James Gray Says ‘Ad Astra’ Was ‘Taken Away’ From Him and Made Longer by 20th Century Fox: ‘It Would Have Been a Very Different Movie’

James Gray has revealed that the released version of his 2019 Brad Pitt-starring “Ad Astra” was not his cut — and was actually made longer than he wanted by the studio, 20th Century Fox.

Speaking in Cannes to Brut to promote his latest film at the festival, “Paper Tiger,” the director didn’t hold back when it came to discussing the sci-fi, which went through extensive reshoots following poor test screenings.

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“I control everything completely on this [‘Paper Tiger’] and, actually, I didn’t on ‘Ad Astra.’ That film was taken away from me. That’s not my cut of the movie,” he said. “You get into discussions and debates, there’s a studio, then the studio [20th Century Fox] got sold to Disney. You get caught in that stuff. The movie was $80 million, ‘Paper Tiger’ was $15 million.”

He added: “I like to work on that scale because I don’t think it’s productive for people to just change your movie around and you get the blame anyway.”

When asked his how his version differed to the studio’s edit of “Ad Astra,” he said there were considerable changes.

“It would have been a very different movie,” he said, adding: “It would be 12 minutes shorter. I’m the only director who makes a shorter director’s cut. I hope someday I’ll do it. I mean, it’s obviously not up to me, but I would love to do it — it would be thrilling for me.”

“Paper Tiger,” a 1980s crime drama starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller, premiered in competition in Cannes. Despite solid reviews, it wasn’t among the award winners.