Maria Schrader: “‘Uncovered’ is a true story. Each character carries the person’s real name”

On October 5, 2017, journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor published the article ‘Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades’ in the New York Times in which more than 80 women recounted the abuse they had suffered at the hands of the film’s producer.

This was the starting signal for #MeeToo, exposing one of the biggest scandals in Hollywood history. ‘Al descubierto’ is the story of that investigation, of those two journalists and of all the women who were finally able to speak. Maria Schrader directs the film based on the non-fiction novel written by the same Twohey and Kantor and which will be released in theaters on December 28: “The script also focuses on the difficulty of getting women to tell their stories. The survivors. It also focuses on them”explains Schrader in this exclusive interview, “How they made the decision to testify, how difficult it was. I was moved, I was moved, I was fascinated by every aspect of the script.”

‘Uncovered’ stars Carey Mulligan as Twohey and Zoe Kazan as Kantor, and alongside them are Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher and Jennifer Ehle among others. Also, Keilly McQuail plays Rose McGowan and Mike Houston plays Weinstein, but the most interesting and courageous thing is that Ashley Judd also participates with her story. “This is a true story. Each character in the film is a real person, each character has the real name of that person, it would have been very strange to see someone else play Ashley Judd, she is one of the most famous actresses in Hollywood and recognized”explains Schrader.

Judd’s decision to speak to Twohey and Kantor encouraged and validated other women to come forward and contribute their voices to the investigation. The actress opened up about the power imbalance between Weinstein and her and how after she refused to satisfy her sexual desires, the producer blacklisted her. Peter Jackson himself acknowledged that when he was going to film “The Lord of the Rings”, Weinstein had advised him not to count on her or Mira Sorvino. “By His Appearance”says the director, “It’s almost like breaking the fourth wall, like in the theater, it’s an element of hybridization. This is not just a recreation for the screen. It’s a slice of authenticity, the face of a person playing themselves. It’s something very unique and wonderful. I thought Ashley Judd was absolutely fantastic.”

The investigation

On the level of involvement the real Twohey and Kantor had in the film, Schrader sums it up very well: “In the same way that witnesses and survivors trusted them and told their stories, Megan and Jodi trusted us, the filmmakers, and allowed us to put the other side of their lives into the film, the private side and the personal side, which doesn’t appear in the book at all”. The screenplay of the film is signed by Rebecca Lenkiewicz (‘Disobedience’, ‘Colette’).

‘Al descubierto’ is the sixth work directed by Schrader, who made his behind-the-scenes debut in 1998 with ‘La giraffe’ alongside Dani Levy. German by birth, Schrader also directed the drama ‘Liebesleben’, the biopic ‘Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe’ and the award-winning ‘The Perfect Man’ as well as four episodes of ‘Unorthodox’. ‘Uncovered’ will be released exclusively in theaters on December 28th.