Panic cinema says he received death threats after the resignation of Melissa Barreradirector stated that aggressive messages made him abandon the project even after the studio’s request to remained writing

The director Christopher Landon stated, in an interview published on Tuesday, 8, by Vanity Fairwho decided to leave the direction of Panic 7 after receiving death threats directed at him and his children, motivated by the resignation of the actress Melissa Barrerain November 2023. The actress was taken from the production by Spyglass media group After posting messages of support to the Palestinian people on social networks, amid the war between Israel and Hamas.

“I received messages saying, ‘I will find your children and I will kill them because you support murder of children,” said the filmmaker, who is the father of two boys, five and eight.

The case led the FBI and the safety of several studios to investigate the content of the threats, according to Landon. The director also reiterated that he had no involvement in the resignation of Barrera:

“I don’t fire her. A lot of people think I had something to do with it, but it wasn’t my decision. I had no control of the situation.”

Landon reported that, for lack of knowledge about the scenes of the industry, fans pointed to him as directly responsible: “In the absence of understanding of how Hollywood works, who rules and who decides, the fans thought: ‘It’s that guy’, and came up with me with knives pointed.”

About a month after the episode, the filmmaker announced his departure from the project, classifying the experience as “a dream job that became a nightmare.” He stated that the studio still wanted him to go ahead of production, but that emotional wear and tear surpassed any motivation to continue.

“I decided I didn’t want to give me any part of me to that. It wasn’t worth it. I prefer to dedicate myself to something where I feel respected. The hatred and abuses spoiled everything to me. I lost love for this idea.”

Landon also stated that he went through a mourning process as he gave up his position: “I was in shock, sad, then angry. Being part of this legacy … It was very difficult to leave it behind.”

Despite the experience, the director said he wants success to the new responsible for the film, Kevin Williamson: “Kevin probably made a movie because he knows it better than anyone. It will be amazing.”