What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Vili Fualaau said he was offended by May December because he believed the filmmakers drew on events from his life without contacting him, and because he felt the film made a complicated experience seem too simple. Those are Fualaau’s reported views, not an independently verified account of the production’s contact with him.
Why did Fualaau object to the film?
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, as reported by The Guardian and Entertainment Tonight on January 4, 2024, Fualaau said nobody from the production had reached out to consult him. He called the project a “ripoff” and said he felt disrespected.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
![The Lost [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51zt0Tnr17L._SL160_.jpg)
|
The Lost [Blu-ray] | $9.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
![ELEGY (BLU-RAY) - VARIOUS [2008] [Region A & B & C]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51+rEzcvTPL._SL160_.jpg)
|
ELEGY (BLU-RAY) - VARIOUS [2008] [Region A & B & C] | $32.98 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Country Strong | Buy on Amazon | |
| 4 |
|
Best Friend's Daddy (Once Upon a Daddy) | $7.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
The Innocents | Buy on Amazon |
He also objected to what he saw as the film’s simplified treatment of a complicated lived experience. “I’m offended by the entire project and the lack of respect given to me — who lived through a real story and is still living it,” he said, as quoted by The Guardian and Entertainment Tonight. He added that writers and directors able to capture the complications of real events would be “perfect to work with,” because “my story is not nearly as simple as this movie [portrays],” according to The Guardian.
Is May December a true story?
May December is a fiction film with recognizable parallels to the case of Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau; it is not a biographical account of their lives. The film changes important details and invents a fictional actor who researches a couple resembling them. TIME’s account of the film and case and TheWrap’s January 2024 coverage describe its fictionalized relationship to the real events.
#1 Best Overall
- Factory sealed DVD
Screenwriter Samy Burch described the case as a starting point, while distinguishing the film from a direct retelling: “Certainly that’s the seed of it, the big picture thing, but it was important to me that this wasn’t the Mary Kay Letourneau story,” she told The Guardian.
What happened in the real case?
Letourneau was Fualaau’s teacher, and he was 12 when the relationship began. Letourneau was convicted of child rape and served prison time. The two later married and eventually separated, according to TIME and Entertainment Tonight. That history involved abuse and a criminal conviction; it should not be recast as a conventional romance.
Rank #2
- Elegy: Dying Animal ( Elegy )
- Elegy: Dying Animal
- Elegy
What the disagreement is—and is not—about
Fualaau’s criticism concerns both his account that the production did not consult him and his view that the film flattened a complicated story. The filmmakers’ stated distinction is that the case inspired the fictional premise but was not the subject of a direct dramatization. These are separate positions: his reported objection does not establish what contact occurred, and the film’s fictional status does not make it a documentary or a factual record of the case.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #3
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
