Pretty Baby director asked Brooke Shields for permission to keep sexual assault allegations in doc

[ad_1]

In the premiere of the Sundance documentary Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, the titular actress and model speaks candidly about her struggles with stardom at a young age. One of the most moving interviews included in the film sees Shields describe an alleged sexual assault in her early twenties at the hands of an unnamed film producer.

Although the interview is an important part of the film, director Lana Wilson, who previously directed the Taylor Swifts Miss Americana documentary, wasn’t sure she would do the final cut. In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Wilson revealed that while she otherwise had full creative control over the finished film, she made an exception and made sure she had Shields’ full approval to use the interview about his sexual assault in the final cut.

More from IndieWire

I want you to feel completely comfortable with this if it comes out into the world,” Wilson recalled telling Shields at Yahoo. She said that after the film ended, Shields agreed to keep the interview, believing she was treated with sensitivity.

Wilson further told Yahoo that Shields brought up his sexual assault during their first meeting to discuss the documentary, telling the director, “There’s one thing I’ve never talked about publicly before, but I think I’m ready.” . Despite Shields’ willingness to share the experience, Wilson was hesitant from the start to include it.

I immediately thought it was a really powerful story, Wilson said. I also said to him, I don’t think we should make a decision now on whether it’s in the movie or not, because it depends on what the movie is. I don’t think we should include this just because it’s new. I don’t want to include your sexual assault experience as news. I only think it should be there if it’s integral to the purpose and story of this movie. So let’s talk about it in an interview and let me bring it into the edit and see.

The story continues

Ultimately, as the two sat down for interviews and Wilson began to develop the project further, she came to see the sexual assault story as an important part of the film. I saw it as the ultimate violation of Brooke’s autonomy physically, mentally, emotionally,” Wilson said. It’s hard for me to imagine the film without him.

Pretty Baby, named after the controversial 1978 film that featured the on-screen nudity of a 12-year-old Shields, had its world premiere at Sundance on January 20.

The documentary received largely positive reviews; in a more mixed write-up, IndieWire editor Kate Erbland wrote that while no one should have to dig through decades of pain to create a compelling documentary, Shields is never really in a rush when it comes to some of the biggest questions of his life, especially in the first part of the doc, which is devoted to his childhood and youth, leaves the whole enterprise feeling oddly fractured, a totally incomplete portrait.

Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields is now streaming on Hulu.

Best of IndieWire

Sign up for the Indiewire newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.

[ad_2]