May 11, 2001
Ananova
John Malkovich 'takes over director's duties' on Ripley's Game

John Malkovich is said to have taken over as director on the new £30 million thriller Ripley's Game when Liliana Cavani had to leave the set.

Malkovich oversaw the final scenes of the film in Berlin at the end of an 11-week shoot in Germany and Italy.

Cavani had apparently agreed to be at Milan's opera house La Scala to direct rehearsals of a new Verdi production.

Rumours that rows between Cavani and executives with New Line, the film's backers, made her quit the project have been denied.

Malkovich stood in for three days and an insider told Ananova: "He was only too pleased to help out, though it was nerve wracking for him to say the least."

Ripley's Game is set about 20 years after The Talented Mr Ripley.

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