The Latest: Distributor reviewing Louis C.K. film release
The Latest on sexual harassment and abuse allegations against men in the entertainment and media industries (all times local):
4:15 p.m.
The small distribution company that is handling the release of Louis C.K.'s film "I Love You Daddy" says that it is reviewing the situation and giving careful consideration to the timing and release of the film.
The Orchard released a statement Thursday after a New York Times story reported the accounts of five women alleging sexual misconduct from C.K. The film had been set for a limited theatrical release on Nov. 17.
The statement also said there is never a place for the behavior detailed in the allegations.
Earlier in the day, the company canceled the New York premiere of the film. The Orchard acquired C.K.'s film at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year for $5 million.
In the film, C.K. plays a successful TV producer whose 17-year-old daughter begins a relationship with an older director. It spawns a kind of crisis for C.K.'s character, who has his own issues with how he treats women.
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3:00 p.m.
The New York Times has published a story about Louis C.K. in which several women accuse the comedian of sexual misconduct, including masturbating in front of them.
A publicist for C.K. did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. Another publicist told the Times the comedian would not respond to their reporting.
Five women — including comedians Dana Min Goodman, Abby Schachner, Julia Wolov and Rebecca Corry — allege C.K. either masturbated in front of them, asked to do so or did so over the phone.
The Emmy-winning star of FX's "Louie" is known for his candid, warts-and-all personal humor, which also involves bodily fluids and sex.
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1:15 p.m.
The New York premiere of Louis C.K.'s controversial new film "I Love You, Daddy" has been canceled amid swirling controversy over the film and the comedian.
The distribution company The Orchard said in a statement that the Thursday cancellation was "due to unexpected circumstances." C.K.'s scheduled Friday appearance on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" also has been scrapped.
The Woody Allen-esque film tells the story of a successful TV writer-producer that attempts to stop his 17-year-old daughter's growing admiration and relationship with a 68-year-old filmmaker.
Allegations of questionable sexual behavior have long dogged C.K and he said this summer that he and co-writer Vernon Chatman wanted to make a movie about beloved artists who are trailed by murmurs of scandal.
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10:15 a.m.
Director Alfonso Arau is dismissing Debra Messing's charge that he demeaned her on the set of her first film, "A Walk in the Clouds."
He accused the "Will & Grace" star of "following fashion" with her accusation but that it had "nothing to do with reality." He added that she owed him her career because he picked her from "many, many" actresses.
Messing spoke up in February about her experience on the movie, a romance released in 1995 co-starring Keanu Reeves.
She had said that Arau and producers had surprised her with a nude scene that she hadn't agreed to in advance. When she complained, she says he told her, "Your job is to get naked and to say the lines. That's it."
Arau spoke Wednesday at the premiere of Disney-Pixar's "Coco." The 85-year-old actor and director voices the character of Papa Julio in the film.
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7:30 a.m.
"Prison Break" star Robert Knepper is denying allegations that he forced himself on a costume designer in 1992.
Designer Susan Bertram told The Hollywood Reporter that Knepper sexually assaulted her while filming "Gas Food Lodging." She alleges he grabbed her and pushed her against a wall in the actor's trailer. She says she managed to escape.
Knepper responded to Bertram's allegations on Instagram, saying "I am shocked and devastated to be falsely accused of violence against a woman. That's just not who I am."
Knepper is the among the latest Hollywood figures to be accused of misconduct in a wave that began when dozens of sexual harassment allegations were reported last month against film mogul Harvey Weinstein.
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2:30 a.m.
Kevin Spacey is getting cut out of Ridley Scott's finished film "All the Money in the World" and replaced by Christopher Plummer just over one month before it's supposed to hit theaters.
People close to the production who were not authorized to speak publicly say Plummer is commencing reshoots immediately in the role of J. Paul Getty. According to the report, all of Spacey scenes will be reshot. Co-stars Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams are expected to participate.
Scott is intending to keep the film's Dec. 22 release date.
The film was originally set to have its world premiere at the AFI Fest in Los Angeles on Nov. 16 but was pulled earlier this week amid the sexual harassment reports surrounding Spacey.
Spacey has also been fired from "House of Cards."
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