Rebel Wilson Says Directorial Debut May Be Blocked from TIFF ...

Update: The following article has been updated with a response from a representative for the producers of the film “The Deb.”

Rebel Wilson claims backers of her directorial debut are blocking the movie from premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Wilson directed the Australian musical “The Deb,” which she alleges was selected as the closing night film for TIFF 2024. Wilson also claimed that “The Deb” producers Amanda Ghost and Gregor Cameron and executive producer Vince Holden embezzled funds from the indie feature and tried to “bury” it. According to Wilson, the trio acted with “absolute viciousness” and with “retaliatory behavior” and pulled the film from the festival.

IndieWire has reached out to Wilson for additional comment and to TIFF for clarification.

“So you might have noticed that I did a post like a week ago about my film. It’s the first film that I’ve directed that I’m so proud of, ‘The Deb,’ which is a little Australian original musical that is so cute,” Wilson said in social media video, “and it’s awesome that it got selected for closing night of the Toronto Film Festival, which is like the best platform to be a first-time female director. I mean, it’s huge. It’s massive.”

She continued, “So to have the joy of the movie being selected is one thing. But then to have the business partners that are involved in that movie turn around and say that, ‘No, the movie can’t premiere,’ is just beyond devastating. Why are they saying this? Why are they stopping it from premiering at Toronto? Well, this dates back to October of last year, where I discovered bad behavior by these business partners. I just tell it how it is. So I’m just going to tell you who they are, the so-called producers of the film. I use that phrase very lightly. Their names are Amanda Ghost and Gregory Cameron, and an executive producer who works with them called Vince Holden. So these are the people involved.”

Wilson added, “And so I reported their bad behavior when I found out. It was not minor things but big things, you know, inappropriate behavior towards the lead [actor] and embezzling funds from the film’s budget which we really needed because we’re a small movie. So kind of really important things. Since I reported that behavior, I have been met with absolute viciousness and retaliatory behavior. So I’m there on set. I’m trying to film my movie with my gorgeous Australian cast and crew who are so amazing shout out to all of you guys. And yet every step of the way, these people who I complained about then tried to make my life hell.”

The actress/producer/director claimed that the producers “might bury” the final film.

“In the meantime, though, I still finished the movie. I made this great movie, ‘The Deb.’ And then now, almost at the finish line, they’re saying it can’t come out. They might not release it, they might bury it,” Wilson said. “This is work of hundreds of people who have put their heart and soul into this. And this behavior is absolutely vile and disgusting. Now these people, Amanda Ghost in particular, have a history of doing this kind of thing, mainly to music artists but also to people in the film business. So, the thing is, these people are forced to sign NDAs or are otherwise threatened or bullied to not speak out. As you guys know, I’m not like that. I won’t be threatened. I will speak the truth and warn people about these people in the industry who are just not behaving ethically.”

Wilson concluded, “Yeah, so that’s my dilemma. If the movie doesn’t play at Toronto, it’s because of these absolute fuckwits.”

“The Deb” producer Ghost commented on Wilson’s video.

“It is a joy to be partnering with the extraordinarily talented Rebel Wilson on ‘The Deb,'” she wrote. “This is a project that is so intrinsic to Rebel and her Australian roots. As soon as she introduced us to the musical and talked about the film we knew this brilliant script and unforgettable musical numbers would have a whole new life in her capable hands. We cannot wait for the world to see ‘The Deb.'”

An unnamed spokesperson for “The Deb” producers told IndieWire that Rebel Wilson’s allegations are “false, defamatory, and disappointing” amid the actress/director’s social media post.

“Her self-promotional claims are clearly intended to cause reputational harm to the individuals who have supported her directorial debut film ‘The Deb’ — a joyous movie that we’re very proud of and are looking forward to sharing with audiences,” the spokesperson said. “For her to promote a false narrative to advance her own agenda undermines the film and all the people who worked on this project.”

Producer Ghost is listed as a Golden Globe and Grammy Award nominee who is also songwriter. Her collaborations include working with Beyoncé, Shakira, John Legend, Florence + The Machine, and James Blunt, with songs for films such as “Cadillac Records” and “The Great Gatsby.” She was formerly the president of Sony Epic Records and is founding partner of Unigram Media Ltd and chairwoman of AI Film. 

Cameron, the co-founder of Unigram, produced feature “Kill Your Friends” starring Nicholas Hoult, and previously directed the documentary “Goin’ Down to South Park.”

Wilson recently accused former “The Brothers Grimsby” co-star Sacha Baron Cohen of threatening to sue to bar her memoir from being released earlier this year.

“I will not be bullied or silenced by high-priced lawyers or PR crisis managers,” Wilson shared on Instagram Stories earlier this year. “The a**hole that I am talking about in ONE CHAPTER of my book is: Sacha Baron Cohen.”