Marilyn Manson, the controversial schlock rocker, is to be the subject of a new documentary series.
British broadcaster Channel 4 has ordered three-part series Marilyn Manson: Behind The Mask (w/t) that is co-financed by Fifth Season, the company formerly known as Endeavor Content, and comes from Spector producer Lightbox in partnership with Rolling Stone.
It comes after Manson, otherwise known as Brian Warner, received a litany of accusations in recent years. Evan Rachel Wood accused the musician of sexual and physical violence and was behind a two-part HBO documentary Phoenix Rising. Subsequently, Game of Thrones star Esmé Bianco accused him of sexual assault and sexual battery and a number of other women filed civil lawsuits against him.
He was dropped by CAA and his record label Loma Vista and axed from series such as Starz’s American Gods and Shudder’s Creepshow.
After these initial accusations, Rolling Stone magazine, which Deadline parent company PMC owns a controlling stake in, reported a number of other allegations, leading to a police raid and a criminal investigation. There have been no criminal charges but civil cases are still pending.
Long before these accusations, Manson reveled in his place as one of the most controversial figures in music since G.G. Allin, breaking out with the band’s debut Portrait of an American Family, featuring songs such as Cake and Sodomy, before becoming a star with Antichrist Superstar and its hit The Beautiful People.
The series will examine the accusations his ability to court controversy, while exploring how high-profile sexual assault allegations play out in today’s post #Metoo era.
It will feature interviews with several of the accusers, fans, industry insiders, lawyers, a former band mate (there’s been a few) and his childhood best friend.
It will chart his rise to fame from a difficult childhood (he previously said that he watched his grandfather masturbate to videos of bestiality) through to being vilified in the press for antics such as hanging a donkey pinata full of cow brains and pig intestines over a crowd, and later becoming an advocate for those on the fringes of society. He was widely praised for his comments after the Columbine massacre, when asked by Michael Moore, what would he say to the kids who committed that act, he replied that wouldn’t “say a single word, I’d listen to what they have to say and that’s what no one did”.
The series will also include exclusive audio recordings of interviews with Rolling Stone alongside archive footage and never-before-seen photographs.
Currently in production, Marilyn Manson: Behind The Mask is produced by Lightbox and Rolling Stone Films for Channel 4 in association with Fifth Season and Media Finance Capital.
Karen McGann, who directed CNN’s Reframed: Marilyn Monroe, will direct and Zoe Jewell is series producer. Exec producers include Simon Chinn, Jonathan Chinn, Suzanne Lavery, Jason Fine and Gus Wenner. Fifth Season has global distribution rights and will launch at next week’s Mipcom.
Suzanne Lavery, SVP Unscripted, Lightbox said, “Marilyn Manson: Behind The Mask tells the definitive story of the controversy surrounding the star, charting his career from its early days through to his being dropped by his manager, agent and record label as a result of the allegations made against him. In first-hand testimony, we hear intimate accounts from his accusers, as well as those who robustly refute their allegations. The series asks timely questions about how the music industry draws the line between rock n roll excess and transgressive behavior and examines whether Manson’s constructed persona reflects the reality of the human being behind the performer, and what the future holds for the freedom of expression and the right to shock.”
“Rolling Stone broke the story about Marilyn Manson’s alleged abuse and this series takes a step back to explore those allegations in the wider context of Manson’s career, his meteoric rise as the self-proclaimed Antichrist Superstar and the controversy surrounding his recent fall from grace. We are proud to partner with Lightbox to tell this fascinating and complex story,” added Rolling Stone CEO Gus Wenner.
