Actor Jeffrey Tambor has disappeared from the movie poster for his upcoming comedy “The Death of Stalin.”
A new promotional image for the IFC Films release made the rounds on Thursday replacing the Emmy winner with his costar Andrea Riseborough. The one-sheet is almost identical to a version used since the film’s premiere last September.
The new poster was circulated hours after Amazon Studios announced it had terminated the Emmy winner from its original series “Transparent,” following an investigation into alleged misconduct with coworkers. Tambor called the accusations false and said he was “profoundly disappointed” in Amazon’s investigation.
The original poster:
The new poster:
Actor Michael Palin was also removed from the original image, substituted his costar Simon Russell Beale. The film, from “Veep” creator Armando Iannucci, won three British Independent Film awards in November following its September debut at the Toronto international Film Festival.
Both versions of the poster were approved, with the Tambor version made specifically for the United Kingdom, an individual familiar with the marketing plan said — though its worth noting that only that Tambor version has been used in North America before Thursday.
“IFC Films creates our own marketing materials for our films. The filmmakers were not involved in the creation of or approval process for our campaign. We have released multiple visual looks for the film to date and will continue to do so leading up to the film’s release,” said Jonathan Sehring, co-President of Sundance Selects/IFC Films, in a statement.
A rep for Tambor did not respond immediately to TheWrap’s request for comment on his omission.
For four seasons Tambor played the groundbreaking role of Maura Pfefferman, a Jewish academic who transitions from male to female in the twilight of her life. An investigation into his accused misconduct said Tambor harassed three women, official word from Amazon said today. He vehemently denied this in a subsequent statement.
Entertainment One is distributing the film in the UK.
