K.T Simpson
Okay so in the left corner we have “The Haunting of Sharon Tate”, starring Hillary Duff – which Debra Tate has labelled ‘tasteless’ and Duff as ‘garbage’.
In the right corner we’ve got Tarantino’s “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood”, Debra noting that the parties involved ‘don’t give a shit’ and it’s ‘just a pay check’.
Now we introduce “Tate”, with Kate Bosworth in the lead role, and again Debra has given her thoughts on the film…but with a twist! “At long last I have found filmmakers who are interested in the life story of my sister Sharon. Other projects have been a real source of pain in their insensitivity and gross exploitation of my sister. I am proud to join this very accomplished team to bring the story of the profoundly unique woman known as Sharon Tate.”
To be fair, her sister was the victim of a very high-profile brutal, torturous and grisly murder, so one would think she has her right to an opinion.
So why all of these Tate films all of a sudden? Well next year marks the 50th anniversary of her death at the hands of Charles Manson, so naturally Hollywood would like to take this opportunity to educate us all on what happen, and perhaps make some money in lieu of their entertaining us. I have no problem with this, but of course if I were related to the victim, I’d like to think this would be done tastefully – so I get where Ms. Tate is coming from.
Having said that, she has not seen the productions yet, and her problem with Hilary Duff seems to be based solely on appearance, noting after Duff posted Instagram pictures of herself in the Sharon Tate get-up: “What kind of trash is she? That’s just absolutely garbage. Is there any point in that?”
Debra also believes she owns the rights to Sharon’s likeness, and no one asked for her permission on the matter. Duff has said nothing but positive words about Sharon Tate, so it seems like an odd problem to have this early.
In regards to Tarantino’s production, Debra is merely making a lot of assumptions so far, stating that given Quentin’s “thirst for eroticizing murders”, he will end up glorifying Manson. Again – assumptions.
So you’d think that Debra has an issue with movies about her sister being made in general because clearly they’re all out to exploit the family, right? Well as it turns out, she is in full support of the production “Tate” starring Kate Bosworth, and directed by Michael Polish. The film will follow Tate’s last day, but how is this different to the aforementioned other films? The only difference I can see is that Debra has signed on to be a producer for this film, so will have somewhat of a say in what happens. And as we all know, control is power.
“As a father and a filmmaker, I am not interested in portraying violence on screen with this particular project. It has no place in the Tate’s life any longer,” said Polish. “I’m honored that Debra has been generous with her life in sharing details that will make this movie one-of-a-kind … just like Sharon.”
After Tate’s murder, the family dedicated a lot of time and effort into helping other victims of crime. Debra believes that Hollywood or filmmakers looking to make a name or career for themselves often look to high-profile murder cases to exploit into TV and film projects while families of the victims struggle against opportunists trying to make a buck at the expense of their suffering.
“It’s been exploitative since day one. It’s been the case since the media went crazy and has perpetuated mistruths making things even more salacious. It’s now morphed into something that is more fictionalized than truth at this point. To celebrate the killers and the darkest portion of society as being sexy or acceptable in any way, shape or form is just perpetuating the worst of our society. I am vehemently opposed to anything that does that. I’ve been dealing with this for 50 years now. We need to stop this, and I intend to help the family behind the NoNotoriety anyway I can to help make this a national movement.”
Essentially, Debra wants these films to make it all about Sharon, and not about Manson in any way. Which shall be interesting.
Thanks to Deadline for the interviews.
