Anna Faris describes Ivan Reitman’s inappropriate behavior on the set of the 2006 romantic comedy, My super ex-girlfriend. Faris is best known for her comedic roles in both film and television, most notably the lead role of Cindy Campbell in the film Scary Movie film series, while also starring The pretty girl and The house rabbit. On television, Faris had a recurring role as Erica on the final season of friends and starred in all eight seasons of the CBS sitcom Mom.
In 2006 Faris starred in My super ex-girlfriend, which was directed by Reitman. The rom-com follows Luke Wilson as an ordinary man who dumps a superhero played by Uma Thurman, while Faris plays an associate of Wilson’s character he’s secretly in love with, alongside Eddie Izzard, Rain Wilson and Wanda Sykes. In 2015, Faris launched the unqualified podcast where she later talked about an unnamed director who once touched her inappropriately on a movie set. Although Faris did not reveal the name of the director in question at the time, she is now talking about her experience.
During the latest episode of her unqualified podcast (via ET Canada) with Lena Dunham as a guest, Faris revealed that it was Reitman who touched her inappropriately. The actor also gave more details about Reitman’s inappropriate behavior during filming My super ex-girlfriend, including a specific incident on the first day of shooting when an accident in the makeup trailer caused Faris to arrive late on set, triggering an outburst from the temperamental director. Read what Faris said below:
One of my most difficult movie experiences was with Ivan Reitman. I mean, the idea of ​​making a comedy under this reign of terror, he was a screamer. He would knock someone down every day… and my first day it was me. I was terrified on my first day that Ivan thinks I’m some kind of diva who doesn’t come out of her trailer. I’m standing in the middle of the street that’s all lit up. Ivan just knocks me down. He said, “Annie, you can’t play like that here!” I was like, “Don’t do it. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.” I felt angry and hurt and humiliated and defensive. Finally I said, “Didn’t anyone tell you what happened?” At that moment he was silent and went behind the camera. Later he also hit my ass. That was a weird moment.
Has the #MeToo Movement Changed Hollywood?
Reitman is best known for directing the original Ghostbusters and its 1989 sequel, alongside other classic comedies like Twins, Kindergarten Copand Junior. Earlier this year, Reitman passed away at the age of 75. Now his son Jason Reitman continues his legacy as director of 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife and the upcoming sequel. While Reitman is no longer around to respond to these recent allegations, Faris must be believed as other cast and crew witnessed the inappropriate behavior she describes. My super ex-girlfriend producer Gavin Polone has already spoken out, saying that while he “never seen or heard of that incident‘, he believes what Faris is saying is true.
The incident described by Faris, which took place on the… My super ex-girlfriend set in 2006, is exactly what the #MeToo movement began to prevent five years ago. Given the inherent power imbalance between a director and actors on set, this kind of behavior hasn’t gone away, with Joss Whedon and Cary Fukunaga recently accused of similar inappropriate behavior on set. In fact, a recent Hollywood poll found that harassment hasn’t decreased significantly since #MeToo began. The situation regarding Reitman is still evolving as Faris’ comments are likely to inspire others My super ex-girlfriend cast and crew to speak out about the director’s alleged behavior.
Source: ET Canada
