“The Deb” has finally made its debut. Sort of.
The coming-of-age musical, which has been caught in the middle of a bare-knuckled brawl between director Rebel Wilson and a trio of producers, screened for a select group of industry figures at WME’s offices in Beverly Hills on Monday afternoon.
Wilson was in attendance for the screening, which was described as an “intimate private” event in an invitation. Before the screening, the “Pitch Perfect” star made a quick speech thanking everyone for showing up and urged guests “to laugh and cry and feel anything they wanted.” After the credits rolled, Wilson reemerged and teared up, apparently moved by the crowd’s enthusiastic response, according to an attendee. Among the guests were fellow Aussie directors Phillip Noyce and Sophia Banks as well as reps from Netflix and Universal. The two studios have longstanding deep ties with Wilson via “Isn’t It Romantic” and “Senior Year” (Netflix) and “Bridesmaids” and “Pitch Perfect” (Universal).
The film, which marks Wilson’s directing debut, has sparked wild claims from both sides, with the “Pitch Perfect” star accusing the film’s producers Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron and Vince Holden of siphoning money from the budget, while the trio hit back by suing Wilson for defamation. Wilson additionally claimed in a social media post that Ghost — who is married to Cameron — sexually harassed one of the film’s young stars during production. Wilson doubled down on her claims after the producers filed an amended complaint on July 31 and called on Len Blavatnik, the billionaire whose AI Film financed the film, to “please stop funding and protecting” the trio.
The screening comes in advance of “The Deb’s” world premiere as the closing night gala at the Toronto Film Festival, which kicks off next week. Without a distributor in place, “The Deb” will be looking for a home and will be shopped by WME beginning on Sept. 9, when press and industry screenings begin on the ground at the festival. (WME also reps Wilson as an actor and director.) Despite the infighting, “The Deb” is expected to be one of TIFF’s hot sales titles. The Sept. 15 premiere at Roy Thompson Hall, a 1,750-seat venue, has already sold out.
Sources say none of the producers plan on attending any of the TIFF events.
While the WME screening was kept under wraps, the battle between Wilson and the producers has been anything but low-key, with Wilson taking issue with AI’s aggressive defense. (Ghost and Holden are executives at Blavatnik’s AI Film, a deep-pocketed film producer and financier, whose credits include “Hacksaw Ridge” and “I, Tonya,” since 2019.) “Clearly these recent press articles and constant retaliations against me for speaking the truth on my small Australian movie are FALSE. All I did was tell the truth about these absolute fuckwits’ – now they launch a bogus defamation suit and bogus articles to inflict further harm.”
The producers have not publicly commented on their feud with Wilson, though their lawsuit suggests that she is retaliating in part over her unhappiness with the film’s music credits.
Wilson also went scorched earth earlier this year when she accused Sacha Baron Cohen of sexually harassing her and pressuring her to do nudity on the set of “The Brothers Grimsby.” The claims were made in her memoir “Rebel Rising.” Those passages were removed from editions of the book published in the U.K. and Australia, though they remain in the U.S. version as well other international territories.
“The Deb” centers on a pair of teenage girls preparing to attend a debutante ball in the Australian Outback. The actor at the center of the alleged sexual harassment allegations, who is one of the two leads, has remained silent. It is unclear if the film’s two main actors will be doing press in Toronto, but if so, they will undoubtedly be asked about the legal back and forth.
Sources familiar with the battle between Wilson and the producers say AI Film initially refused to give approval to TIFF to screen “The Deb” and only reversed course after she posted on social media about the standoff over the film making its world premiere at the festival. Wilson is represented by attorney Bryan Freedman, while Camille Vasquez is the lawyer who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the producers.
Source Agencies
