The New York Times confirms the long-standing rumors of sexual misconduct by the writer and comedian Louis C.K.; director Ridley Scott will re-shoot Kevin Spacey's scenes in an already finished film; in “What Haunts Us,” director Paige Tolmach explores why so many male former students at her prep school alma mater had died by suicide.
5 women accuse comedian Louis C.K. of sexual misconduct in N.Y. Times report
UPDATE: HBO, Netflix and the FX Networks have all ended their relationships with Louis C.K. On Sept. 10, the comedian issued this statement:
I want to address the stories told to the New York Times by five women named Abby, Rebecca, Dana, Julia who felt able to name themselves and one who did not.
These stories are true. At the time, I said to myself that what I did was okay because I never showed a woman my d*** without asking first, which is also true. But what I learned later in life, too late, is that when you have power over another person, asking them to look at your d*** isn’t a question. It’s a predicament for them. The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly.
I have been remorseful of my actions. And I’ve tried to learn from them. And run from them. Now I’m aware of the extent of the impact of my actions. I learned yesterday the extent to which I left these women who admired me feeling badly about themselves and cautious around other men who would never have put them in that position.
I also took advantage of the fact that I was widely admired in my and their community, which disabled them from sharing their story and brought hardship to them when they tried because people who look up to me didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t think that I was doing any of that because my position allowed me not to think about it.
There is nothing about this that I forgive myself for. And I have to reconcile it with who I am. Which is nothing compared to the task I left them with.
I wish I had reacted to their admiration of me by being a good example to them as a man and given them some guidance as a comedian, including because I admired their work.
The hardest regret to live with is what you’ve done to hurt someone else. And I can hardly wrap my head around the scope of hurt I brought on them. I’d be remiss to exclude the hurt that I’ve brought on people who I work with and have worked with who’s professional and personal lives have been impacted by all of this, including projects currently in production: the cast and crew of Better Things, Baskets, The Cops, One Mississippi, and I Love You Daddy. I deeply regret that this has brought negative attention to my manager Dave Becky who only tried to mediate a situation that I caused. I’ve brought anguish and hardship to the people at FX who have given me so much The Orchard who took a chance on my movie. and every other entity that has bet on me through the years.
I’ve brought pain to my family, my friends, my children and their mother.
I have spent my long and lucky career talking and saying anything I want.
I will now step back and take a long time to listen.
ORIGINAL STORY: Another day, another grim Hollywood scandal.
The long-rumored allegations of sexual misconduct by comedian Louis C.K. were published on Nov. 9 by the New York Times.
Five women said the prominent writer/producer/actor masturbated in front of them or over the phone. Four of the women allowed their names to be used.
Shortly before the story was published, that night's red carpet premiere in New York City of a film that Louis C.K. wrote and directed was cancelled. And the film’s distributor has announced it will no longer release that film, “I Love You, Daddy," which was scheduled to be in theaters on Nov. 17.
After the New York Times story was published, HBO announced that Louis C.K. would no longer appear on the network's Nov. 18 benefit concert, “Night of Too Many Stars: America Unites for Autism Programs,” and that it is removing the comedian's past HBO projects from its On Demand services.
Earlier this year, Louis C.K. signed a deal with Netflix for two stand-up comedy specials. The first one aired in April and Netflix has announced it has cancelled the second special.
And on the afternoon of Sept. 10, after Louis C.K. issued his apology, FX Networks issued this statement:
"Today, FX Networks and FX Productions are ending our association with Louis C.K. We are cancelling the overall deal between FX Productions and his production company, Pig Newton. He will no longer serve as executive producer or receive compensation on any of the four shows we were producing with him – Better Things, Baskets, One Mississippi and The Cops.
Louis has now confirmed the truth of the reports relating to the five women victimized by his misconduct, which we were unaware of previously. As far as we know, his behavior over the past 8 years on all five series he has produced for FX Networks and/or FX Productions has been professional. However, now is not the time for him to make television shows. Now is the time for him to honestly address the women who have come forth to speak about their painful experiences, a process which he began today with his public statement.
FX Networks and FX Productions remain committed to doing everything we can to ensure that all people work in an environment that is safe, respectful and fair, and we will continue our review of all of these productions to ensure that was and is the case."
And "Better Things" star and executive producer Pamela Adlon issued this statement:
"My family and I are devastated and in shock after the admission of abhorrent behavior by my friend and partner, Louis C.K. I feel deep sorrow and empathy for the women who have come forward. I am asking for privacy at this time for myself and my family. I am processing and grieving and hope to say more as soon as I am able."
Listen to John Horn's interview with Melena Ryzik, one of the New York Times reporters who broke the story, but clicking on the button at the top of this page.
The dilemmas of re-shooting Kevin Spacey's scenes in 'All the Money in the World'
Director Ridley Scott says he will replace Kevin Spacey in the completed film, “All the Money in the World,” by re-shooting his scenes with Christopher Plummer.
The movie is about the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III. Spacey plays his grandfather, the oil tycoon J. Paul Getty.
The film was wrapped and slated for a Dec. 22 release. But as allegations of sexual misconduct continue to be made against Spacey, Sony Pictures was facing a disaster with its film, which it hopes might get Academy Award consideration. The movie had already been pulled from the Nov. 16 closing night showcase at the AFI Film Festival.
Scott says the film will still meet its release date, which is six weeks away. But the prospect of reshooting much of the film, with all the details involved, seems daunting. To get an idea of what the filmmakers are taking on, we called on David Scott Rubin. He’s a veteran producer and production manager.
Here's what Rubin said he would do if he was a producer or manager on this re-shoot:
The first thing I would be looking into is, who are the other actors that are performing in these scenes that we'd need to re-shoot? And where are they currently? What are their professional obligations? And in the context of those obligations, what is their current physical appearance for those roles in relationship to what their physical appearance was in our production, which we already shot.
In re-shoots, maintaining the continuity of a character's image can present a challenge. Since filming "All the Money in the World," actress Michelle Williams has moved on to a new production.
So somebody like myself would reach out to the other production and ask, Where are you guys shooting? What's your schedule look like? We might also have our hair, makeup and wardrobe people reach out to their people for Michelle and find out what her look is in that movie to see, for instance, do we have to put a wig on her?
Other problems arise when the sets from the original shoot are no longer in existence. But Rubin says there's a workaround.
Most of the time, these days what we try to do is a digital mapping of our sets before we strike them — for this very reason. Then you'd have to go and [ask], Can I use that digital mapping for recreating the scenes that I need to reshoot?
But ultimately, Rubin says the biggest obstacle to the process is simply time and money.
'What Haunts Us' documentary examines the culture of silence around sexual abuse
In the new documentary, “What Haunts Us,” director/producer Paige Goldberg Tolmach returns to her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina to find out why so many male former students at her prep school alma mater were dying by suicide.
What Tolmach knew was that Eddie Fischer, a popular former teacher and coach at Porter-Gaud School, had been convicted of child sexual abuse in the late 1990s. He later admitted to molesting at least 39 boys.
What she didn’t know, was the extent to which school administrators had covered up Fischer’s sexual predation and how they’d allowed him to continue abusing children by giving him a favorable recommendation in 1982, when he was forced to leave Porter-Gaud.
Fischer's departure from the school came about after one of Tolmach’s friends told his parents he’d been abused. Tolmach didn't know what had happened until she learned of her friend's suicide.
Tolmach spoke with The Frame's John Horn about what prompted her to make "What Haunts Us," and why the culture of silence at her school is not unlike what plagues Hollywood.
"What Haunts Us" is playing at DOC NYC on Monday, November 13.