'West of Memphis' Director Reaches Out to Bryan Singer's Sexual Abuse Accuser for Documentary

Well, things haven't gotten worse for Bryan Singer over the last few days, but they have hardly gotten better. A few days ago, 31-year-old Michael Egan filed a federal lawsuit against the X-men: Days of Future Past director, saying he was drugged and raped on numerous occasions back in 1999. All of this occurred while Egan was a teenager, attending various Hollywood parties that Singer also allegedly attended. Singer has denied the charges and revealed his alibi, saying he was filming X-men at the time, but now another situation has cropped up that will require his attention.

Daily Mail reports that Oscar-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg (West of Memphis, Deliver Us from Evil) has reached out to Egan over a documentary she's working on that will reveal the sexual abuse running rampant throughout Hollywood, and the allegations against Singer, which have been whispered about long before now, will be a part of it. Here's what a source close to Egan had to say....

"Just this week, I got a message from Disarming Films, a documentary film company working out of Los Angeles. They said they are making a documentary about a bunch of children molested by somebody in the film industry. I never contacted them back. They wanted videos and pictures of Michael and a few others he knew. The film company said they were working on numerous children, now adults, now coming forward about this."

Berg's Oscar-nominated doc Deliver Us from Evil dealt with the Roman Catholic Church's cover-up of sexual abuse charges, so this is ground she's tread before. She's currently at Tribeca for the premiere of her narrative feature, Every Secret Thing, starring Diane Lane, Dakota Fanning, and Elizabeth Banks.

Meanwhile, Singer has removed himself from all promotion for next month's X-men: Days of Future Past, including his scheduled appearance at this weekend's WonderCon. 

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Watch the powerful trailer for West Memphis Three doc, 'West of Memphis'

Having just experienced the Peter Jackson-produced documentary, West of Memphis, I can say that it's a truly powerful and fascinating piece of work that will anger you to no end. We all know the story of the West Memphis Three: Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley, who were accused and ultimately found guilty of murdering three 8-year old boys, spending nearly twenty years in prison. But it soon came to light that not everything was as it seemed, and a nation rallied together to make sure justice was truly done.

After three Paradise Lost documentaries brought such attention to the case, you'd think there wouldn't be anything left to say about it, but that's simply not true. A new trailer for West of Memphis has been released, which follows the story from the very beginning as the accused are swiftly railroaded by an inept police force and opportunistic politicians looking to build their careers by stoking the public's rage. I think people may be surprised at just how integral Jackson was in helping establish the boys' innocence. Directed by Amy Berg, the film makes absolutely no bones about who they think the real murderer is. I'm surprised there haven't been any lawsuits about it, actually.

West of Memphis opens on Christmas Day. Check out the new trailer below...






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Elizabeth Banks and Diane Lane to star in Amy Berg's crime drama 'Every Secret Thing'

 Two actresses headed in different directions. Diane Lane is a particular favorite of mine, and her run of movies in the early to mid-2000s, from Unfaithful up to Hollywoodland in 2006 are all pretty incredible. But she hasn't had a lot to do lately, outside of HBO's Cinema Verite and a small role as Ma Kent in Man of Steel. On the other hand, Elizabeth Banks can't be stopped, even when she puts out crap like What to Expect When You're Expecting. The two should make for an interesting on-screen pair, as they're set to star in a crime drama that sounds darker than anything either has done in awhile.

The two will star in Every Secret Thing, based on the novel by Laura Lippman and directed by Amy Berg. Berg is a documentary filmmaker specializing in issues involving children, having given us Academy Award-nominated sexual abuse doc, Deliver Us from Evil. She recently completed Peter Jackson-produced West of Memphis, about the West Memphis Three case. Lippman's novel is being adapted by Nicole Holofcener(Friends with Money), and follows Ronnie and Alice, two women who were convicted of the murder of a baby when they were 11-years old and incarcerated until the age of 18. Now newly released from prison and dealing with severe psychological issues, they become suspects when children start disappearing again, leading to the mystery surrounding the original murder to be opened up again.

Frances McDormand is on board as a producer, making this a film with a wealth of talent both in front of and behind the camera. Filming is set to begin next February.

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