Vili Fualaau might need been the inspiration for one of many characters in “May December,” however he in all probability received’t be rooting for the movie this awards season.
In a Hollywood Reporter interview revealed Thursday, Fualaau confirmed that he’d seen the film, a fictionalized tackle his real-life experiences within the Nineties and 2000s. But Fualaau stated that he was angered at having by no means been contacted by director Todd Haynes, screenwriter Samy Burch or actor Charles Melton, who portrays the Fualaau-like character.
“I’m still alive and well,” he instructed THR. “If they had reached out to me, we could have worked together on a masterpiece. Instead, they chose to do a ripoff of my original story.”
He added, “I’m offended by the entire project and the lack of respect given to me — who lived through a real story and is still living it.”
Released in November, “May December” is loosely primarily based on the case of Seattle-area instructor Mary Kay Letourneau, who in 1997 pleaded responsible to the second-degree little one rape of Fualaau, a former pupil in her sixth-grade class.
The couple raised two kids and had been married in 2005, shortly after Letourneau was launched from a seven-year stint in jail. The two had been separated in 2017 however remained legally married till Letourneau’s dying in 2020 at age 58.
“May December” adjustments lots of the specifics of the case, together with places, professions and names. The movie follows Elizabeth Berry (performed by Natalie Portman), a tv actor who’s gearing as much as painting Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Julianne Moore) in a biopic. Unlike Letourneau, Gracie isn’t a instructor, however slightly a former pet store proprietor dwelling in relative seclusion together with her a lot youthful husband, Joe Yoo (Melton), and their kids after getting out of jail.
Joe is claimed to have been a 13-year-old seventh grader when he and Grace start a sexual relationship, later marrying his abuser.
“May December” has obtained widespread reward from critics, with Moore and Portman thought-about to be front-runners for this 12 months’s Academy Awards. Melton, finest recognized for his portrayal of Reggie Mantle on “Riverdale,” has additionally been singled out for his efficiency, which obtained a Golden Globe nomination.
Despite the plain parallels, nevertheless, the inventive workforce behind “May December” has stated the film was by no means supposed as a devoted have a look at Letourneau’s case.
“It wasn’t the same details — I certainly don’t want anyone to assume that we’re trying to say all these conversations happened behind closed doors,” Burch stated on the movie’s Los Angeles premiere. “This was just a jumping off point and a way that something like this made sense to me emotionally.”
Speaking to HuffPost in November, Haynes famous: “The stroke of genius in the script is how she [Burch] separates the story from the tabloid event of Gracie meeting Joe, which happened 20-some years in the past. It’s really about this outsider coming into a well-fortified community, a neighborhood, a family that’s built up so many barriers to survive that kind of an event.”
In his Hollywood Reporter chat, Fualaau, now 40, stated that he wouldn’t be against seeing his story tailored for the large display screen once more sooner or later ― albeit by a distinct inventive workforce.
“I love movies — good movies,” he instructed the outlet. “I admire ones that capture the essence and complications of real-life events. You know, movies that allow you to see or realize something new every time you watch them. Those kinds of writers and directors — someone who can do that — would be perfect to work with, because my story is not nearly as simple as this movie [portrays].”
