The film An Open Secret died upon release in 2015, but is seeing a renewed interest online amid a cascade of allegations against Hollywood’s elite.
When the documentary An Open Secret tried to lift the lid on child abuse in Hollywood, it billed itself as “the film Hollywood doesn’t want you to see”. The marketing tagline did not exaggerate.
The film died upon release in 2015. There was no theatrical release to speak of, no television deal, no video-on-demand distribution.
“We got zero Hollywood offers to distribute the film. Not even one. Literally no offers for any price whatsoever,” said Gabe Hoffman, a Florida-based hedge fund manager who financed the film.
It did not seem to matter that it was directed by an Oscar-nominated director, Amy Berg, or that it uncovered damning evidence of the sexual abuse of teenage boys by figures in the film industry.
“There was nowhere to see it,” said Lorien Haynes, the film’s writer. “I don’t think it impacted at all. Nobody saw it. We released a film that didn’t [seem to] exist.”
Now, two years later, multiple “open secrets” of predatory behaviour are detonating across Hollywood and the documentary that blew the whistle is getting millions of viewers – but still no distribution deal.
Hoffman released the film for free on the video-sharing website Vimeo this month after reports about Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual assaults set off a chain-reaction, with James Toback, Tyler Grasham and Kevin Spacey among those accused of harassment and worse.
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Corey Feldman, a former child actor who says he was the victim of a paedophile ring, has raised more than $170,000 through crowdfunding for a purported $10m biopic about the abuse.
Hoffman said he had intended to end the free online viewings of An Open Secret on Tuesday, but extended the window until Sunday because of public interest, with more than 3 million viewings on various social media platforms since 12 October.
“We knew a Harvey Weinstein moment was coming and when it would, that we’d release it for free,” said Hoffman. He hoped the documentary would yet make its way on to television. “We’d love to be on Amazon and Netflix. We’re always ready to talk.”
The documentary’s initial vanishing into the void and belated re-emergence underlines how Hollywood long ducked evidence of abuse. An Open Secret had the elements to make a splash.
Berg, the director, had earned an Oscar nomination for her film Deliver Us from Evil, about sex abuse in the Catholic church.
Her team obtained evidence of a paedophile ring in Hollywood – managers, agents, publicists and directors – that preyed on young boys and teenagers seeking entry to the industry.
Some hosted lavish parties where men allegedly plied the boys with alcohol and drugs and traded them for sex. Others spent years grooming victims, and winning the confidence of their families, before starting sexual assaults.
A handful were caught and served relatively brief jail sentences before returning to the industry. Brian Peck, an actor and acting coach who worked for Nickelodeon and the X-Men franchise, was convicted of two counts of lewd acts with a child. He is now working in the industry again.
The documentary features interviews with Evan Henzi, who was 11 years old when his manager, Martin Weiss, started assaulting him. Weiss pleaded no contest in 2012 to two counts of child molestation, and was sentenced to a year in jail and five years’ probation. He was freed immediately due to time served.
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