Sarah Ann Masse — actress, comedian, and one of the many, many women preyed upon by Harvey Weinstein — will star in a feature drama examining Hollywood’s systems of misogyny and sexual abuse. She’s also writing the #MeToo-themed indie, “R Culture,” with director Alexa Polar. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news.
Expected to begin production later this year, barring further COVID-19 restrictions, “R Culture” centers on a successful Spanish lawyer who relocates to Los Angeles after marrying a famous painter. Things go awry when dark secrets from her husband’s path very publicly come to light.
Kathy Dang of Butterfly Angel Entertainment is among the project’s producers.
“Having stepped forward in 2017 to accuse Weinstein of unwanted sexual misconduct — before the former movie mogul was eventually convicted of, and sentenced to 23 years in prison for, rape and criminal sexual assault — Masse will draw on her own experiences as an industry silence breaker for the project,” the source notes.
“I wouldn’t say it is deliberately autobiographical, but there is a lot of me in this script, and it does tackle the ideas of celebrity, power, the press, the legal system, and how survivors can come together to force change,” Masse told THR. With “R Culture,” she and Polar want to “try and help survivors heal, help society understand what it feels like to live through abuse, come to terms with what has happened to you, and take steps to tell your story and seek justice.” She added, “Knowing I not only get to write this story but appear onscreen playing a complex, powerful female character is incredibly satisfying, especially after the career retaliation I have faced the past several years.”
Masse makes up one half of the comedy duo We Are Thomasse. She has acted in, written, produced, and directed a number of shorts and comedy projects, including “Oxford Professor,” “Tristan & Kelly,” “Feminist Fairytales,” and “SNM.” She acted in Polar’s horror thriller “The Blackstone.”
Masse launched Hire Survivors Hollywood, an organization that lobbies for the film industry’s hiring of survivors of sexual violence. She founded the movement to help address professional retaliation against survivors and silence breakers of sexual misconduct.
Polar has written, directed, and produced several shorts, such as “The Girl from Lala Land” and “America Foreclosed.” She’s also working on feature doc “There Ain’t No Shear Luck.”