The Stream
One’s already controversial and it isn’t even out yet. Few seemed to have noticed the other two. Over the past five years, three teams of filmmakers have been working to tell true stories that reveal the humanity of lives in the womb. All three are on track to release in the next seven months.
Unplanned is based on the memoir of former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson. Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer is a crime drama set in urban Philadelphia. Linked closely to pro-life leaders, these films appear to be a step up from past efforts Bella, Voiceless and October Baby.
Those are the two the mainstream, and pro-choice, media hasn’t yet noticed. The media have noticed Nick Loeb’s Roe v. Wade. And they don’t like it.
Unplanned Journey of Planned Parenthood Whistleblower
In October 2009, one Texas woman caused a national uproar when she quit her job. Abby Johnson had worked at the local Planned Parenthood near College Station, Texas, for eight years. She started as a volunteer and worked up to clinic director.
As told in her memoir Unplanned, the women’s rights advocate found the work “wonderfully rich and satisfying” at first. Johnson took pride in how their team efficiently distributed forms of contraception to avoid more costly clinical abortions. For years, she never saw an abortion procedure firsthand. Then a visiting doctor asked Johnson to assist him in the exam room.
A remarkable series of events followed, including a clandestine meeting with pregnancy help leaders next door, a shocking local TV interview and a legal gag order from Planned Parenthood. The abortion rights group lost their statewide spokesperson, while the pro-life movement gained a new perspective.
She made public in 2014 that Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman, writers of the $60 million independent blockbuster God’s Not Dead, had inked a deal to produce her story as a major motion picture. Unplanned is slated to release February 22, 2019.
Details have been scarce, though the producers of this spring’s surprise hit I Can Only Imagine are reportedly involved.
‘Superman’ Brings Serial Killer Gosnell to Justice
In early 2010, disturbing reports of an abortion center in west Philadelphia became too numerous for authorities to ignore.
When the FBI and Philadelphia investigators raided the offices of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, what they found shocked them. Unsanitary exam rooms reeked of blood. Baby body parts were kept in jars.
Gosnell was convicted of three murders and more than 200 counts of violating state abortion laws. He is serving three life sentences in a state prison. After being partially told in the documentary 3801 Lancaster: American Tragedy, a scripted version of the story will finally hit theaters this fall.
The crime drama Gosnell has faced more barriers to release than perhaps any recent film. In 2014 Kickstarter snubbed producers from using its crowdfunding platform. They raised over $2 million on Indiegogo. Last year, the Philadelphia judge on the case feared he was portrayed in an unflattering light. He blocked the movie from distribution, in a lawsuit only recently resolved.
Filmmakers persisted and have now secured an October 12, 2018 release for their film. Directed by veteran actor Nick Searcy (The Fugitive, Cast Away), Gosnell stars Dean Cain as the lead detective who stumbles onto the case. Cain portrayed “Superman” on the hit 1990’s TV show Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. The crime drama also features Sarah Jane Morris (Coyote Ugly) as a district attorney for the state and Earl Billings (Con Air) as Kermit Gosnell.
Roe v. Wade
A third movie with a recent rising profile comes from producer Nick Loeb, who only recently “converted” to being pro-life. It will recount events leading up the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion nationwide.
After a crowdfunding campaign that began in January, the film was rushed into production this summer. Some people may feel there is a pro-life bias, he says, “But we took a black-and-white view of this and laid it all out there.” The film reportedly has a $6.5 million production budget.
“We take a factual look at the case and show both sides of the arguments,” he tells The Stream. The movie’s website describes it as “the real untold story of how people lied; how the media lied; and how the courts were manipulated to pass a law that has since killed over 60 million Americans.” Speaking to Vanity Fair, he called his movie “a social war movie where we take both sides of the argument and hopefully let the audience decide.”Roe v. Wade will be the first script for Nick Loeb and his production partner Cathy Allyn. For two years, they researched the case using 40 sources including court transcripts and several books. Loeb himself co-stars as prominent abortion provider Dr. Bernard Nathanson, who became pro-life. His 1996 book The Hand of God is a primary source of scenes and quotes.
After a crowdfunding campaign that began in January, the film was rushed into production this summer. Some people may feel there is a pro-life bias, he says, “But we took a black-and-white view of this and laid it all out there.” The film reportedly has a $6.5 million production budget.
Despite Concerns…
A report last week claimed several cast and crew members quit Roe v. Wade, which Loeb disputes in part. “None of our key people on the crew quit,” he says. “It’s a crew of 125 people, a cast of 74 and a thousand extras. We’ve both worked on several films, and it’s normal for people to quit.”
His partner Cathy Allyn states they have to abide by high standards. “We’re a union show,” she says, noting their SAG-AFTRA agreements in place. “So claiming that we’re doing anything substandard is preposterous.”
Despite compelling source material, some have raised concerns about the script. In January, pro-life leader Robert George shared an exchange with Loeb. “I had some objections to certain characterizations of facts presented in a pitch video for the movie that Mr. Loeb shared with me,” George wrote online. “I will endorse [the film] if, but only if, it is strictly historically accurate. I do not believe in taking liberties with the truth, even in the very best of causes.”
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