The crew of the film “Corsage”, Austrian film candidate for the Oscars, is in turmoil. An actor was caught for child pornography.
Source AFP
© FLORIAN WIESER / APA / AFP
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Sstupor at the Oscars, less than two months before the ceremony in Hollywood. An actor in a blockbuster movie has been charged with possession of child pornography. The actor in question is Florian Teichtmeister, who plays Emperor Francis Joseph in Corset, film about Sissi, and Austrian Oscar nominee. Public television ORF, which co-financed the feature film, issued a press release, meaning that it “immediately refrains from producing and broadcasting works with Florian Teichtmeister”, can we on the website of the audiovisual group.
According to the ORF, the Cineplexx cinema chain, which manages 400 theaters in twelve countries, has also withdrawn from the poster the work presented last year at the Cannes festival in selection In some perspective. But the professional association of the film industry in Austria told AFP that it was maintaining “in consultation with the director and the producers” the candidacy of Corset for the Oscars. You have to “make the difference” between the film and the conduct of its actor, she pleads, when she selected him to represent the country for the next ceremony, in the category of best foreign film.
The film is currently on the shortlist of 15 non-English language works from which five finalists will be selected at the end of January. The Oscars will be presented in Hollywood on March 12.
Florian Teichtmeister intends to plead guilty
On Friday, Florian Teichtmeister’s lawyer, 43, announced to the media the indictment, since confirmed by the Vienna prosecutor’s office, of his client who intends to plead guilty and will be tried from February 8. He is accused of having possessed a large quantity of child pornography material, at least between February 2008 and August 2021. He risks up to two years of deprivation of liberty.
In a press release sent to AFP on Sunday, the producers of the film CorsetJohanna Scherz and Alexander Glehr, claim that filming took place before “the first rumors” appeared “in the fall of 2021”.
READ ALSOChild pornography: cornered by his constituents, the mayor of Échenon resignsConfronted, the actor had told them “with conviction” that they were “false”. “In the meantime, we have informed in detail our co-producers, distributors and commercial partners, financiers and sponsors as well as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences [qui remet les Oscars] on facts currently available to the public,” they added.
The film, which is a hit in theaters and has been presented at nearly 70 festivals where it has received several awards, has been purchased by more than 90 countries. It was released at the end of December in the United States. Florian Teichtmeister attended premieres in Austria and Germany.
The director and screenwriter of Corset Marie Kreutzer said she was “saddened and angry that a feminist film […] be so smeared and damaged by the horrible actions of one person”. The Austrian national theater Burgtheater, where the actor is a member, has also announced his dismissal with immediate effect.