“The Deb” is finally out. Sort of.
The musical, which was caught in the middle of a violent brawl between director Rebel Wilson and a trio of producers, was screened for a select group of industry figures at WME's Beverly Hills offices on Monday afternoon.
Wilson was on hand for the screening, which was described as an “intimate private” event on the invite. Before the screening, the “Pitch Perfect” star gave a quick speech thanking everyone for attending and urging guests to “laugh, cry, feel whatever you want.” After the screening, Wilson resurfaced and cried, apparently moved by the audience’s enthusiastic response, according to an attendee. Guests included Australian directors Phillip Noyce and Sophia Banks as well as representatives from Netflix and Universal. The two studios have longstanding relationships with Wilson through “Isn’t It Romantic” and “Senior Year” (Netflix) and “Bridesmaids” and “Pitch Perfect” (Universal).
The film, Wilson’s directorial debut, has drawn wild allegations from both sides, with the “Pitch Perfect” star accusing producers Amanda Jost, Gregor Cameron and Vince Holden of siphoning money from the budget, while the trio responded by suing Wilson for defamation. Additionally, Wilson alleged in a social media post that Jost — 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 demanding that Len Blavatnik, the billionaire whose company AI Film bankrolled the film, “stop funding and protecting” the trio.
The screening comes ahead of “The Deb”’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival’s closing ceremony, which begins next week. Without a distributor, “The Deb” will look for a home, and WME will market the film beginning Sept. 9, when press and industry screenings begin on the festival grounds. (WME also represents Wilson as an actor and director.) Despite the internal strife, “The Deb” is expected to be one of the biggest sellers at the Toronto International Film Festival. The Sept. 15 premiere at the 1,750-seat Roy Thomson Auditorium is already sold out.
Sources say neither producer is planning to attend any of the Toronto International Film Festival events.
While the WME film deal has been kept under wraps, the battle between Wilson and the producers has been far from quiet, with Wilson taking issue with AI’s aggressive defense. (Jost and Holden are executives at Blavatnik’s AI Film, a prolific film production and financier whose credits include “Hacksaw Ridge” and 2019’s “I, Tonya.”) “These recent press articles and ongoing retaliation against me for telling the truth about my little Australian film are clearly false. All I have done is tell the truth about these absolute idiots — and now they are launching a false defamation lawsuit and false articles to inflict more harm.”
The producers have not publicly commented on their dispute with Wilson, though their lawsuit suggests she is partly retaliating for her dissatisfaction with the film's music credits.
Wilson also accused Sacha Baron Cohen of sexually harassing her and forcing her to strip on the set of The Brothers Grimsby. The allegations were made in her memoir, Rebel Rising. These passages were cut from the UK and Australian versions of the book, although they remain in the US edition as well as other international territories.
“The Deb” is about two teenage girls preparing for a dance in the Australian outback. The actor at the center of the sexual harassment allegations, who is one of the film’s stars, has remained tight-lipped. It’s unclear whether the film’s two leads will attend a press conference in Toronto, but if so, they will undoubtedly be asked about the legal dispute.
Sources familiar with the battle between Wilson and the producers say AI Film initially refused to grant the Toronto International Film Festival approval to screen “The Deb” and only reversed its decision after the film posted on social media about the standoff over its festival premiere. Wilson is represented by attorney Brian Friedman, while Camille Vasquez is the attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the producers.
