Producer Kathryn Moseley closely examined The Hollywood Reporter’s Tuesday morning story that detailed Andy Dick’s dismissal in mid-October from the Arizona set of an independent film titled Raising Buchanan following allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment involving at least four members of the production.
There’s a reason she read the news several times over: The same thing happened on her film just days later, Moseley claims.
On Oct. 18, Dick was fired from the North Hollywood set of Vampire Dad just hours after arriving to set on the first day of filming to play a misfit-type vampire in the microbudgeted horror comedy. According to the first-time producer and a letter from Moseley’s legal team obtained by THR, Dick was escorted off set due to “multiple, flagrant acts of improper conduct and inappropriate contact with several crew members.”
Though Moseley would not elaborate on the specifics of Dick’s alleged actions, she did confirm that an investigation is currently underway by a Beverly Hills law firm. Much like Dick’s participation on Raising Buchanan — as first reported by THR, he showed up one day late after missing his flight, made advances on several people and was admittedly “loopy” after taking too many Xanax — his Vampire Dad workday went off the rails from the start.
A fair question: Dick has a history of arrests and a rollercoaster record when it comes to acting inappropriately in personal and professional situations, so why hire him in the first place? Moseley’s fair answer: “We were under the assumption that he was sober. He was a good fit for the character, Oliver. I believe in second chances and through our entire pre-vetting process and interviews, he was cogent and polite. He seemed OK, and there were no indications that he was not sober.”
However, once on set, a different story presented itself.
Moseley, producing through recently launched production company One Two Twenty Entertainment, asserts that Dick showed up late and his demeanor seemed off. After initially being nice and pleasant, the actor then grew difficult and demanding, she adds. He requested alcohol and “became belligerent.” They managed to film one scene with Dick and before a second scene could be shot, a decision was made to remove him from the production, she adds. During that process, people came forward with claims that Dick had touched them inappropriately, Moseley says.
Moseley and the Vampire Dad team — which includes director Frankie Ingrassia and producer Jed Rhein — elected to seek independent counsel to conduct a proper investigation into the allegations. The investigation is being handled by Century City firm Garfield & Tepper. Dick was served with an official termination letter from attorney Elsa Ramo at Ramo Law in Beverly Hills.
Dick was said to be angry and unhappy when he learned that he had been fired. THR has reached out to him for a response but has yet to hear back. Dick’s in-and-out involvement on the film added another day of production, upping the cost of the project, which is estimated to be in the $200,000 range.
“As soon as I started to hear the stories on set, we ordered an investigation because I realized the magnitude of his actions,” says Moseley, adding that the production is estimated to have been staffed by 70 percent women. “There’s a tectonic shift happening in Hollywood around this subject matter. For me, it’s important to draw a line and say that this is not OK for anyone. As a production company, we support everyone on set and we want to provide a good, positive work environment.”
The project wrapped Sunday morning, and filmmakers will be taking meetings with sales agents and distributors at this week’s AFM in Santa Monica. Directed by Ingrassia from a script that she co-wrote with Moseley, Vampire Dad stars Grace Fulton, Jackson Hurst, Emily O’Brien, Barak Hardley, MIchael Naizu, Juli Cuccia and Rich Cohen in the story of a family man who gets turned into a vampire on Halloween. He later encounters monsters from the underworld. (After Dick’s dismissal, Moseley says that actor Jonathan Pessin stepped in at the last minute to play the part.)
“It’s a great story and a lot of fun, Moseley says. “Everybody had a fantastic time except for this one very regrettable incident.”
Dick has a long history of well-documented incidents. But even he admitted to THR on Tuesday — during a phone interview about Raising Buchanan — that these are different cultural times in the wake of multiple sexual harassment scandals. “I don’t grope people anymore. I don’t expose myself anymore,” he said. “I do understand that the temperature in the world right now is delicate.”
THR also questioned Dick about his sobriety, and he claimed to be sober: “I overtook my medication and took too many Xanax and I was a bit loopy [on set]. That didn’t make me rape people. I really don’t get it. I’m always trying to be funny and trying to get a date. … There were beautiful women and beautiful guys on the set. I flirt with them. I might kiss someone on the set and ask them to go to dinner. They are the ones that took it south.”
He continued: “I won’t do it anymore. I won’t lick anyone’s face anymore. We have an agreement.”
Dick has no less than 11 projects listed on IMDb for 2017 and 2018. He most notably appeared on Judd Apatow and Lesley Arfin’s Netflix series Love.
