The Brown Bunny actor Vincent Gallo has been accused of making sexually explicit and threatening comments in auditions with actresses for an upcoming film in a new report in Rolling Stone.
Two actresses who auditioned to play victim roles in The Policeman, a film starring Gallo as so-called “Golden State Killer” Joseph James DeAngelo, filed complaints to actors union SAG-AFTRA after comments that Gallo allegedly made during the casting process. SAG-AFTRA responded by launching an investigation into casting for the film, which is written and directed by Spring Breakers and The Virgin Suicides producer Jordan Gertner and co-stars James Franco in one of his first roles since being accused of sexual and exploitative behavior at his acting school in 2018.
A SAG-AFTRA spokesperson said in a comment to The Hollywood Reporter, “We are aware of these complaints and are investigating. We extensively engaged with production regarding the complaints and, while shooting has wrapped, we continue to monitor and investigate. We also reaffirm our commitment to ensuring a safe and respectful environment on set.” The spokesperson continued, “Because our inquiry is ongoing, we cannot respond to specifics of the complaint.”
The Hollywood Reporter has also reached out to Gallo for comment.
The actresses who filed complaints about the November 2023 auditions are given pseudonyms in the Rolling Stone story and remain unnamed. One, labeled “Emily” in the story, wrote in her SAG-AFTRA complaint that Gallo told her in a callback that the project was seeking “an actor with absolutely no boundaries as he, while playing DeAngelo, could decide at any moment during the shoot to improvise lines and sexual acts.”
According to the complaint, Gallo told Emily she wouldn’t actually be threatened and nothing sexual would actually happen during production, but “I will be the one to make sure everything is simulated, and that it looks real, and I will also make sure that it feels real for you. I may even ask you to tell a story. If I ask you to tell me about the first time you sucked a cock, I want you to tell me an actual story from your actual life. I may also notice something about your body and comment on it, and it could be positive or negative, and it won’t be personal, but it will be something real, so that it feels personal.” Gallo allegedly added, “We don’t want to see any acting. If DeAngelo says don’t scream or I’ll kill you, you do not scream, because if you do, you die.” According to Emily, Gallo said that she could have the role if she acceded to those rules.
Another source, named “Jane” in the story, said in her SAG-AFTRA complaint that during a callback for a victim role Gallo detailed what she termed “torture porn fantasies” and told her that the script “would bear very little resemblance to what was going to be filmed” because he wanted to have a totally improvised movie. Jane further detailed, “In order to truly tell the story in an ‘accurate way,’ he needed actresses who were willing to have their ‘minds and bodies be 100 percent dominated by him’ from the moment they arrived on set.” According to Jane, Gallo said some potential improvisations could include hog-tying her with shoelaces, pushing her, pulling her hair and acting out faux rape or physical assaults.
According to Jane, Gallo told her that if she took the role she would have “zero negotiations about what was being done to me on set” and would have to give total consent or would be fired.
A spokesperson for Pacific Media Productions and director Gertner told Rolling Stone that a SAG-AFTRA intimacy coordinator was hired for the production, which has now been shot, and “the production of the picture was carried out in a safe, protective and respectful environment. The producers, director, cast and crew are proud of the movie we have made.”
The news arrives on the same day that Anita Hill’s Hollywood Commission found in a new report that more Hollywood workers are aware of what constitutes workplace misconduct and how to report it but that fewer workers believe this is leading to any real changes in the industry, compared with a prior report three years ago. Workers in the indie entertainment space reported more harassment, discrimination and assault than those involved in major studio titles.
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