"After scandal, movie producer Randall Emmett is flying under the radar with a new name" Los Angeles Times

(Bullet points of the article for those who do not have access to read it)

"After scandal, movie producer Randall Emmett is flying under the radar with a new name"

By Meg James and Amy Kaufman April 26, 2024 3 AM PT

•"On Friday, John Travolta debuts his latest film — “Cash Out,” an action thriller about a bank heist gone wrong. The trailer credits it as “a film by Ives.”

•Randall is now going by "Ives" as a Director/Producer. Ives is his middle name.

•"On the set of “Armored,” a film made during the actors’ strike last fall, star Sylvester Stallone arrived on set unaware that Emmett was the project’s director, according to four crew members who worked on the film. Stallone and his representatives declined to comment. The film’s assistant director and another producer insisted that Stallone was not surprised by Emmett’s “presence” on set."

•"Crew lists initially credited “Ives” as the director on the $11.5-million production featuring Stallone...just as shooting got underway in southern Mississippi in late September, “Ives” vanished from the production record. He was replaced, at least on the call sheet, by Justin Routt, a 63-year-old Miami film novice and convicted felon who did not direct any scene in the movie, according to eight members of the film’s production."

•Prop Master, Steve Noell, said "[Justin Routt] was just there. Randall was the one who called all the shots."

•"But whether the 53-year-old producer is going by Emmett or Ives, he continues to confront allegations of not paying his bills on time and presiding over rushed and chaotic film sets, according to a Times review of emails, text messages and interviews with nearly a dozen people."

•"Emmett declined to comment for this story or to respond to specific questions from The Times. The producer’s attorney provided written declarations from eight crew members and producers disputing that there were problems on the set of “Armored.”

•"Crew members and vendors, including sheriff’s deputies who provided security, struggled for months to be paid what they said they were owed. Several vendors reported the payment issues to journalists and the Mississippi Film Office, part of a state agency that approved a $2.8-million cash rebate to the producers, state documents show."

•"Two years ago, his Emmett/Furla Oasis production company collapsed after multiple lawsuits over unpaid bills from former business partners and the Writers Guild of America. Then Willis, Emmett’s biggest star, ended his career due to his declining health, dealing the producer another blow."

•"In early 2022, Emmett formed a new company with financier Joel Cohen called Convergence Entertainment Group LLC, according to Nevada business records."

•"...it’s exceedingly rare for a director to use an alternate identity in film credits and production documents. The Directors Guild of America has rules governing directors’ creative rights and responsibilities, but Emmett isn’t subject to them because he’s not a DGA member. “Armored” and Emmett’s “Cash Out” films were not DGA-covered productions, the union said."

•"Emmett was listed as the director of “Armored” in a May 31, 2023, application for a Mississippi cash rebate. When state officials later received production call sheets and crew lists for the project that began shooting in late September, Routt was identified as the director."

•“Armored LLC” also landed a coveted waiver by the performers union SAG-AFTRA to shoot during the actors’ and writers’ strikes.

Indeed, several crew members said they hadn’t worked in months and took a job on “Armored” out of desperation. ...Several crew members said they agreed to work for far less than their normal rates because of the strikes."

•"“This character was just kind of looming around on the periphery of the set,” recalled Hughes, the grip. “[Routt] kind of stood around and had strange conversations ... about his sexual exploits and his business dealings in Miami.”

When reached earlier this week, Routt spoke briefly to a Times reporter. “Do you mind if I add Randall Emmett to this call?” he asked. The reporter agreed and Routt put the reporter on hold for a few moments before the call abruptly ended. Routt didn’t respond to subsequent calls, texts or emails.

Routt is a convicted felon who has for decades expressed a desire to be a filmmaker."

•"In 1989, the Miami native was arrested for operating what Reuters described as “the largest illegal steroids laboratory ever uncovered in the United States.” He was sentenced to 22 months in federal prison..."

•"Two production members said he often showed up late and got into public spats on set with Holley [Emmett's girlfriend], who was hired to help run the production office."

•Actors and crew members waded in the water of the East Pearl River to shoot a scene. They were told the water was safe. "Environmental tests, however, had revealed an unacceptable level of enterococci bacteria, indicating the presence of feces, according to a copy of the Aug. 10, 2023, water quality report viewed by The Times that was provided to production managers prior to the shoot." "A SAG-AFTRA representative said the guild “investigated the incident and addressed that and other safety concerns.”

•"In separate interviews, the three men recalled when, in a rush, directors failed to entirely seal off a bridge before staging a special-effects explosion, startling a grip who was walking at the end of the bridge."

•"Fruehling, the line producer...[said] that after SAG-AFTRA investigated the water quality issue, the guild “raised no concerns with the production team.”

•"Money problems soon became apparent. Crew members were paid their daily wages, but many went months before they were paid for renting their equipment to the production, internal emails show. Vendors — including the porta-potty provider, armored truck owner, snake wrangler and even Louisiana’s St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, whose deputies provided security detail — struggled to get paid. One was owed as much as $40,000."

•"The delay [of payments], according to Small (Convergence Entertainment President), was due to a production accountant quitting."

•"In January, there was a flurry of activity after a vendor emailed a Deadline reporter, complaining about the lack of payment. Emmett was in touch with the prop master, Noell, text messages show, and told him that people would get paid — as long as the vendor backed down. Emmett wanted the vendor to send a “retraction” letter and include the reporter. The vendor, Emmett said, should tell people “he has [had a] great experience.”

Emmett attempted to fly below the radar, urging vendors to “not say my name[,] just someone from production,” the text messages show."

•“We are pleased to report that all outstanding invoices from ... ‘Armored’ have been paid and the production is in good standing,” [Rick Moore, Convergence’s entertainment partner in Mississippi]'s declaration said."

•"Noell, Castro and a third crew member said they’ve been paid. The wire transfers they received came not from “Armored,” but from a subsequent Convergence production called “Alarum,” a $19-million spy thriller starring Stallone and Scott Eastwood, that wrapped last month in Ohio.

The producer in charge of the production, according to Ohio tax records, is Justin Routt."