The head of Germany’s mini-major Constantin Film has launched an external investigation into allegations, which Constantin has partially confirmed, of harassment and violence by star Til Schweiger on the set of his new film.
In an interview with Germany FAZ newspaper, Constantin boss Martin Moszkowicz confirmed that Schweiger – one of Germany’s biggest box office hitters – had an altercation with a crew member on the set of manta manta 2, a comedy film that Constantin produced. Schweiger, according to reporting by Mirror magazine, which first published the allegations and was confirmed by Moszkowicz, was apparently “very drunk” at the time.
Moszkowicz said Constantin immediately canceled the day’s shooting and issued Schweiger a warning, saying he would be fired and fined if something similar happened again. The rest of the shoot, he said, went without incident. He added that Constantin has engaged an independent law firm to conduct a compliance investigation into the production, in part to investigate other allegations of abuse and dangerous conditions during the filming. These include an incident in which a woman fell through a roof and was seriously injured.
In the interview, Moszkowicz said he took the allegations against Schweiger very seriously and called for an “industry-wide code of conduct” to prevent such incidents in the future. German Culture Minister Claudia Roth has called for such a move, saying that if the industry cannot regulate itself, the Ministry of Culture, a major source of funding for German films, would make such regulations a requirement for receiving state subsidies.
“And I will say very clearly: Even artistic geniuses — or alleged artistic geniuses — are not above the law,” Roth said. “The days when patriarchal machos who abused their position of power in the worst possible way should really be over. Although, of course, not everyone understood that.”
Constantin produced two films with Schweiger last year, but Moszkowicz said no further projects are planned. “I hope Til gets his problems under control,” he said.
