Lee Daniels Cancels Tribeca Film Festival Appearance Due to Scheduling Conflict

The director won't be attending the event in New York because he'll be in Los Angeles to work on the pilot of his new show 'Empire'.

Lee Daniels is no longer expected to make an appearance at a Tribeca Film Festival event in New York scheduled for later this week. The festival's organizers have released a statement in which they cite scheduling conflict as the reason behind the cancellation.

"Because of an unanticipated schedule conflict, Lee Daniels regretfully has to cancel his appearance on Friday, April 18," read the statement. "We apologize for this change." Refunds are available for fans who already purchased tickets for the event.

Daniels was slated to discuss his career with Robin Roberts (II) as part of the Tribeca Talks: Directors Series. According to Page Six, the filmmaker wouldn't be able to make it to the fest because he would be in L.A. editing the pilot for his new show, "Empire".

The 2014 Tribeca film festival is set to open on Wednesday, April 16 and will run though April 27. The Tribeca Talks series will feature interviews with Ron Howard, Kevin Spacey, Michael Douglas and Shep Gordon.