Earlier today The Daily Beast published a damning exposé in which eight women came forward with allegations that they had suffered repeated sexual assault and emotional abuse at the hands of Max Landis—son of filmmaker John Landis and screenwriter of such profound works of cinematic fiction as Victor Frankenstein and Bright (the Netflix movie about an orc cop). Among the voices who have spoken up in support of Landis’ victims on social media is an interesting name: Josh Trank. The filmmaker directed Chronicle, the low-budget 2012 sci-fi film scripted by Landis. In a tweet posted to his account this afternoon, Trank said he is “heartbroken beyond measure” for the women Landis allegedly abused:
Trank, who hasn’t directed a film since 2015's Fantastic Four reboot, expressed his support for the women who came forward to share their harrowing experiences in The Daily Beast story. He went on to reveal that he “banned” Landis from the set of Chronicle and hasn’t spoken to the screenwriter since 2012—seemingly implying that this is not the first Trank has personally heard of Landis’ alleged abuses of women. It’s not the first the internet has heard of allegations regarding Landis, either. As recounted by The Daily Beast, an anonymously-published post appeared on Medium earlier this year in which the writer recounted an incident in 2012 (around the time Trank says he “banned” Landis from the Chronicle set) where Landis is said to have sexually assaulted her on a trip to Joshua Tree. Trank is one of many people in the industry who appear to have anticipated an eventual exposé regarding Landis’ alleged abuses of women; though it’s not necessarily surprising, it’s no less horrific.