Cary Fukunaga The Director Of No Time To Die Has Been Accused Of Abusing His Power On Set
Cary Fukunaga, the director of #NoTimetoDie, is facing allegations of abusing his influence on set for illegal purposes
Following the box office success of Spectre, Eon Productions proceeded on with the development of a new James Bond picture, despite a series of setbacks as Daniel Craig wavered on his desire to return and many writers and filmmakers, including Danny Boyle, came and departed. Fukunaga was eventually recruited to direct No Time to Die, and he is credited with co-developing the idea alongside franchise veterans Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, as well as scripting with them and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. No Time to Die opened to mostly good reviews from critics and audiences in October and was a box office success, collecting approximately $775 million against a projected $301 million production budget.
Rolling Stone says that No Time to Die director Cary Fukunaga is being accused of misusing his position on set of his productions, only weeks after sexual harassment allegations against him surfaced. Fukunaga is accused of using his position to get closer to young women and actresses, including taking questionable photos on the upcoming Apple TV series Masters of the Air, and emotionally manipulating them into believing their careers would suffer if they were turned down, according to multiple anonymous female sources. Fukunaga's lawyer issued the following statement in response to the allegations:
“[Fukunaga] takes pictures of actors – men and women, young and old – on his sets all of the time. To imply anything improper about doing so is false and defamatory. [Mr. Fukunaga] has befriended men and women, young and old on sets. There is nothing salacious about pursuing friendships or consensual romantic relationships with women. Nevertheless, because that would not fit your narrative, you conclude he has done something wrong.
[Mr. Fukunaga] does not even make final hiring decisions. As with most directors, his hiring process is done in conjunction with many people and is based on an individual’s talent qualifications and whether they are the right fit for the project.”
The claims of abuse on production against Fukunaga came over a month after actresses Rachelle Vinberg, Cailin and Hannah Loesch, as well as other anonymous individuals, accused the director of No Time to Die of grooming and sexually assaulting them on film. Multiple fresh sources involved on the sets of numerous productions in which Fukunaga has worked, including the Apple TV+ series Masters of the Air executive produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg and Netflix's Maniac, have been named in the latest story. Nick Cuse, Fukunaga's former writing partner, has come out in support of those speaking out against the director, calling him the "worst human being" he's ever met and revealing that he was pressured into including Fukunaga's name on scripts Cuse had written, as well as recalling a story in which Fukunaga "dumped his cut fingernails in another person's car."
The #MeToo Movement has continued to add more names to the list of individuals being held accountable for their acts five years after it rose to popularity in the United States, with No Time to Die's Cary Fukunaga now joining the ranks with the charges leveled against him. Fukunaga appears to be following in the footsteps of many others accused of impropriety or abusive behavior on set by refuting the allegations, with Justice League's Joss Whedon memorably retaliating and blaming the actors accusing him. Only time will tell whether others come out against Fukunaga and how the director of No Time to Die responds, as the situation is still in its early stages of public knowledge.
Source: Rolling Stone