For almost a year now, we’ve been reporting about how the #MeToo movement has been affecting Hollywood. While most of the reports tend to cover individuals and their own alleged wrongdoings, sometimes there are stories about the movement affecting those who have no direct connection to any inappropriate behavior. Such is the case with producer David Permut and his film “Russ & Roger Go Beyond.”
Permut, who has previously produced films such as “Hacksaw Ridge” and “Face/Off,” has been working to bring ‘Russ & Roger’ to the big screen for almost a decade. Recently, the film got a greenlight and cast Josh Gad and Will Ferrell to star, with “Sing Street” director John Carney at the helm. But then it all fell apart, with concerns over the film’s content.
“Russ & Roger Go Beyond” was set to follow the life of director Russ Meyer, aka “The King of Sexploitation,” as he collaborated with movie critic Roger Ebert on the tawdry 1970 musical melodrama “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,” the screenplay of which the film critic wrote. According to an interview with MarketWatch, Permut describes why the #MeToo movement, and more generally Hollywood’s new attitude, affected the film:
“We had funding and were ready to make the movie. That green button turned into a red button literally overnight the moment the Harvey [Weinstein] news hit the world. When those allegations happened, people had reservations about this film so essentially a green-lit picture turned into a project that was not going to get made.”
He continued, “The consensus felt by our director and Will Ferrell and Josh Gad was it wasn’t the right time to tell the story about a Hollywood filmmaker who makes sexploitation movies. I didn’t necessarily believe that it’s not the time to tell a historically accurate project based on this true story because I think something can be learned from it and Russ Meyer had strong women characters in his movies.”
Judging by those comments, it’s clear that Permut understands why the principal cast and director decided to pull out of the project but considering this is a passion project, of sorts, for the producer, he hates to see the film derailed.
“It’s an interesting dynamic. I go with the flow. Many people involved with the production felt the timing was no longer right for the project. A green-lit picture went away as a result of the changing times, but it is for the betterment of the world if we want to advocate equality for everybody. We are a little more attuned to the new world where bad behavior is not going to be rewarded,” Permut said.
So, while Harvey Weinstein and #MeToo didn’t affect ‘Russ & Roger’ in any direct way, it appears that the changing landscape of the film industry is having a ripple effect that is felt in more ways than one. We’ll have to see if Ferrell, Gad, and Carney ever decide to come back to the film. Otherwise, it doesn’t appear that ‘Russ & Roger’ will be hitting theaters anytime soon.
