After the Release of An Open Secret
An Open Secret was a couple of years ahead of its time. The #metoo movement would not be sparked with the allegations against Harvey Weinstein until October of 2016, about two years later.
An Open Secret was mysteriously not able to find mainstream distribution, despite discussions with Netflix, HBO, Showtime and more. The producers, Matthew Valentinas and Gabe Hoffman, were generous enough to allow the film to be shown FOR FREE on Vimeo after it finished its run in the theater. Please note, this means no profits were made from An Open Secret. You may view it here: https://vimeo.com/142444429
Bizparentz has continued to field research requests from journalists and reports from parents.
November 2015, about 6 months after the documentary’s premiere, brought the release of Spotlight, a feature film about the true story of the Boston Globe’s Spotight journalism team as they unravel the childhood abuse with the Catholic Church. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture on 2/28/2016. The film was strikingly similar in content to An Open Secret, supporting our education that predators have common behaviors, no matter what the environment (church, Boy Scouts, Hollywood, etc).
What ever happened to….
Brian Singer
12/8/17 Cesar Guzman Chavez files a lawsuit against Bryan Singer, USCs announces it will be removing Singer’s name from the school by Gus-Garcia Roberts LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-bryan-singer-20171208-story.html
6/12/19 The Guzman-Chavez case is settled by Singer for $150K (NBC News)
11/3/12 APA agent Tyler Grasham is accused of sexual assault by 6 child actors. Significance to Singer: Grasham had a photo of Singer on his desk, talked about him to young clients often, and credited his own career to Singer. The Los Angeles DA eventually declined to prosecute Grasham, but investigations the UK are still pending. Grasham was fired by APA, but is still seeking work in the industry.
12/4/17 Singer Fired from the set of Fox’s Bohemian Rhapsody by Dave McNary
Bizparentz was first approached on January 2, 2018 by Esquire journalists Maximillian Potter and Alex French. Both were respected journalists and they were partnering on this storyline. In events that stunned the journalism world, the story was eventually published in The Atlantic. The story of how that happened, from the perspective on the journalists is HERE in the Columbia Journalism Review (The Mommies) 2/22/19
1/25/19 Atlantic does a follow up story HERE by Megan Garber explaining Singer’s current status as director of Red Sonja. He was dismissed later, March 13, 2019. “Industry Reactions to the Bryan Singer Allegations Are a Lesson in Willful Ignorance”
12/20/21 Blake Stuerman accuses Singer of abuse during a 4 year relationship with him, from 2009 – 2013. He met Singer at age 18 via Gary Goddard (see below). The journalist notes that they spoke with 20 people to successfully corraborate Stuerman’s story. My Traumatizing Years With Bryan Singer by Adam B. Vary (Variety)
Mike Egan
Egan is (oddly) accused of Investment fraud in North Carolina for acts alleged to have happened in 2007. Gary Goddard (previously accused of sex abuse by Egan) writes the court, and several of Singer’s supporters appear in the audience at the hearings. Egan declares bankruptcy and ultimately pleads guilty, and is sentenced to two years in prison. His time completed, he is now living a private life.
Brian Claflin
Brian Claflin was an alleged victim of Gary Goddard during the DEN time period. After his father connected him to Egan’s attorney, Claflin gave a deposition. He would have likely been profiled in An Open Secret but he died before he could be filmed. He mysteriously died on the train tracks in Berlin on June 14, 2014, just a few months before An Open Secret premiered at DocNYC. View this article from the LA Times telling Brian’s story: A Notorious Mansion An Alleged Assault by a Hollywood Producer. A Suicide. What Happened to Brian Claflin? by Gus Garcia-Roberts.
Mark Ryan
Mark was pictured in An Open Secret in a hospital. He continues to live in a nursing home in Ohio. You can read about his recovery here. His parents had to declare bankruptcy in 2009 as a result of his medical bills.
On October 4, 2021, Ryan was profiled in an article about the Pandora Papers, noting that Marc Collins-Rector opened up an off-shore trust account in Belize to avoid paying the judgement that Mark won against him. Marc Collins-Rectors shared the same “investment” lawyer as other notorious criminals including Robert Durst. Rogue Americans shielded money offshore, eluding victims and criminal investigators by Will Fitzgibbon and Debbie Cenziper of International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Gary Goddard
11/ 10/17. Actor Anthony Edwards writes a blog on Medium that accuses producer Gary Goddard. The title of the piece is “Yes, Mom, There is Something Wrong.” He notes that An Open Secret was the catalyst that drove him to speak out. He is quickly followed by 7 more accusers and they told their stories in this detailed piece in the Los Angeles Times. Most, if not all, are past the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution.
12/20/21 Blake Stuerman accuses Bryan Singer of abuse in an article in Variety (My Traumatizing Years With Bryan Singer by Adam B. Vary). Stuerman states that he was inroduced to Singer through Gary Goddard, who was producing the shows where the 18 year old Stuerman was working and he details a dinner where boys were introduced to Singer.
Brian Peck
The convicted sex offender who was profiled in An Open Secret as a friend of Bryan Singer, also had connections with Nickelodeon and Dan Schneider. He still works in Hollywood. He was last spotted working with Charlie Sheen on Anger Management, but also recent IMDB credits as a “researcher” and “art director”. Since the film various journalists and conspiracy theorists have investigated Peck further and found other associations including this one with Leonardo DiCaprio.
Brock Pierce
Pierce continues his business dealings with cryptocurrency and was profiled in Rolling Stone by Neil Strauss “Brock Pierce: The Hippie King of Cryptocurrency. Brock Peirce went from child actor to Bitcoin billionaire — now he wants to turn Puerto Rico into a Burning Man utopia.” 7/26/18
In 2019, in the wake of Jeffrey Epstein’s death, Pierce’s association was noted in this Hollywood Reporter article by Kim Masters “The Strange Saga of Jeffrey Epstein’s Link to a Child Star Turned Cryptcurrency Mogul”
Pierce had an unsuccessful run for the presidency of the United States in 2020, and he is running for Senate in Vermont in 2022.
Marc-Collins Rector
Rector has not been seen in public for many years, after fleeing the country, believing that David Geffen wanted to kill him. Rector was spotted in Antwerp. Belgium by Buzzfeed reporters in May of 2014. Default judgements against him have been renewed by a California court in both 2011 and 2018 and his three victims, Mike Egan, Mark Ryan, and Alex Burton are now owed over $10.8 million.
In October 2021, Rector’s appearance in the Pandora Papers was noted, as an effort to escape paying sexual abuse lawsuits. Rogue Americans shielded money offshore, eluding victims and criminal investigators by Will Fitzgibbon and Debbie Cenziper (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists)