On the Record

On the Record (2020)

The haunting story of music executive Drew Dixon as she grapples with her decision to become one of the first women of color, in the wake of #MeToo, to come forward and publicly accuse hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct. A gripping and profound examination of race, gender, intersectionality, and the toll sexual abuse takes on survivors and on society at large.

Date of release
2020-01-25
TMDB
6.4 / 10 (21)
Runtime
1h 35m
Genres
Documentary
Director
Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering

Casting

Interesting facts

On the Record is a 2020 American documentary film directed by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering. It centers on allegations of sexual abuse and harassment against hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons. Executive producer Oprah Winfrey publicly withdrew from the film shortly before it was released, citing "creative differences", severing a production deal with Apple TV+. The film premiered at Sundance on January 25, 2020, and was acquired by HBO Max, which released it digitally on May 27, 2020.

Production

In June 2019, Oprah Winfrey joined as an executive producer on the project under her Harpo Productions banner, with Apple TV+ acquiring distribution rights to the film as part of her overall deal with Apple. Ziering and Dick worked closely with Winfrey, sending her cuts, which received her enthusiastic approval.

Following the announcement of the film, Winfrey was targeted by Simmons and his supporters including 50 Cent, and she received phone calls and text messages from Simmons directly asking her to cancel the project. Additionally, the women involved with the film were targeted on social media, which the women viewed as attempts to threaten and intimidate them.

In January 2020, Winfrey announced she would be withdrawing as an executive producer on the project, which resulted in the cancellation of the film's distribution deal with Apple TV+. She stated that she felt the film was being rushed to be shown at the Sundance Film Festival, and after Ava DuVernay critiqued it negatively after a private screening, Winfrey felt the documentary lacked proper "context", and that there were "inconsistencies" in som…

Kirby Dick told The Guardian, "These stories were reported by the New York Times, the LA Times and The Hollywood Reporter and very extensively vetted.” According to Dick and Ziering, that process included their own fact-checking team, Harpo Productions, Apple's lawyers, and HBO Max's legal team.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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