TORONTO (AP) 鈥� Louis C.K. came to the six years ago with the hotly anticipated 鈥淚 Love You, Daddy,鈥� just as allegations of sexual misconduct against the comedian were gaining new prominence.
The movie sold at TIFF for $5 million, but before it could reach theaters, its premiere was canceled and its release scuttled. After years of rumors, in November that year detailed the allegations of several women who described incidents in which C.K. masturbated in front of female stand-up colleagues.
Now, a new documentary premiering in Toronto, where C.K.鈥檚 downfall began, is delving into one of most debated #MeToo cases. directed by Caroline Suh and Cara Mones and produced by the Times, examines the allegations, the fallout for those who came forward and C.K.鈥檚 comeback in comedy.
鈥淚n the early years, the advice I was given was: Don鈥檛 make this movie,鈥� says Suh, who directed the Barack Obama-narrated docuseries 鈥淲orking: What We Do All Day.鈥�
Suh, herself, was a big fan of Louis C.K. and she didn鈥檛 immediately register the allegations against the comedian as damning 鈥� especially in comparison to other #MeToo cases like and
鈥淗onestly, my first reaction was: Is it that bad?鈥� Suh recalls.
鈥淪orry/Not Sorry,鈥� which was acquired by Greenwich Entertainment for distribution after its TIFF premiere, reexamines the scandal and its aftermath, particularly in light of C.K.鈥檚 thriving comeback. The comic, who acknowledged 鈥渢hese stories are true鈥� , won a Grammy for best comedy album last year and in January sold out Madison Square Garden.
To Mones, it appeared that many people seemed hesitant to talk about the thorny issues of consent and power when it came to C.K. 鈥� and that was a good reason to make the film.
鈥淭his lived in a gray area for so many people. That felt unusual among all the stories that were starting to come out,鈥� says Mones. 鈥淭here are a lot of questions to explore.鈥�
The filmmakers especially wanted to detail the experience of the women who went public with their encounters with C.K. Some struggled to find success in comedy afterward or were heckled online by his supporters. Comedian Abby Schachner, who notes C.K. didn鈥檛 ask permission before masturbating while talking to her on the phone in 2003, speaks about her fears of being publicly defined by the scandal.
鈥淭here were questions to be asked and perspectives to be brought forth. And those perspectives are really of the women who came forth,鈥� says producer Kathleen Lingo. 鈥淲hat happens when a woman says the truth? What happens to her?鈥�
There are several notable people from the comedy world interviewed in the film, including comedian Jen Kirkman, who first alluded to some of C.K.鈥檚 behavior in a podcast in 2015. Comedian Megan Koester, 鈥淧arks and 鈥淩ecreation鈥� co-creator Michael Schur and Noam Dworman, owner of New York鈥檚 Comedy Cellar, also appear in the film.
But it鈥檚 also notable who isn鈥檛 in the film. Louis C.K. isn鈥檛 interviewed and didn鈥檛 respond to the filmmakers鈥� requests to comment. And the filmmakers say nearly every prominent comic they reached out to didn鈥檛 want to be interviewed.
At the same time, C.K. has returned to stand-up and often performed material about the scandal. In his 2020 self-distributed special 鈥淪incerely Louis C.K,鈥� he began by asking the crowd about their last few years. 鈥淎nybody else get in global amounts of trouble?鈥� he said.
Later in the special, he more specifically addressed the misconduct incidents.
鈥淚f you want to do it with someone else, you need to ask first,鈥� said C.K. 鈥淏ut if they say yes, you still don鈥檛 get to go 鈥榃oo!鈥� and charge ahead. You need to check in often, I guess that鈥檚 what I鈥檇 say. It鈥檚 not always clear how people feel.鈥�
Whether comments like these have been enough to constitute atonement is one of the overarching questions of 鈥淪orry/Not Sorry.鈥�
鈥淥ur intent was to make a film that was very fact-based,鈥� says Suh. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to speculate: Why did he do this? Just laying out the facts might be helpful.鈥�
鈥淪orry/Not Sorry,鈥� which is expected to be released next year, arrives after a series of The filmmakers are hoping to refocus the conversation.
鈥淚t feels like every time there鈥檚 a news event, it鈥檚 like: 鈥�#MeToo is failing鈥� or 鈥�#MeToo is succeeding,鈥欌�� says Lingo. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been, what, six years, and I think it鈥檚 an incredibly groundbreaking movement. We鈥檙e still in the middle of it.鈥�
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
