On the Record (film)

On the Record is a 2020 documentary film directed by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering. It centers allegations of sexual abuse and harassment against hip hop mogul Russell Simmons. Executive producer Oprah Winfrey publicly withdrew from the film shortly before it was released, citing "creative differences", severing a production deal with Apple TV+.[2] The film premiered at Sundance on January 25, 2020 and was acquired by HBO Max, who released it digitally on May 27, 2020.[3][4][5][6]

On the Record
Official promotional poster
Directed by
Produced by
  • Kirby Dick
  • Amy Ziering
  • Amy Herdy
  • Jamie Rogers
Written by
  • Kirby Dick
  • Amy Ziering
  • Sara Newens
Music byTerence Blanchard
Cinematography
  • Ava Berkofsky
  • Thaddeus Wadleigh
Edited bySara Newens
Production
companies
Distributed byHBO Max
Release date
  • January 25, 2020 (2020-01-25) (Sundance)
  • May 27, 2020 (2020-05-27) (United States)
Running time
95 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Background

On The Record is the fourth documentary released since the beginning of #MeToo that highlights allegations of sexual abuse against men in power, including Leaving Neverland, Untouchable, and the Surviving R. Kelly series.[7] It is the third film directed by Dick and Ziering about sexual assault, including The Invisible War and The Hunting Ground.[7][8]

In 2016, Amy Ziering served on the jury for the Sundance Film Festival.[9] During a Women at Sundance dinner, Ziering was seated next to Rose McGowan, who shared with Ziering she had been sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein.[9] Ziering asked McGowan if other women would speak. Later, Ziering and Kirby Dick flew to meet with Ashley Judd, and an unnamed actress, and began pitching the film around, where it was rejected. Ziering and Dick put the project on hold, but when the #MeToo movement began, Ziering and Dick received calls from women willing to come forward, which is how they found Drew Dixon. Dixon was the first woman to publicly levy allegations of assault against Russell Simmons, which were detailed in a New York Times article published in December 2017.[7]

Synopsis

The film centers on allegations of sexual assault and harassment levied against Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons, and features interviews with some of the over 20 women who have accused him, including Sil Lai Abrams, Sherri Hines, Jenny Lumet, and Alexia Norton Jones.[10][5] The documentary spends the bulk of its screen time on the story of Drew Dixon, a former A&R executive at Def Jam Records who claims that Simmons raped her in his apartment.[6] After leaving the company to work for Arista Records, Dixon claims that music executive L.A. Reid sabotaged her career when she rejected his sexual advances.[5][11] On the Record also highlights the erasure of black women's voices from the #MeToo movement.[8][12]

Kimberle Williams Crenshaw, Kierna Mayo, and Tarana Burke offer commentary throughout the film.[7]

Production

In June 2019, Oprah Winfrey joined as an executive producer on the project under her Harpo Productions banner, with AppleTV+ acquiring distribution rights to the film as part of her overall deal with Apple.[13] Ziering and Dick worked closely with Winfrey, sending her cuts, which received her enthusiastic approval.[14]

Following the announcement of the film, Winfrey was targeted by Simmons and his supporters including 50 Cent, and received phone calls and text messages from Simmons directly asking her to cancel the project.[15][16] Additionally, the women involved with the film were targeted on social media, which the women viewed as attempts to threaten and intimidate them.[17][18][19]

In January 2020, Winfrey announced she would be withdrawing as an executive producer on the project, and cancelling the film's distribution deal with AppleTV+. She stated that she felt the film was being rushed to be shown at the Sundance Film Festival, and after Ava DuVernay critiqued it negatively after a private screening, she felt the documentary lacked proper "context", and "inconsistencies" in some of the women's stories.[6] Winfrey only informed Ziering and Dick of her departure 20 minutes before making it public. They stated that they were blindsided as Winfrey had seen a cut similar to the one that would premiere at Sundance, with Apple and Harpo filing out an application for the festival.[20][21]

Kirby Dick told The Guardian "These stories were reported by the New York Times, the LA Times and The Hollywood Reporter and very extensively vetted.” According to Dick and Ziering, that process included, their own fact-checking team, Harpo Productions, Apple's lawyers, and HBO Max’s legal team.[22]

Release

On the Record premiered at Sundance on January 25, 2020.[5] Shortly after, HBO Max acquired distribution rights to the film[23] and released it digitally on May 27, 2020.[24]

Critical reception

The film has received positive reception. The directors received a standing ovation after the premiere at Sundance.[8]

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 8.22/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "On the Record uses harrowing first-person accounts to powerfully and persuasively confront the entrenched sexism of an industry and its culture."[25] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 83 out of 100, based on 20 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Writing for Vanity Fair, Jordan Hoffman called it, "a thorough and self-aware film."[11] Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post's chief film critic, called it "not just a riveting piece of investigative filmmaking, but a comprehensive and crucially important historical text"[26]The New York Times' critic, Devika Girish, observes, "What the film does is bring these accounts to living, breathing and moving life, taking us beyond the media cycles of allegation and denial to a survivor’s intimate confrontations with cultural pressures and trauma."[27] Leah Greenblatt of EW gave the film an A– and referred to the film as "brutal, heartbreaking, and—with or without Oprah’s co-sign—utterly necessary."[8] In a review for Variety, Owen Gleiberman stated, "If 'On the Record' were simply a record of sexual harassment and violence, it would end there. But the movie plunges deeper than perhaps any #MeToo narrative we’ve seen into the tortured ambivalence that women who’ve been victimized feel about calling out their accusers."[7] Writing for The A. V. Club, Noel Murray gave the film a B+.[28]

References
  1. "On the Record". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  2. "Russell Simmons assault doc stuns at Sundance, but survivors brace for 'fight' ahead". Los Angeles Times. 2020-01-26. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  3. Sperling, Nicole (2020-02-03). "After Oprah's Departure, Film About Simmons Accusers Finds New Home". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  4. Sisario, Ben; Sperling, Nicole (2020-01-17). "Pressured by Simmons Over Exposé, Oprah Winfrey Faced a Big Decision". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  5. Fear, David (2020-01-26). "Sundance 2020: 'On the Record' Gives Russell Simmons' Accusers the Spotlight". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  6. Adams, Sam (2020-01-26). "The Russell Simmons Documentary Takes on the Racial Dimensions of #MeToo". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  7. Gleiberman, Owen (2020-01-26). "'On the Record': Film Review". Variety. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  8. "Russell Simmons sexual assault documentary 'On the Record' is powerful, necessary viewing". EW.com. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  9. Willmore, Alison (2020-05-28). "On the Record Directors Discuss Allegations, Oprah and What Me Too Didn't Change". Vulture. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  10. "Three women detail how Russell Simmons allegedly raped them". Retrieved 2020-05-28 – via www.cbsnews.com.
  11. Hoffman, Jordan. "In On the Record, Accusers Make the Case Against Russell Simmons". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  12. "No Oprah? No problem: 'On the Record' Doc Gets Standing Ovations at Sundance". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  13. Horton, Adrian (2020-05-26). "'People continue to turn a blind eye': behind a shocking film about music industry abuse". Retrieved 2020-05-28 – via www.theguardian.com.
  14. Masters, Kim (June 1, 2020). "'On the Record' directors get dumped by Oprah days before Sundance. Then what happened?". KCRW.com. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  15. Lattanzio, Ryan (January 17, 2020). "Oprah Says Russell Simmons Tried to Pressure Her to Drop Sex-Abuse Doc Headed for Sundance". IndieWire. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  16. Carras, Christi (December 13, 2019). "50 Cent accuses Oprah of only 'going after black men' in #MeToo cases". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  17. Kaufman, Amy (January 16, 2020). "Oprah Winfrey backed out of the Russell Simmons sexual assault documentary. Why the fallout was 'horrible'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  18. "Oprah's Russell Simmons Doc Withdrawal Rattles Accusers and Angers Activists: "It Feels Like Us Against the World"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  19. "Oprah explains why she stepped away from Russell Simmons exposé". CBS This Morning. 2020-01-21. Retrieved 2020-05-28 – via YouTube.
  20. Kaufman, Amy (January 16, 2020). "Oprah Winfrey backed out of the Russell Simmons sexual assault documentary. Why the fallout was 'horrible'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  21. "Behind Oprah's Russell Simmons Doc Defection: Filmmakers Blindsided, Accusers Vow to Move Forward". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  22. Horton, Adrian (2020-05-26). "'People continue to turn a blind eye': behind a shocking film about music industry abuse". Retrieved 2020-05-28 – via www.theguardian.com.
  23. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 3, 2020). "Russell Simmons Accusers Documentary 'On The Record' Acquired By HBO Max – Sundance". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  24. White, Peter (April 21, 2020). "WarnerMedia Sets HBO Max Launch Date & Opening Slate". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  25. "On the Record (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  26. Hornaday, Ann (2020-05-27). "Review | Russell Simmons sex assault documentary is an anguishing and essential film". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  27. Girish, Devika (2020-05-27). "'On the Record' Review: A Black Woman Says '#MeToo'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  28. Murray, Noel (May 25, 2020). "The Controversial On the Record Finds a Larger Story in the Russell Simmons Scandal". The A. V. Club. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
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