May December stars Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore have dismissed complaints from Vili Fualaau, whose illicit relationship and marriage to a sixth-grade teacher was the inspiration for the hit Netflix film.
Mary Kay Letourneau, 34, who was first arrested for sexual relations with Fualaau in 1997, spent seven years in prison at the Washington Women's Correctional Center on child rape charges after her relationship with the 12-year-old became public. I spent a year there.
She gave birth to his first child while awaiting sentencing, but became pregnant with his second child due to a parole violation, and was subsequently arrested again and forced to serve his full sentence.
Despite the heated press surrounding their relationship, the couple married in 2005 for a photo shoot with People magazine in attendance. Faarau gave birth to his second daughter with Letourneau this year, making him a grandfather at the age of 40.
Mary Kay LeTourneau's movie 'May December' 'offended' her student lover Vili Fualaau
Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, pictured, attended the 81st Golden Globe Awards ceremony for “May December”. (Getty Images)
May December director Sammy Birch cited the LeTourneau case as the starting point for his film. Mr Faarau said he was “angry” that the film crew did not consult him even though he was still “alive” and called the project a “rip-off” of his life.
Moore, who plays a character modeled on Letourneau, and Portman, who plays a method actress who spends time with a troubled couple before starring in a feature film, both say they are “sorry” that Wharaau has disappointed. said.
Last weekend, in a red carpet interview at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, both actresses revealed that the film was nominated for Best Musical Comedy or Motion Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Actress. He was asked about his criticism in an interview.
The two women emphasized that the film was inspired by real life and stood alone, with Portman saying that it was “its own story and was not intended to be a biopic.” ” he said.
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Convicted child rapist Mary Kay Letourneau died of cancer in 2020 at the age of 58, leaving behind her ex-husband Vili Fualaau, 37, and two daughters. Georgia, the youngest of two daughters, is due to give birth to a baby boy in the coming months. (Getty Images)
Moore told reporters that director Todd Haynes was “always clear when we were working on this movie that this was an original story and a story about these characters.” .
“So we thought that way, too,” Moore said. “This was our document. We created these characters together from this page.”
“It's not based on them,” Portman said. “Obviously, their stories influenced the culture we all grew up in and influenced their ideas. But it's the fictional stories that were truly beautifully brought to life by Julianne Moore and Charles Melton. It’s a person.”
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Faarau criticized the film for oversimplifying his life, which could have been improved with his help.
“I love movies. Good movies. … I admire movies that capture the essence and complexity of real-life events. You know, every time you watch it, you discover something new or realize something new. It's a movie,'' he told The Hollywood Reporter. “Any writer or director like that, anyone who can do that, is great to work with.”
Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau pose for a photo outside their home in Seattle on April 9, 2005. (Mark Greenberg, Associated Press)
“I'm still fine,” Faarau told the media. “If they had contacted me, we could have worked together…Instead, they chose to copy my original story.”
Faalau, who divorced in 2017 and still lives in the Seattle area where he and Letourneau settled until her death in 2020, stressed that it was not difficult to track him down.
FOX News Digital has been unable to reach him since the film appeared on the streaming platform.
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Ann Bremner, a Seattle attorney who became friends with Letreneau after successfully defending the Des Moines Police Department and Highline School District against a lawsuit brought by Fualaau's family in 2002, previously told Fox News “May December,” he told Digital. Faraau captured the nuances of the couple's relationship long before he spoke out against the film.
“When I saw the movie, I thought it really captured the dynamics and the anxiety that Vili and Mary felt about this,” she told Fox News Digital last month. “They had some things straight out of my case — pink lipstick, blush, [Fualaau is] tempter. [Fualaau] ” is played so well by Charles Melton that some say he should win an Oscar. He's a child in need. ”
“I didn't know,” she said Wednesday. [Fualaau] I was not consulted about this film. ”
Charles Melton and Natalie Portman (right), who play a character based on Vili Fuarau, were nominated for best actor and best actress for their roles in May December at Sunday's Golden Globes. (Getty Images)
“If the film is based on his life and LeTourneau's story, I can understand his frustration at not being consulted.…From an outsider's perspective, the film is at least partially based on Mary “It seemed like it was based on Kaye Letourneau's story,” she told FOX News Digital. “I can understand his frustration at not being able to get counseling.”
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She also hit back at online critics who claimed Mr Faarau was upset because he “wanted to get paid”.
“I thought the emotion he expressed was admirable,” Bremner said. “If the movie was based on his life, he'd want to hear his opinion. He's been through a lot.”
