A feature film about the infamous Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision is facing intense opposition after it was revealed that it is pro-life in perspective.
Nick Loeb, a producer, director, and star of the movie, told the Hollywood Reporter that actors and crew have bailed on him, and owners of filming locations have barred filming, after they learned that the movie takes a decidedly pro-life approach to the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that gave women the “right” to kill their pre-born babies.
As just one example, Loeb recalled that a crew member, a woman working as the film’s on-set electrician, stormed up to him and demanded to speak with the director over the content of the film. “When I told her I was [the director], she told me to go f*** myself,” recalled Loeb, who had hidden the true intent of the film by using the working title 1973. “Then she threw her headset on the ground and walked off. I found out later she was our electrician.”
The film, which also stars Stacey Dash, Stephen Baldwin, Jamie Kennedy, Joey Lawrence, Jon Voight, Steve Guttenberg, and Greer Grammer (Kelsey Grammer’s daughter), includes the character of Mildred Jefferson (played by Dash), the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School and an early pro-life leader. Jefferson was serving as president of National Right to Life when the High Court opened the door to nearly unlimited abortion through its Roe v. Wade decision.
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The film promises to offer a far different spin on the Supreme Court ruling than the one that has served as “official history” for the past 45 years. “Roe v. Wade is the 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,” reads a funding appeal for the movie.
One of the executive producers of the film is Alveda King, niece of the Reverend Martin Luther King, who appears in a trailer for the film. Among the bullet points in the trailer is the well-known fact that “abortion is the #1 killer of African Americans in the United States.”
Loeb told the Hollywood Reporter that, in addition to losing crew members, individuals who have been cast in the film have bailed over the movie’s perspective. “We had to replace three local actors, including one who was to play Norma McCorvey, even after she begged for the role,” he said, referring to the real-life “Jane Roe” of Roe v. Wade.
So far, the film’s production has moved ahead under strict secrecy for security reasons and to ensure filming locations. Nonetheless, production has still been a challenge. Loeb told the Hollywood Reporter that at Louisiana State University, “we were told we were rejected [for filming] due to our content, even though it will be a PG-rated film. They refused to put it in writing, but they told us on the phone it was due to content.” And at Tulane in New Orleans, the university pulled the plug on a filming location when the school newspaper reported that the project was pro-life.
Loeb noted that the news of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s impending retirement makes the upcoming movie especially relevant, since President Trump’s replacement may give the High Court enough votes to overturn Roe v. Wade. “But even without that news, it’s one of the most controversial political decisions in history,” he told the Hollywood Reporter. It divides us and makes us uncomfortable.”
Loeb added that when he delved into the background of Roe v. Wade, “I discovered conspiracy theories, fake news, made-up statistics, and a whole lot of people involved who switched their positions from pro-choice to pro-life, including Norma [McCorvey].”
According to Loeb, the project has attracted some notable anonymous investors, and his team is now negotiating a distribution deal ahead of the film’s planned January release.
Image: Screenshot of Roe v. Wade Movie Facebook page
