Actress Dakota Johnson, Ro Donnelly Board Sundance Doc ‘The Disappearance Of Shere Hite’ EPs, With Johnson Heard To Talk With Famous Sex Investigator

EXCLUSIVE: Award-winning actress Dakota Johnson and her producing partner at TeaTime Pictures, Ro Donnelly, also star. The disappearance of Shere Hite as executive producers ahead of the documentary’s world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

Johnson can also be heard as the voice of Hite in the film about the famous sex researcher and author The Hite Report, the 1976 mega-bestseller that “liberated the female orgasm by revealing the most personal experiences of thousands of anonymous respondents.” Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nicole Newnham (crab camp) directed the documentary, which opens Friday, January 20 at the US Documentary Competition.

Hite, who died in 2020 at the age of 77, spent the last decades of her life in Europe, where she faced relentless attacks from conservatives in the US, furious about her work, which “reinforces restrictive attitudes about sex challenged and started a dialogue in popular culture.” all about woman’s pleasure.”

A description of the film adds: “Hite … became the public messenger of women’s secret confessions. With each subsequent bestseller, she engaged TV titans in hauntingly explicit debates about sexuality while suffering the backlash her controversial results caused. But few remember Shere Hite today. What led to their removal?

Johnson, whose credits include Cha Cha really smooth and the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, said, “Having the opportunity to come on board, not only to be the voice of the amazing Shere Hite, but to support and reinforce her was a no-brainer. We couldn’t can’t think of a better time to tell her story.”

For the documentary, Newnham gained access to Hite’s archives, personal diaries and original responses to the researcher’s sex tapes.

“I am honored and pleased that Dakota has agreed to collaborate with us on the film and be the voice of Shere Hite, drawn from Shere’s words and writings,” Newnham said in a statement. “Dakota’s affinity for Hite – as an artist, a woman and a feminist herself – allows her to brilliantly imbue the film with the surprising mix of revolutionary courage, supernatural perspective, vulnerability, femininity and strength that drew us to Shere.” When I heard her performance in the film, everything fell into place and I was just blown away.”

NBC News Studios began the documentary project after reading the New York Times obituary for Hite. The studio hired Newnham to direct and they collaborated on the project with This Machine, the production company founded by RJ Cutler. The film’s producers are Molly O’Brien and Kimberley Ferdinando for NBC News Studios and Cutler, Elise Pearlstein and Trevor Smith for This Machine. The disappearance of Shere Hite is an acquisition title at Sundance.

“Dakota and TeaTime are the perfect partners to bring Shere Hite’s legacy and revolutionary work on female sexuality to a new generation,” This Machine said in a statement. “This Machine is honored to work with you and NBC News Studios on Nicole Newnham’s beautiful and important film, especially at this critical time in the ongoing fight for gender equality.”

NBC News Studios said, “When [we] When we first started developing this film, we were delighted to enlist the brilliant Nicole Newnham to delve into our exclusive Shere Hite footage and vast contextual archive of the period. We couldn’t have asked for a more outstanding voice for the film than Dakota Johnson; and we are delighted to be working with TeaTime and our partners at This Machine to shed light on Shere’s life and unique work.

Johnson will next star in Sony’s Mrs. Network. She recently took a job dadwith Sean Penn, who also produces Johnson.

The Hite Report has been translated into dozens of languages ​​and sold 50 million copies, making it one of the 30 best-selling books of all time, according to Newsweek. Hite has published a total of eight books, including the one from 1994 The Hite Report on Family: Growing Up Under Patriarchy.