The Safdie brothers, Benjamin and Josh, are two filmmakers that fans will recognized for having given us 2017’s Good Time and 2019’s A24 hit Uncut Gems. In more recent years, however, the two have split up in favor of working on separate projects – and now the reason for the Safdie brothers’ split has been reportedly revealed.
As it turns out, the reason may actually begin earlier than expected. In fact, a new report claims that it has something to do with events which transpired during the making of 2017’s Good Time. Though it wasn’t until 2023 that Benny Safdie apparently learned enough to fully cut ties with his brother.
Here’s what was shared by Tatiana Siegel via Page Six:
“According to ‘Good Time’ sources, a 17-year-old girl was cast to play a prostitute in the crime thriller. Once on set, the teenager was thrust into a scene that involved nudity and simulated sex with ‘actor’ Buddy Duress during production in New York.
“As part of their verité style, the Safdies were known for using a mix of professional stars like the film’s lead, Robert Pattinson, as well as non-actors like Duress, who had just been released from prison. (Duress, real name Michael Stathis, had been jailed numerous times dating back to 2009 on drug charges, weapons violations, fencing stolen property and motor vehicle theft, according to court records.)
While Josh watched the action unfold on his monitor, and Benny stood in the corner holding the boom, Duress, who was high at the time, pulled down his pants, exposed himself and asked the girl if ‘he could stick it in’ as the cameras continued to roll, multiple sources tell Page Six Hollywood. (Duress died of a heroin overdose in November 2023.)”
The outlet adds that the natural thing would have been to end the scene, as shared by a source close to the situation, but that “Josh let it continue.” It’s been stated that Josh was the director in control of the set at the time and not Benny. As such, Josh has since been blamed for the situation, with three sources claiming that he “became aware of the girl’s age on the day of production, shortly after the scene shot, as the traumatized girl spiraled.”
Ultimately, the scene was removed from the movie prior to its debut at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. The reason given at the time was “creative reasons” but when Benny learned the true nature of the situation in 2023, that’s when he chose to cut ties with his brother. Previously, their controversial producing partner Sebastian “Sebo” Bear-McClard was blamed by Josh for having hired the actress without knowing her age, though sources insisted only Josh was the one in the room at the time of Duress making advances towards her.
Once the full scope of the situation was revealed to Benny, however, that seemed to be the final straw for the brothers who had already unraveled their original company. The two have since gone on to work on their own separate projects, with Josh tackling Marty Supreme and Benny tackling The Smashing Machine.