Andrew Duncan (producer)
Andrew Duncan is a Scottish-American film producer who founded the production company June Pictures, and was later accused of sexual misconduct by a number of people. He was also known for commissioning a report that looked at attempts to capture UK elite to influence UK MPs.
June Pictures[edit]
June Pictures was an American independent entertainment production company founded by Alex Saks and Andrew Duncan, and based in Los Angeles, California. It specializes in film production, and film finance.
In February 2016, it was announced Alex Saks and Andrew Duncan would launch June pictures, focusing on producing and financing feature films and documentaries, with Dude, being the first film produced by the company.[1] The company financed films ranging from $5–10 million.[2] The company has produced films such as Thoroughbreds directed by Cory Finley,[3] Fun Mom Dinner, by Alethea Jones,[4] Wildlife, by Paul Dano,[5] Book Club by Bill Holderman,[6] and The Florida Project by Sean Baker.[7] In 2017, their production The Florida Project received a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
Ownership of IGX LLC[edit]
Andrew Duncan was reportedly the owner of IGX LLC, a company founded in 2003 which according to Bloomberg has the purpose of manufacturing of games. However, according to the US-Asia Law Institute it is a film and investment company.[8][9] And according to the Wilmington, Delaware, address is for a Corporation Service Company, serves as a registered agent for many corporate entities.[10]
In 2018 Duncan was accused by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), along with Conservative Solutions PAC and its treasurer Nancy Watkins, of making an illegal US$500,000 donation to support Senator Marco Rubio’s bid to become president. Duncan was accused of using the Conservative Solutions PAC to hide his donation to Sen. Rubio, something Federal Election Commission rules as well as the Federal Election Campaign Act prohibit. Duncan argued that he needed the anonymity to protect him from reprisals.[11] According to The Associated Press this was the largest hidden super PAC donation.[12]
Anti-China position[edit]
Duncan, is reported to be a long time anti-China activist, with links to Chen Guangcheng, a dissident, Bob Fu, who provides legal aid to Christians in China and Jerome Cohen.[13]
Support of 2019 Hong Kong protests[edit]
Duncan, a Brooklyn Nets fan bought 300 tickets for spectators at a pre-season US basketball game between the Nets and the Toronto Raptors who held signs and donned T-shirts and masks in support of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests and said he is considering having further demonstrations. He argued that "The NBA should not be in bed with a communist regime."[14]
"China’s Elite Capture" report[edit]
He was also known for commissioning a report in 2020 called "China’s Elite Capture" that looked at attempts to persuade and recruit UK elite by China which was contributed to by former MI6 officer, Christopher Steele who had compiled the infamous Steel Dossier on Donald Trump.[15] Arthur Snell, a former UK diplomat who also works with Steele, also contributed to the report. Charles Parton was also said to have participated in compiling the report.[16] Parton is also a former UK diplomat specialising in China. Duncan was reported to have spent "tens of thousands of dollars"[17] for the strongly anti-China report.
As of 13 July 2020, the report has only been selectively shared, with it being given to a number of Conservative MPs, but to no other political party in the UK. It was also shared with the right wing newspaper, the Times and the tabloid, the Daily Mail.[18]
Duncan was particularly looking to reverse the decision by the UK government of allowing Huawei to provide equipment into the country's 5G network despite it likely resulting in a significant cost as it accounts for about three quarters of the radio access across Britain's 4G network infrastructure and a significant portion of the initial stages of the 5G network come from Huawei.[19]
Alongside efforts to remove Huawei from the UK's telecommunications network, the report also claimed that the Chinese were interested in taking control of nuclear infrastructure such as that at Hinkley Point.[20]
The report accused several MPs and Peers of being in the pocket of the Chinese, including Lord Clement-Jones, Mike Rake, Kenneth Olisa, David Cameron and George Osborne and Sarah Wollaston. Both these individuals and Huwaei denied any truth in the matter.[21]
Some have argued that the dossier is incomplete, in that the information has been acquired but has not been verified. As Clement-Jones describes it "total fantasy.[21]
Accusations of sexual misconduct[edit]
In December 2017, Duncan was accused of sexual misconduct by over a dozen women, including many from his own company. Accounts included such as kissing and groping without consent, such as two dinners in August and December 2016, as well as using company money to pay for prostitutes.[22][23][24][25][26] Duncan was accused of being crude on a FaceTime with a female producer in 2016 when discussing the then-upcoming movie Dude. Despite Duncan arguing that the allegations were false and that it was driven by rivals, he still stepped down from the company.[25][27] In January 2018, Duncan accused the journalists of being unprofessional and not vetting their information, something denied by the original reporting news agency. He also felt abandoned by previous acquaintances who did not want to be associated with an accused sexual predator.[26] June Pictures, Saks had been accused of knowing of this behaviour for more than a year, and did nothing concrete to address these issues.[28]
Saks bought out Duncan's shares in the company stating: “In light of allegations of misconduct against our investor Andrew Duncan, I am assuming sole ownership and leadership of June Pictures. June Pictures is committed to a respectful work environment dedicated to producing quality films. We will continue our projects already in production and development.”[29] That same year, the company shut down.[30]
References[edit]
- ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (February 25, 2016). "ICM Partners Agent Alex Saks To Run Upstart Shingle June Pictures". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- ↑ Ford, Rebecca (January 19, 2017). "Sundance: Newcomer June Pictures Heads to Fest With Three Films". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- ↑ McNary, Dave (April 28, 2016). "Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy to Star in Thriller 'Thoroughbred'". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- ↑ McNary, Dave (June 22, 2016). "Toni Collette, Molly Shannon to Star in 'Fun Mom Dinner' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- ↑ Pedersen, Erik (23 September 2016). "Jake Gyllenhaal & Carey Mulligan Star In 'Wildlife', Paul Dano's Directing Debut". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- ↑ Amanda N'Duka. "Don Johnson, Craig T. Nelson, Richard Dreyfuss Cast In 'Book Club'". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
- ↑ Hipes, Patrick (April 19, 2016). "June Pictures Boards 'Tangerine' Director Sean Baker's Next Film 'The Florida Project'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ↑ "IGX LLC". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "2017 Summary of Activities". U.S.-Asia Law Institute. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
- ↑ NW, The Center for Responsive Politics 1300 L. St; Washington, Suite 200; fax857-7809, DC 20005 telelphone857-0044 (2016-02-01). "$100 million floods into presidential super PACs in second half of 2015". OpenSecrets News. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
- ↑ Eakin, Britain (2018-03-02). "Watchdog Sues FEC to Police Shadowy Campaign Donation". Retrieved 2020-07-08.
- ↑ "Mystery Money Makes Its Way Back Into US Election Process | Voice of America - English". www.voanews.com. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
- ↑ "A Chinese dissident caught in America's culture wars". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
- ↑ staff/elizabeth-kim (2019-10-19). "Pro-Hong Kong Demonstrators Stage Protest At Barclays Center". Gothamist. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
- ↑ "China attempting elite capture in UK: Report". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "The curious case of the Huawei dossier". www.newstatesman.com. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
- ↑ "China 'trying to influence elite figures in British politics', dossier claims". Q Radio. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
- ↑ "The curious case of the Huawei dossier". www.newstatesman.com. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
- ↑ "The numbers that show it's hard for the UK to ditch Huawei". South China Morning Post. 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
- ↑ Defence, Dan Sabbagh; editor, security (2020-07-06). "Peer 'baffled' by claims he was targeted by fake PR campaign to boost Huawei". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 "The curious case of the Huawei dossier". www.newstatesman.com. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
- ↑ Sblendorio, Peter. "'Florida Project' producer leaves studio amid sexual misconduct allegations". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
- ↑ Baum, Gary; Masters, Kim (December 15, 2017). "'Florida Project' Producer Accused of Sexual Harassment by a Dozen Insiders". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- ↑ Carlin, Shannon (December 16, 2017). "Florida Project Producer Steps Down After Sexual Harassment Allegations". Refinery29. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 "The Florida Project producer steps down after harassment claims". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Florida Project Producer Andrew Duncan Responds to Misconduct Allegations". Mediaite. 2018-01-23. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
- ↑ Maddus, Gene (December 14, 2017). "'Florida Project' Producer Steps Down Amid Harassment Claims". Variety. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- ↑ "'Florida Project' Producer Accused of Sexual Harassment by a Dozen Insiders". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
- ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (December 14, 2017). "June Pictures Shakeup: Alex Saks Buys Out Financier Andrew Duncan Amid Allegation Cloud". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- ↑ "Alex Saks". Retrieved June 10, 2020.
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