Peter Greenaway’s assisted-dying drama mired in post-production delays

LUCCA (TUSCANY, ITALY), AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK, 9 OCTOBER 2026 —

Peter Greenaway’s Tower Stories mired in three-year production dispute as rights battle and budget overruns stall release of Dustin Hoffman’s final film

The film, starring Oscar-winning actor Dustin Hoffman in what was intended to be his final role, now exists in two competing versions, neither fully completed, while the city of Lucca, where much of the production took place, has been left in the dark about its future.

The impasse shows the escalating tensions between Greenaway and his producers, Facing East, over the film’s direction, financing, and distribution—raising questions about whether the project, once hailed as a swansong for two of cinema’s most celebrated figures, will ever see the light of day.

With Hoffman and Greenaway both in their 80s when filming commenced in late 2023, the delays have turned what was once an ambitious artistic endeavor into a cautionary tale of creative clashes, financial mismanagement, and the perils of independent filmmaking.

Greenaway first announced the project in November 2023 at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), where he received a lifetime achievement award. Speaking to an audience in Amsterdam’s Tuschinski theatre, the director—who has lived in the Netherlands for the past two decades—expressed optimism about the film’s prospects.

“I will be flying to Italy the next morning,” he said, “and that, all being well, we will start shooting seriously in the next couple of days.” The film, he explained, would explore themes of death and mortality, a subject he described as underexplored in cinema compared to depictions of sex or old age.

“There are some extremely good films made about old age,” he noted, citing Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries, “but not that many.” Greenaway framed Lucca Mortis as a philosophical inquiry into whether death is “necessary,” set against the backdrop of a New York writer, Jacob Zucchine (played by Hoffman), returning to his Italian roots in Lucca, Tuscany, to confront his own mortality.

The story was set around the time of the 9/11 attacks, with the city’s towering structures serving as both inspiration for the protagonist’s writing and a metaphor for the inevitability of death. Greenaway pitched the film as a drama rather than a horror piece, emphasizing its focus on “notions of death” rather than macabre imagery.

“It’s about a man who wants to round off his life in the neatest, most elegant way possible,” he said, adding that the film would draw on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s observation that “death is not an event in life; we do not live to experience death.”

Yet from the outset, the production faced turmoil. When Greenaway and his crew arrived in Lucca in late 2023, the lead actors—including Hoffman—had not yet joined the set. Dozens of trucks filled with equipment rolled in from Rome, sets were constructed, and the crew waited for weeks before production was abruptly halted and the team sent home. The delay suggested early cashflow problems, though such setbacks are not uncommon in independently funded films.

Shooting finally began in early 2024, with reports indicating a €15 million budget and the use of 25 locations across Lucca. The city embraced the production with enthusiasm, with locals serving as unwitting extras and the historic center transformed into an open-air set. The Tuscan press, including Il Tirreno, described the atmosphere as “carnivalesque,” comparing it to the energy of a Fellini film.

However, the initial excitement quickly gave way to frustration as delays and budget overruns eroded the production’s momentum. The film was primarily financed by private investors through Jumpy Cow Pictures in Switzerland, with additional support from Italian and Dutch tax rebates.

Produced by Facing East—a company behind films like Better Man (a Robbie Williams biopic) and In the Land of Saints and Sinners (starring Liam Neeson)—the project was intended to be Greenaway’s final feature, a fitting capstone to a career spanning decades.

By late 2024, a first assembly of the film was completed and reportedly met with positive reactions. But it was at this stage that tensions between Greenaway and the producers reached a breaking point. Sources close to the director claim his contract granted him final cut, yet producers allegedly proceeded to create their own, more “commercial” version without his involvement. According to these sources, the producers justified their actions by citing the film’s budget overruns.

Facing East has declined to comment on the dispute.

The result is two divergent versions of Tower Stories—now the film’s official title, a change prompted partly by Lucca’s reluctance to be associated with the word “mortis” (death). While the two cuts are said to be structurally similar, reflecting Greenaway’s dense, digressive screenplay, the producers’ version is reportedly more advanced. Yet neither version is complete, leaving the film in limbo.

The rights to the movie are also in dispute, further complicating efforts to resolve the stalemate.

The city of Lucca, which had invested significant time and resources into the production, has expressed growing impatience. Councillor Remo Santini criticized the lack of communication, stating earlier this week: “We’re disappointed because, as a municipality, we’ve spent time and energy making this film. We even had a sneak preview of it months ago, and it really made a great impression on us. Yet, despite filming having wrapped over two years ago, all is quiet.

Unfortunately, this stalemate isn’t our fault.” The city has made repeated requests for updates but received no response from either the production team or Greenaway.

The dispute extends beyond creative and financial disagreements to the film’s very identity. Greenaway’s signature style—marked by magical realism, philosophical depth, and visual flamboyance—has made him a polarizing yet influential figure in cinema. His previous works, from The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover to Prospero’s Books, often blend the grotesque with the poetic, and Tower Stories was expected to continue this tradition.

Hoffman, in his final role, was praised by crew members for delivering a “poignant” performance, with one insider telling The Guardian that the film “needs to be finished and needs to be released.”

Yet the project’s future remains uncertain. With no clear resolution in sight, Tower Stories stands as a testament to the challenges of independent filmmaking—where artistic vision, financial constraints, and corporate interests collide. For Lucca, the city that once celebrated the film’s arrival, the delay has turned hope into frustration. For Greenaway and Hoffman, the dream of a final, fitting collaboration now hangs in the balance, overshadowed by disputes that show no signs of abating.