The producers behind below fireplace film The Salt Path have stated they “undertook all needed due diligence earlier than buying the e-book.”
Responding to a bombshell investigation in The Observer that questioned lots of the claims made within the film’s supply materials, a spokeswoman for Quantity 9 Movies and Shadowplay Options stated: “There have been no identified claims towards the e-book on the time of optioning it or producing and distributing the movie.”
The producers had been solely made conscious of allegations on the finish of final week when contacted by The Observer journalist who wrote the investigation, they added.
Starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, the film is an adaptation of a supposedly true-to-life e-book about Raynor Winn and her husband Moth Winn’s journey alongside the South of England coast after they lose their house and Moth Winn is identified with corticobasal degeneration.
The Observer’s report alleges that Raynor Winn, whose actual identify was revealed to be Sally Walker, was as soon as arrested after being accused of stealing tens of hundreds of kilos from her employer. That is by no means talked about in The Salt Path e-book, which as a substitute says that Raynor Winn and her husband misplaced their house after being taken benefit of by a childhood pal of Moth Winn’s. The occasions surrounding the lack of their house are additionally disputed by the report, together with the truth that the couple had been made homeless.
Through a spokeswoman, Raynor Winn has referred to as the Observer article “extremely deceptive.” “We’re taking authorized recommendation and received’t be making any additional remark presently,” the spokesperson stated. “The Salt Path lays naked the bodily and non secular journey Moth and I shared, an expertise that reworked us utterly and altered the course of our lives. That is the true story of our journey.”
Quantity 9 and Shadowplay’s assertion referred to as the film “a trustworthy adaptation of the e-book that we optioned,” including, “we undertook all needed due diligence earlier than buying the e-book.”
“The allegations made in The Observer relate to the e-book and are a matter for the creator Raynor Winn,” added the assertion. “We now have handed any correspondence referring to the article to Raynor and her agent.”
The affair is an embarrassing and probably problematic one for these concerned in the film, which opened in Might and has to date taken greater than $10M on the UK field workplace. The film is but to launch in key territories together with Germany and France whereas a deal is reportedly nonetheless pending within the U.S.
Deadline has reached out to reps for Anderson and Isaacs, together with BBC Movie and Rocket Science, for remark.
