What caused the conflict between Josh and Benny Safdie remains one of the more persistent mysteries to have baffled Hollywood in recent years. Hollywood experts and reporters love to play the game of seeking out what caused the dissolution of the hottest independent director team in town, after a run of critically praised hits. Tensions were raised by rumors that one brother had gone full MAGA, and in conversations with coworkers, the pair obliquely blamed the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. (via PageSix Hollywood)
On Thursday, January 22, when Josh received four Oscar nominations for his solo film “Marty Supreme” and Benny received none for “The Smashing Machine,” speculation only grew more intense. The story starts with how a 17-year-old girl was chosen to play a prostitute in the criminal thriller, according to “Good Time” insiders. Following production in New York, the adolescent was thrown into a scene involving nudity and mimicked intercourse with “actor” Buddy Duress.
The Safdies were renowned for employing a combination of non-actors, such as Duress, who had recently been released from prison, and professional stars, such as the movie’s lead, Robert Pattinson, as part of their realistic technique. According to various sources who spoke to Page Six Hollywood, Duress, who was intoxicated at that moment, yanked down his pants, exhibited himself, and asked the girl if “he could stick it in” while Josh observed the scene on his monitor and Benny stood in the corner with the boom. But in November 2023, Duress overdosed on heroin and died.
According to an on-set insider, Josh was the official leader on set rather than Benny. “Any director who had seen that should have yelled ‘Cut!’ and stopped the scene, but Josh let it continue.”
Josh—who is currently running for this year’s best director Oscar—discovered the girl’s age on the day of shooting, just after the scene was filmed, as the distraught girl began to collapse. Josh declined to comment.
A Screen Actors Guild regulation that states that employment circumstances cannot be “detrimental to the health, morals, and safety of the minor” would be violated if a minor were used for nudity and a sex scene. Josh’s carelessness was unacceptable, according to others familiar with the sequence of events. Sebastian “Sebo” Bear-McClard, their previous producing partner, intended to reveal the tainted underbelly of Good Time.
Benny was also informed of the Good Time actress’s age at that point, which, according to one of their friends, created a “wedge” among the brothers. Josh accused Bear-McClard of employing a child. Bear-McClard retorted that he wasn’t the producer in charge of verifying her age. Bear-McClard was not present when Duress attempted to have sex with the teenager on tape, according to sources. To dissolve the business that the three of them formed, the brothers severed their relationship with Bear-McClard.
Despite growing tensions, the Safdies worked together for an additional nine months. Early in 2023, they were in pre-production on another sizzling project that would bring them back together with Adam Sandler, the star of Uncut Gems, at Netflix. Then, in March 2023, behind-the-scenes drama of Ratajkowski’s breakup with Bear-McClard for Variety, revealing the girl’s age and some of the information from the Good Time incident. According to insiders, it was the last blow for Benny, who quickly terminated his creative collaboration with his brother.
