Dalíland Director Comments on Ezra Miller Allegations

Ezra Miller, best known for their roles in Zack Snyder's Justice League and the Fantastic Beasts series of films, will not be appearing at the Toronto International Film Festival when their latest movie, Dalíland, makes its premiere. The director of the film thinks that's for the best, and wants Miller to focus on their mental health following a series of high profile arrests and allegations made against the actor. Mary Harron priased Miller's performance as a young Salvador Dalí, opposite Iron Man 3 star Ben Kingsley as an older version of the acclaimed artist (and the film's lead).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Miller was originally up for the role of James, a young art enthusiast who serves as the point-of-view character for the audience after getting wrapped up in Dalí's world. When Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore took up that spot on Miller's schedule, the actor had to back out, and was instead offered the comparably smaller role of the younger Dalí, who appears a handful of times in the film.

"It's been very distressing and I'm glad that they have sought treatment and I don't think they should be doing anything besides getting treatment right now," Harron told the trade.

Harron did not really address the allegations themselves, primarily focusing on the film even as it pertained to Miller.

"They arrived on set with a completely realized performance," Harron said of Miller. "They just dived very deep into the character, similar to how Ben Kingsley arrived on set."

Dalíland centers on the marriage between Dalí and his wife, Gala, as told through from perspective of a young assistant named James. The approach was inspired by The Great Gatsby, as director Mary Harron compared Christopher Briney's role to that of Nick Carraway.

"We started looking at Dali in the 1970s, the older Dali, with flashbacks to the younger Dali [played by Ezra Miller], which are rendered like an old movie. That format really excited me," Harron said recently. "Ezra had like three days between finishing Fantastic Beasts and starting The Flash, and insisted on coming and doing our film. The story is all played out through this kind of Nick Carraway figure [Christopher Briney], who comes into Dali's life as an assistant and sees it all."

Dalíland holds its world premiere on September 17th as part of the Toronto International Film Festival, which runs from September 8th until September 18th.