Christine Vachon Lifts The Lid On Todd Haynes’ Shelved Gay Romance Flick With Joaquin Phoenix: “His Time Was Wasted” — San Sebastian

Veteran producer Christine Vachon spoke publicly this morning about what she described as the "tragedy" behind Todd Haynes ' now-shelved gay romance flick starring Joaquin Phoenix at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

Vachon — a regular at the Spanish festival — discussed the abandoned project as part of her keynote at the festival's industry-focused Creative Investors' Conference.

To start, Vachon shut down the suggestion that there was an elaborate backstory behind the production being halted.

"Pretty much what happened is what's out there for you to read. I don't know any more than that. I would gossip if I had anything to gossip about," Vachon said before adding that "it was tragic" to see the production fall.

"Todd Haynes is 62," Vachon said. "He's not old but there's a finite number of films that he will be able to do in his lifetime. I consider him one of the most extraordinary film artists of his generation. The idea that his time was wasted and a movie is not the result of all that time working with Joaquin is a tragedy to me."

Vachon concluded: "That I can't get over. The idea that we as a cultural community lost an opportunity to have a new movie by Todd Haynes is a tragedy."

As has been widely reported, Phoenix is said to have left the set of Haynes' movie weeks before it was set to begin production in Guadalajara, Mexico. Producers tried to put the project back together before the production completely died. Local crew members are due money.

The movie was set to star Phoenix and Danny Ramirez ( Top Gun: Maverick ) as two men in the 1930s who develop an intense romantic relationship and leave Los Angeles for Mexico. Vachon was producing the pic alongside Pam Koffler.

Phoenix was asked about his exit from the film during the Joker 2 presser in Venice, but he declined to answer, saying: "If I do, I'd just be sharing my opinion from my perspective and the other creatives aren't here to share their piece so I don't think that would be helpful. So I won't."

Here in San Sebastian, Vachon said she wasn't sure what Haynes would work on next. "There's a big question mark above his head," Vachon said.

Vachon's Killer Films, however, has just wrapped on Celine Song's next film Materialists, and is currently shooting Rachel Rose's The Last Day, starring Alicia Vikander and Victoria Pedretti.

San Sebastian runs until September 28.