Director Neil Marshall has issued a statement denying a report he sought to express at NBCUniversal Vice President Ron Meyer, saying the media should focus on the ‘real villains’ and on ‘Hollywood’ horror casting-couch-culture. ‘
Marshall responded to a report on Wednesday in The Wrap that identified him and another director as seeking payments to remain silent about Meyer’s brief affair with actress Charlotte Kirk eight years ago.
Meyer resigned on Tuesday after informing NBCUniversal about the situation, and of a settlement he had paid to the actress.
In a statement to Deadline, Marshall blamed the charges against him as “nothing but lies based on falsehoods” and “a charge of old bollocks.”
Marshall also attacked websites that “believe they can publish some nasty trash that is inflicted on them with impunity,” saying his career and reputation were irreparably damaged.
He also argued that the media should focus on “the morally corrupt dinosaurs” that control Hollywood.
“Thanks to the #metoo movement, and every dismissal and revelation it has brought, things are changing for the better,” he wrote. “What we need now is more women in leadership over studios, and the absolute abolition of the horrific casting couch culture (which has been transformed into sexual predation) which is a long accepted part of the business. “
Marshall and Kirk are busy. Kirk also starred in and co-wrote “The Reckoning,” Marshall’s upcoming horror film about a medieval plague.
“What we have here is a witch hunt, simple and straightforward, started by overpowered men in positions of power, helped by friends of equal status and lack of ethics, driven by clickbait headers as we have seen these past days, and carried out against the woman who I love, my fiancé Charlotte Kirk, “Marshall continued. ‘I’m just collateral damage, thrown at the wolves by using some vicious accusations as a smokescreen to disperse the focus of the real villains here. Charlotte has had the guts to stand up against her lovers and not allow herself to be submitted, and neither will I. ‘
Reached for comment by Variation on Tuesday, Marshall hung up the phone. Subsequent messages were not returned. Meyer’s representatives declined to comment Thursday.
Marshall and Kirk were scheduled to give a Zoom Q&A on Thursday night, following the virtual screening of “The Reckoning” as part of the Fantasia International Film Festival. The Q&A has been canceled.
