Corey Feldman Explains Why He Wants $10 Million for Film That Will Reveal Names of Alleged Pedophiles
Corey Feldman is defending the millions of dollars he's asking for in order to make a feature film about the claims he's made about being abused as a child actor.
The Goonies star appeared on Monday's Today show and explained his motives behind launching an online campaign to raise $10 million for his movie. So far, he's received a little over $160,000.
When asked why he needs that much money to fund his project when film students make movies for much less, Feldman responded, "It’s not a documentary, it is a film. I want to make a feature film, which is why we need the budget that we need. There’s actors, there’s scripts, there’s special effects, visual effects."
The 46-year-old actor also shared why wants to use the movie to reveal the names of alleged pedophiles in Hollywood. "It will be a very true story," he said. "We will have every name -- everybody that affected my life, I’m going to give the perspective that I can give, what I viewed, what I experienced, from a firsthand account."
Feldman added, “We’re talking about a theatrical release. I’m going to self-distribute, self-market, make the film and hire a team of attorneys who are going to protect me and the film when it comes out.”
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He further insisted that "there is a lot of darkness in Hollywood right now, and it’s been there for quite some time."
As for why he's waited to say the names of those he alleges sexually abused both himself and fellow child actor, Cory Haim, Feldman told Today's Matt Lauer that he was not permitted to do so in his 2013 memoir, Coreyography. "This is why I’m doing this -- because when I wrote my book, my publishers prevented me from writing the names down. They made me change the names," he claimed. "I’m taking the matter into my own hands."
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Feldman continued, "This is why I need America’s support, I need the world’s support."
The former child star went on to note that in 1993, he notified the Santa Barbara Police Department about his six alleged abusers, three of which he says still work in Hollywood. "I’ve told the police. I sat there and I gave them the names,” he told Lauer. “They’re on record. They have all of this information. But they were scanning Michael Jackson. Michael was innocent, and that was what the interview was about with the police."
When pressed as to why he doesn't go to the police again, Feldman brought up the statute of limitations in the state of California. “If I were to go to the police, I would be the one who’s getting sued,” he said. “Henceforth I need a team of lawyers and I need a team of security to be around me at all times to keep me safe, so I can get this message down.”
Feldman also doesn't feel that it should all be on him to expose these alleged child abusers. "There are thousands of people in Hollywood who have this same information,” he continued. “Why is it if I don’t release the names in the next two months, six months, or a year, I’m the bad guy? I’m the victim here. I’m the one who’s been abused. I’m the one who’s trying to come forward and do something about it.”
He added, "I’m not playing around. It’s serious stuff. I vow, I will release every single name that I have knowledge of. And nobody’s going to stop me this time, as long as people support this.”
Feldman also appeared on Megyn Kelly's hour of Today and claimed that he was "fearing for [his] life" after someone allegedly tried to kill him. "I had two trucks come speeding at me on the highway at the same time I was with six other people. I have many witnesses to this," he recalled. "I’m not saying they were trying to kill Corey Feldman, but they were definitely trying to kill a group of people walking across the street."