By Hannah Story, ABC News
Despite producers allegedly threatening to block the premiere, and then filing a lawsuit against actor-director Rebel Wilson, The Deb will close Toronto International Film Festival in September. Photo: AFP / STEFANO RELLANDINI
Rebel Wilson's directorial debut film will premiere in September at a prestigious international film festival, despite producers filing a defamation lawsuit against Wilson.
The Australian actor and director shared that her movie The Deb would debut at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Instagram overnight, writing: "Beyond grateful that THE DEB will be shared with audiences in Toronto this September! Thank you TIFF for the selection of a film so close to my heart, a film I've fought to make as a first time female director - to the cast and crew, and to my awesome fans, thank you for your continued love and support! Let's go to Toronto!!"
Rebel Wilson's directorial debut film The Deb will premiere in September. Photo: Rebel Wilson, Instagram
The announcement follows concerns the movie might be withheld from release.
The Deb, starring Natalie Abbott (Aftertaste; Muriel's Wedding the Musical), is an adaptation of Hannah Reilly and Megan Washington's musical, which was originally staged in 2022 at a theatre named after Wilson, the Rebel Theatre in Sydney.
It follows a country outcast who wants to redefine herself at her town's debutante ball - but has her ideas challenged when her cousin from the city comes to stay. The movie also stars Jay Laga'aia (Play School) and Shane Jacobson (Kenny).
The Deb has been selected for the festival's coveted closing night slot, on 15 September, but the musical's premiere at TIFF almost did not happen.
Wilson claims film was blocked
Last week, Wilson accused Deb producers Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron and Vince Holden of holding the movie hostage and trying to block its debut in Toronto.
She claimed it was payback after she reported them for inappropriate behaviour towards lead actor Natalie Abbott, and for allegedly embezzling money from the movie's budget.
In an Instagram video, Wilson said the producers blocking the movie's premiere is "just beyond devastating".
She said that once she reported the producers after finding out about their actions in October 2023, she was subjected to "absolute viciousness and retaliatory behaviour".
"Every step of the way these people, who I complained about, tried to make my life hell," she said.
"Now, almost at the finish line, they're saying it can't come out, they might not release it, they might bury it."
She also accused Ghost of a history of this kind of "retaliatory behaviour" in both the music and film industries.
"I will speak the truth and warn people of these people in the industry who are just not behaving ethically," Wilson said.
Producers file defamation suit
The producers of The Deb have since filed for defamation against Wilson, calling the actor-director a "bully who will disregard the interests of others to promote her own".
In court documents filed in Los Angeles on Friday, shared with The Hollywood Reporter, Ghost, Cameron and Holden claimed that Wilson lied to force them to release The Deb in Toronto and to secure a writing credit on the movie.
The complaint alleges that Wilson refused to collaborate with producers, would leave the production for months at a time, behaved unprofessionally with cast and crew, and made unauthorised and improper disclosures about the movie.
It says Wilson tried to obtain a screenwriting credit over Reilly, despite the Australian Writers' Guild finding, in March, that Wilson should only get an "additional writing by" credit. This, the producers claim, led to Wilson falsely accusing Ghost of sexually harassing Abbott, who they say has denied the accusation.
The filing adds that the producers were wary of premiering the movie at TIFF due to ongoing credit and licensing disputes from Wilson, but that the director threatened to accuse them of inappropriate behaviour on Instagram if they did not agree to her demands.
On the weekend, Wilson wrote on Instagram: "It's not defamation if it's the TRUTH … Let our cool movie play at Toronto and stop messing about with a rubbish defamation suit against me!"
Wilson's tumultuous year
The controversy around The Deb follows parts of Wilson's memoir Rebel Rising being redacted in Australia, New Zealand and the UK "for legal reasons".
In the memoir, released in May, Wilson wrote about her negative experience working on Grimsby with Sacha Baron Cohen, where she alleges that he behaved inappropriately and made her feel humiliated. This chapter was redacted.
Cohen denied the account, describing it as "demonstrably false" and "directly contradicted by extensive detailed evidence".
- ABC