Veteran director Robert Altman's "Gosford Park" has collected a stack of rave reviews and seven Oscar nominations, but Variety reports questions about Altman's health jeopardized the movie.

The 76-year-old director, whose credits include "M*A*S*H," "McCabe And Mrs. Miller," "Nashville" and "The Player" -- long considered a maverick in Hollywood -- threw the $19.8 million project into doubt because of the high cost of insuring him.

To satisfy insurers' demands, the producers were forced to retain a substitute director who could pinch-hit for Altman, should he be unable to complete the film.

Variety identified Altman's understudy as Stephen Frears, the British director whose credits include "Dangerous Liasons" and "The Grifters." Happily for the producers, Altman was able to complete the project, but Variety said that the movie could not have been made without Frears' agreeing to stand by.


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