on his side is that there is an open door to mending his relationships with both Ritchson and Penn down the road.
Stay tuned for further developments here.
