In early 2016, producer Sebastian Bear-McClard approached a 17-year-old girl on Instagram – a proposal that led to an informal rendezvous in a Soho loft. Shortly after, he told the Safdie brothers that he had found the right person to play a small role in their upcoming film “Good Time”. The girl, who comes from a poor background in New York, was excited to meet the film’s star, Robert Pattinson, a favorite of teenage girls around the world thanks to the “Twilight” franchise. On the day of filming, she waited on the New York set all day for her scene, unaware of what had happened. By the time she made her way into a cramped room, she was naked, standing in front of about a dozen male cast and crew members, including Josh and Benny Safdie. Instead of performing in a scene with Pattinson, he was paired with an actor who had recently been released from prison before being hired for the film.
According to a statement given by the young woman and obtained by Variety, she was “completely stunned and felt terrified. My distress was only increased when out of nowhere, [an actor] whispered in my ear that Could he ‘keep it in’ while the cameras rolled. I said ‘no.'” The statement from the woman, now 24, was made in connection with a legal dispute involving Bear-McClard. The producer is currently involved in a contentious divorce and custody battle with actor and model Emily Ratajkowski, as well as private arbitration with the Safdie brothers, who last summer fired him from their shared production company Elara Pictures. The statement was one of three statements made by the women after Bear-McClard and Ratajkowski’s much-publicized split and the producer was portrayed as a stalker who often preyed on young women on set. (“Gone Girl” actor filed for divorce from Bear-McClard in Manhattan Supreme Court, citing an irrevocable breakdown of the marriage Rupture was cited.)
Variety also spoke to more than a dozen sources familiar with Bear-McClard’s behavior, including two who were in the room when the 17-year-old shot the disturbing “good times” scene. Shortly after production ended, she began a sexual relationship with Bear-McClard, despite her being 17 years old. They maintained a consensual romantic relationship for over two years. (The age of consent in New York is 17.)
Bear-McClard, through a spokeswoman, declined to comment. A Safdie spokeswoman says: “The Elara team was made aware of Sebastian McClard’s behavior in July 2022. They took immediate action and terminated him.”
The statements — which were made in August — also cover Bear-McClard’s behavior on the set of the Adam Sandler drama “Uncut James.” One woman, who was 18 at the time, says she met a then-married Bear-McClard during production and that he had courted her, citing her position in the film industry to fulfill the promise of a major career. Began to “prepare” on Instagram. In her statement, also obtained by Variety, she described an incident that occurred at Bear-McClard’s apartment that she shared with Ratajkowski. “Sebastian and I started kissing. Things escalated and then, without my consent, Sebastian inserted himself inside me without using a condom.
The woman described other troubling behavior in which Bear-McClard called her derogatory terms such as “retard” and “keek,” though she pushed back and framed that language as a joke. According to her statement, she says that he also started tracking her through an app on her phone. The woman also claims that Bear-McClard began messaging a 15-year-old girl on Instagram who was not part of the production but visited the set. When confronted, “Sebastian appeared pleased with himself and laughed at my remarks. He did not deny my allegations,” the woman said in the statement. Multiple sources tell Variety that Bear-McClard had contact with the 15-year-old boy. as well as his romantic involvement with another young woman on the set of “Uncut James”—an assistant with ties to the film industry—caused the Safdies to fire him. (The Safdies also directed “Uncut James”). Is.)
A third woman, who has worked on several independent films at the intern and assistant level, provided a statement obtained by Variety that does not cover workplace sexual misconduct but does claim that Bear-McClard engaged in harassing behavior.
Ratajkowski, 31, declined to comment, but friends say she is not surprised by the allegations. He is being represented by powerhouse attorneys Brett Ward and Jackie Combs, whose firm Blanc Rome previously handled Tom Cruise in his divorce from Katie Holmes as well as Channing Tatum in his split from Jenna Dewan. Bear-McClard, now 42, is working with high-profile attorney Caroline Cross, who repped Robert De Niro over his 2018 break-up with Grace Hightower. Ratajkowski and Bear-McClard married in February 2018 at a New York courthouse after dating for just two weeks. Ratajkowski is fighting for sole custody of their son, Sylvester, who was born in March 2021.
“Good Time” and “Uncut James” were both released by A24, the New York indie upstart behind Oscar Best Picture winners “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Moonlight”. These allegations raise serious questions as to why a 17-year-old girl, who did not have an agent at the time, was filming nude scenes on a movie set. There is no ironclad rule barring minor nudity, but a general Screen Actors Guild requirement that employment conditions are not “detrimental to the health, morals, and safety of minors”.
“It looks like they bypassed the entire safety net of our industry by hiring someone on Instagram who wasn’t a union member, who didn’t know their rights,” BizParentz, an advocacy group for child actors says Anne Henry, co-founder of. “Normally, minors have to get their contracts court-confirmed, and there are a lot of other hoops for a minor to cast through. This is not normal. Everything about this situation is wrong.
Baer-McClard has produced the three most recent films of the Safdie brothers – a filmmaking duo celebrated for their edgy style and use of non-actors mixed with professionals. The three launched the production company Elara together in 2014. One of his most notable projects, the crime thriller “Good Time”, made a stellar debut at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d’Or.
Pattinson was not on set on the day of the problematic “Good Time” scene, which does not appear in the final version of the film. The artist’s name appears in the credits. According to her statement, Bear-McClard did not discuss any payment associated with the role and only bought her cigarettes after the shooting. The woman does not receive relics from A24 for her role. An informed source told Variety that the scene was used in promo footage that was presented to buyers at the Cannes market in 2016. A24 bought the film from that footage. A source close to Safiz, who is familiar with his editing process, says that the scene was not finalized due to creative reasons.
The women’s claims involving the sets of “Good Time” and “Uncut Gems” shine an uncomfortable spotlight on A24, still celebrating its huge Oscar haul this month. The company signed the Safdies and Bear-McClard’s Elara to first-look deals in 2020 after the “uncut James” allegations became a hot topic among insiders connected to the film.
A24 declined to comment.