Hallström Shares Director Credit For The Nutcracker

In an unprecedented move, Lasse Hallström (Chocolat) is to share his directing credit with Joe Johnston (Jumanji) for Disney’s forthcoming live-action movie, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, which stars Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren and Mackenzie Foy.

Although Lasse Hallström was the original director of the movie, a scheduling conflict meant that he was unavailable for the 32 days of reshoots, new scenes and special effects required, so Joe Johnston was hired to complete it.

The Directors Guild Of America usually rules that only one director can be credited with a film, unless it is made by an established team who have a history of working together, such as The Coen Brothers and The Russo Brothers. In a dispute where there are multiple directors, the DGA can adjudicate as to the rightful recipient.

However, in this unique case, Hallström graciously offered to share the credit with Johnston and the pair approached the studio together to formalise the arrangement, which was then submitted to the DGA. According to the DGA this is the first time that two individual directors have voluntarily shared credit for a film.