Over the past few years, there’s been a ton of conversation about how people are treated within the entertainment industry. This discourse came as a result of the #MeToo movement, and the various allegations made against powerful men in the film world like Harvey Weinstein. Comedian/actress Anna Faris unfortunately has her own story, recalling when late filmmaker Ivan Retiman screamed at her on set, while also claiming that he slapped her butt.
Ivan Reitman was an acclaimed filmmaker known for working on beloved comedies like Ghostbusters, Animal House, and Kindergarten Cop. Actress and podcaster Anna Faris collaborated with him on My Super Ex-Girlfriend, and recently shared on her podcast Unqualified that she had a hard time working with him. While in conversation with her guest Lena Dunham, Faris revealed that she got screamed at by Reitman on the first day of her movie, specifically in a fight sequence opposite Kill Bill icon Uma Thurman. As she put it,
One of my hardest film experiences was with Ivan Reitman. I mean, the idea of attempting to make a comedy under this, like, reign of terror. He was a yeller. He would bring down somebody every day and my first day, it was me.
According to Anna Faris, he received the ire of Ivan Reitman that day because she arrived 20 minutes late to set. But that wasn’t because she was being a diva or running late, a bottle of wig glue was spilled on her and her costume in the trailer. And as such, she had to get cleaned up before showing up to film her first My Super Ex-Girlfriend scene.
Anna Faris’ comments come from her recent episode of Unqualified, where she’d heard debating whether or not she should even share her Ivan Reitman story and speak ill of the dead. In the end she decides to share her truth, while also confirming that he was the director who once slapped her butt on set in front of the cast and crew. She kept it brief, saying:
But then later he slapped my ass too. That was a weird moment.
Some of the hardcore fans of Anna Faris might remember that the Scary Movie actress previously described being groped on a movie set back in 2017. This was as the #MeToo movement was truly changing conversations, and encouraging various professionals to share their own experience. Without naming Ivan Reitman at the time, she shared her experience from the movie’s set, saying:
I was doing a scene where I was on a ladder and I was supposed to be taking books off a shelf and he slapped my ass in front of the crew so hard. And all I could do was giggle. I remember looking around and I remember seeing the crew members being like, ‘Wait, what are you going to do about that? That seemed weird.’ And that’s how I dismissed it. I was like, ‘Well, this isn’t a thing. Like, it’s not that big of a deal. Buck up, Faris. Like, just giggle.’ But it made me feel small. He wouldn’t have done that to the lead male.
While this incident occurred around 15 years ago, clearly it’s a memory that Anna Faris still carries. One can only imagine how complicated her feelings about it became after Ivan Reitman passed away back in February of this year. Meanwhile, the filmmaker’s legacy has continued on with the release of Ghostsbusters: Afterlife and its planned sequel.
Anna Faris is currently in pre-production for her next movie Tunnels opposite Patrick Wilson and Alicia Silverstone. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
