Neil Marshall — the director of “Hellboy” and the man who is engaged to actress Charlotte Kirk, the woman at the center of the oustings of Ron Meyer and Kevin Tsujihara — has been dropped by his talent agency Verve, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Verve did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment and did not provide a reason for Marshall being dropped from the agency. Marshall signed with Verve in November.
Meyer abruptly stepped down last week after he disclosed to NBCU CEO Jeff Shell his relationship with Kirk, ending his celebrated tenure in the industry. An NBCU spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that the company has hired an outside investigator to see if the now-former Vice Chairman improperly used company money or resources with either the affair or its cover-up.
Meyer had reached a financial settlement with Kirk for an undisclosed amount but an insider told TheWrap that a third party was trying to extort Meyer and force him to disclose the settlement to NBCUniversal. According to two individuals with knowledge of the situation, Neil Marshall, the director of 2019’s “Hellboy” who is currently dating Kirk, and Joshua Newton, a former boyfriend of Kirk’s, separately contacted Meyer in the past year demanding money and threatening to expose Meyer’s extramarital affair with Kirk from eight years ago.
For his part, Neil Marshall strongly denied the accusation. Joshua Newton did not respond to TheWrap’s requests for comment.
Kirk is the actress whose affair with Kevin Tsujihara between 2013 and 2014 led to his own ouster as Warner Bros. CEO last year after word of the relationship and Tsujihara’s subsequent efforts to advance Kirk’s acting career surfaced in the press (Tsujihara has denied he helped her get acting roles).
Neil Marshall first broke out with 2002’s indie horror cult classic “Dog Soldiers” and followed that up with 2005’s “The Descent,” which cemented Marshall’s place among “The Splat Pack” — a collective of indie filmmakers who write, direct and produce R-rated horror films known for their low budgets and use of violence. Marshall went on to direct television episodes and directed the very popular “Blackwater” episode of “Game of Thrones.”
Marshall’s direction of “Game of Thrones” season 4’s penultimate episode “The Watchers on the Wall” garnered him an Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Directing for a drama series. Marshall soon followed with last year’s troubled Lionsgate reboot of “Hellboy,” a fraught production on which TheWrap exclusively reported. Marshall would go on to direct Kirk in the horror movie “The Reckoning,” which is scheduled to screened recently at Canada’s Fantasia Film Festival.
The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.