Last month, “A Ghost Story” producer Adam Donaghey made headlines after he was arrested and charged with sexual assault of a minor after a woman, who was 16 at the time of the incident, came forward and spoke to police. Donaghey was eventually released on $25,000 bail. But that incident has turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg, as a film studio, Cinestate, is now under fire because of numerous other allegations, and film websites that are owned by the company are now making demands in light of the news.
According to a new Daily Beast report, the allegation of sexual assault against Donaghey is just one of many complaints against the producer, who worked for Cinestate at the time of the allegations. Not only that, but there are also a variety of other complaints, including sexual harassment from actors on Cinestate film sets and accusations of horrible working conditions, leading to the production company being put in the hot seat, as subsidiaries such as Fangoria and Birth.Movies.Death are now demanding changes after this “unacceptable” behavior.
Cinestate is a Texas-based production company that was founded in hopes of offering right-wing films an avenue to get made. Started by self-described Conservative, Dallas Sonnier, the production company aimed to make films that were supposed to appeal to the people that feel Hollywood has gone too politically correct.
Films spawning from Cinestate include “Bone Tomahawk,” “Brawl in Cell Block 99,” and “Dragged Across Concrete” (all from director S. Craig Zahler), as well as “The Standoff at Sparrow Creek,” “VFW,” and “Satanic Panic.” But feature films aren’t the only business ventures from Cinestate, as the company has also become the owner/operator of a variety of film websites, including Fangoria, Birth.Movies.Death., and Rebeller.
The controversy seems to have gained momentum after Donaghey’s arrest, which spawned renewed talk of the producer’s past behaviors (he’s recorded attempting to coerce an employee to show him her underwear while in a car, in addition to a number of other disgusting incidents with women over the years), as well as a Reddit thread where others that have worked with Donaghey and Cinestate are speaking up about equally disturbing incidents on film sets.
This has led to some not-so-great apologies and denials from Sonnier and his producing partner, Amanda Presmyk. He also parted ways with Donaghey after the arrest and offered up a solution to help ensure that Cinestate productions will be safe for female employees.
“We have put together a really awesome all-female task force that has many advocates, policy attorneys, Dallas crew members, female producers,” Sonnier said. “They’re putting together a series of standards and procedures and a code of conduct to do in these situations. We want Cinestate to be the gold standard of safety for women moving forward.”
But according to the aforementioned Fangoria and BMD, saying this isn’t enough. The two websites (Rebeller isn’t part of this new action, for unknown reasons) penned an open letter discussing their anger with their owners at Cinestate.
READ MORE: ‘Brawl In Cell Block 99’ Is A Bloody, Meaty, Gruesome Blast [Venice Review]
The letter demands that Cinestate release an “action plan explaining precisely how they will prevent this sort of behavior on their film sets (or in any area of their company) going forward.” The websites also ask for mandatory sexual harassment training for all Cinestate employees, as well as a donation to be made an organization such as RAINN. In addition, the letter also asks for editorial separation between Cinestate and Fangoria, in a way that is similar to how BMD has no Cinestate interference. Finally, the writers of the letter say that no work will be done at Fangoria or BMD until the questions are answered and action has been taken.
Interestingly, this news comes at a crucial time for BMD. After seemingly being left for dead a while ago, with writers and editors losing their jobs, Cinestate came along to purchase BMD and allowing for the writers and editors to continue work on the website. Now, just weeks later, the folks at BMD are stepping up to demand their new owners do better, which has to be commended just for the sheer fortitude of the action.
It’s unclear how Cinestate will respond to the letter, but if you’re interested in reading the entire letter and understanding the full situation, read The Daily Beast’s report and the letter shared by the websites below.