Doug Liman’s ‘Justice’ Explosive Sundance Doc Investigates Sexual Assault Allegations Against Brett Kavanaugh; Filmmakers say new tips are pouring in

Director Doug Liman says he self-financed Brett Kavanaugh documentary justicethat started Friday night at Sundance may not be complete yet, as new picks poured in within half an hour of Thursday’s announcement of the highly-touted project.

“I thought the movie was done… I thought I was off the hook. I’m in Sundance, I thought I could sell the movie,” Liman said sadly during a question-and-answer session after the world premiere of his first documentary, which will examine the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. exam confirmation hearings in 2018. The film follows leads that the FBI appears to have ignored in an investigation after dr. Christine Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of assaulting her at a party in 1982 when they were both high school students in Maryland.

justice draws attention to the allegations of another woman, Deborah Ramirez, who also came forward at the hearings to say that a drunken Kavanaugh, then a freshman at Yale, exposed himself to her during a gathering of several young people on campus.

CAA completes sale for immediately hottest acquisition title at first in-person Sundance since 2020. justice Premiere in a packed theater with an enthusiastic response. The documentary was kept under wraps and only announced as part of the series at the opening press conference the day before.

Perhaps the movie’s most explosive revelation is the fact that the FBI did not respond to a tip from Max Stier, a fellow Yale student at the time Ramirez and Kavanaugh attended the school, who said he was told of a similar incident Incident in which Kavanaugh exposed himself. to another student. The film includes a taped statement from Taurus, one of 4,500 tips to an FBI tip line set up after Ramirez and Blasey Ford came forward.

Liman said the filmmakers have yet to face any backlash, but he feels the filmmakers and those interviewed in the film are at risk of retaliation in the meantime. justice was made, hence the need for extreme secrecy, which extended to making everyone involved in the film sign non-disclosure agreements.

“The machinery that was set up against anyone who spoke … we knew the machinery would turn against us,” Liman said. “The film would not have been shown at Sundance, there would have been a court order” if the news had leaked beforehand.

Producer Amy Herdy, also at Q&A, investigated other high-profile figures accused of sexual misconduct, including Woody Allen in the 2021 documentary series All about Farrowand music industry mogul Russell Simmons in the 2020 doc On the recording. Academy Award winner Dan Cogan and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus executive produced the film with Liman. Cogan and Garbus’ production company Story Syndicate produced the film.

Herdy said she hopes the film will “cause outrage and a subpoena investigation.”

Blasey Ford makes a brief appearance in the first few minutes of the film. Excerpts from her dramatic testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee tell her story. Liman said he did not record another on-camera interview with Blasey Ford because “she did her part.” She has done more than her fair share for this country. She has done enough for 10 lives.”

During the press conference on Sundance’s opening day, the festival’s main program revealed the existence of the film and its Friday night premiere.

“It shouldn’t be too difficult to have an open and honest conversation about whether or not a Supreme Court justice assaulted numerous women as a young man,” Liman said in a statement released after the festival’s press conference. . “Thanks to this amazing research team and the brave souls who entrusted us with their stories, justice pick up on where the FBI investigation into Brett Kavanaugh fell short. By examining our judicial processes and the institutions behind them, the film highlights bureaucratic missteps and political power grabs that continue to have an unheard of impact on our nation to this day.

President Trump nominated Kavanaugh to succeed retired Justice Anthony Kennedy in July 2018. The Senate Judiciary Committee held Kavanaugh’s initial confirmation hearings from September 4-7. On September 16, The Washington Post published a shocking report that Blasey had accused Ford Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in 1982 when they were both teenagers in Bethesda, Maryland.

In an excerpt of testimony by FBI Director Christopher Wray seen in the film, the G-Man admits that tips about Kavanaugh were shared with the Trump White House. The film ends with Vice President Mike Pence announcing the 50-48 Senate vote confirming Kavanaugh’s lifetime tenure on the Supreme Court.

One of Kavanaugh’s most far-reaching decisions since joining the court was his vote last year, Roe v. Wade to overturn the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. He was joined by other conservatives in the 6-3 decision, including Amy Coney Barrett, who was confirmed to the court in 2020.