The head of German mini-major Constantin Film has launched an external investigation into allegations, which Constantin has in part confirmed, of bullying and violence by star Til Schweiger on the set of his new movie.
In an interview with Germany’s FAZ newspaper, Constantin boss Martin Moszkowicz confirmed that Schweiger — one of Germany’s biggest box office draws — had an altercation with a crewmember on the set of Manta Manta 2, a comedy film Constantin produced. Schweiger, according to reporting by Spiegel magazine, which first published the allegations, and confirmed by Moszkowicz, was apparently “very drunk” at the time.
Moszkowicz said Constantin immediately canceled the day’s shoot and issued Schweiger a warning, saying he would be fired and fined if something similar happened again. The rest of the shoot, he said, proceeded without incident. He added that Constantin has retained an independent law firm to carry out a compliance investigation into the production, in part to look into other allegations of abuse and hazardous conditions during the shoot. These include an incident where a woman fell through a roof, suffering serious injuries.
In the interview, Moszkowicz said he took the allegations against Schweiger very seriously and called for an “industry-wide code of conduct” to prevent such incidents in the future. German Culture Minister Claudia Roth has called for just such a move, saying if the industry can not regulate itself, the culture ministry, a major source of funding for German films, would make such regulations a requirement for receiving state subsidies.
“And I’ll say quite clearly: Even artistic geniuses — or allegedly artistic geniuses — are not above the law,” said Roth “The days when patriarchal machos who abused their position of power in the worst possible way should really be over. Even if obviously not everyone has understood that.”
Constantin produced two films with Schweiger last year, but Moszkowicz said no further projects are planned. “I hope Til gets his problems under control,” he said.
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