Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, stars in "May December," brushed off complaints from Vili Fualaau, whose illicit relationship and marriage with his sixth-grade teacher inspired the hit Netflix film.
Mary Kay Letourneau, 34 when she was first arrested for her sexual relationship with Fualaau in 1997, spent seven years behind bars at Washington Corrections Center for Women on child rape charges after her affair with the 12-year-old was made public.
She gave birth to his first child while awaiting sentencing, then conceived his second in violation of her parole before she was arrested again and forced to serve her full sentence.
Despite the rabid publicity surrounding their relationship, the pair married in 2005 with People Magazine in attendance to take photos. This year, Fualaau will become a grandfather at 40 after his second daughter, conceived with Letourneau, gives birth.
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Samy Burch, the director of "May December," cited the Letourneau case as a starting off point for the film. Fualaau said he was "offended" the film's crew didn't consult him despite the fact he was still "alive and well," calling the project a "ripoff" of his life.
Moore, who plays the character based on Letourneau, and Portman, who plays a method actress spending time with the embattled couple before starring in a film within the film, both said they were "sorry" Fualaau was disappointed.
Both were questioned about his critique in a red carpet interview with Entertainment Tonight at the 81st Golden Globes ceremony last weekend, where the film was nominated for best musical comedy or motion picture, best supporting actor, best supporting actress and best actress.
Both women stressed the film was meant to stand alone from its real-life inspiration, with Portman remarking that it is "its own story — it’s not meant to be a biopic."
Moore told reporters director Todd Haynes was "always very clear when we were working on this movie that this was an original story … a story about these characters."
"So that's how we looked at it too," Moore said. "This was our document. We created these characters from the page and together."
"It's not based on them," Portman said. "Obviously, their story influenced the culture that we all grew up in and influenced the idea. But it's fictional characters that are really brought to life by Julianne Moore and Charles Melton so beautifully."
Fualaau criticized the film for being an over-simplified representation of his life that could have been improved with his collaboration,
"I love movies – good movies. ... I admire ones that capture the essence and complications of real-life events. You know, movies that allow you to see or realize something new every time you watch them," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "Those kinds of writers and directors — someone who can do that — would be perfect to work with."
"I'm still alive and well," Fualaau told the outlet. "If they had reached out to me, we could have worked together. ... Instead, they chose to do a ripoff of my original story."
Fualaau stressed that he still lives in the Seattle area, where he settled with Letourneau before their divorce in 2017 and her subsequent death in 2020, and wasn't difficult to track down.
Fox News Digital has been unable to reach him since the movie hit the streaming platform.
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Anne Bremner, the Seattle attorney who befriended Letourneau after successfully defending the Des Moines Police Department and the Highline School District against a lawsuit brought by Fualaau's family in 2002, previously told Fox News Digital that "May December" captured the nuance of the couple's relationship well before Fualaau spoke out against the adaptation.
"Watching that movie, I thought it did well, about the dynamics and the angst Vili and Mary felt about this," she told Fox News Digital last month. "They had some things in there that were straight out of my case — the pink lipstick, the blush, that [Fualaau is] the seducer. [Fualaau] is so well played by Charles Melton, some people say he should get an Oscar. He’s a child raising children."
On Wednesday, she said she "didn't know [Fualaau] wasn't consulted" about the film.
"If the movie is based on his life and the Letourneau story, I can understand his frustration in not being consulted. … From my outsider's view, the movie did appear to be based, at least in part, on the Mary Kay Letourneau story," she told Fox News Digital. "I can understand his frustration in not being consulted."
She also struck back at critics online positing that Fualaau was upset because he "wanted to be paid."
"I thought the sentiments he expressed were commendable," Bremner said. "If the movie is based on his life, he would want to have input. He's had a tough go of it all the way around."
