The Filming Of Apt Pupil

I think in light of the lawsuit filed against Bryan Singer that everyone should take the opportunity to read this piece about the filming of Apt Pupil, which Singer directed shortly after Usual Suspects. One of the writers, Mark Ebner is a friend of mine, and he is a guy who is not afraid to take a stand or go after people he thinks need going after. He looks at both sides of the Apt Pupil scandal. I wonder if he were to write it today, if he would have a different conclusion. It is really long, but really fascinating.

Two weeks after the shower scene in Apt Pupil was filmed, a lawsuit was filed. You can read the entire article here.

"The boys' suits say that although they'd been promised their roles wouldn't involve nudity, once they entered the set, Singer and other crew members "commanded blaringly and screamingly" that they strip. The youths were then forced to stand naked for more than four hours as the cameras rolled and an "obviously homosexual" set photographer snapped pictures of them in "indecent positions," their lawsuits allege.

Gordon and Rub planted another attention - grabbing claim in their suits: that some or all of the defendants were "known homosexuals."

The boys further claim that the crew subjected them to "ogling, leering, and suggestive glances." One crew member, Stockdale says, told him that if he left the set or refused to perform naked, he'd be fired. Director Singer cast a particularly dark shadow over the set, erupting in "multiple fits of rage," Stockdale claims. By the time the cameras were turned off for the day, the boys' lawsuits say, they'd been subjected to sexual harassment, invasion of privacy, false imprisonment, and other outrages by Singer and his crew. "