LEONINE Studios and Wiedemann & Berg Film Reveal First Look at Milli Vanilli biopic GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE

• The main actors are Tijan Njie as Robert Pilatus and Elan Ben Ali as Fabrice Morvan
• Matthias Schweighöfer as Milli Vanilli producer Frank Farian
• Written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Simon Verhoeven
• Produced by Quirin Berg and Max Wiedemann, the producers of the Oscar® award-winning film THE LIVES OF OTHERS, the two-time Oscar® nominated film NEVER BIG, and the original TV series Netflix’s groundbreaking DARK

Los Angeles, September 1, 2022 – Major European film studio LEONINE Studios has revealed its first look at the international biopic GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE, produced by Wiedemann & Berg Film.

After a year of intense casting in five countries, newcoms Tijan Njie from Germany and Elan Ben Ali from France will take on the lead roles of Milli Vanilli frontmen Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan, the musical duo top pop and R&B. Matthias Schweighöfer (Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer”, “Heart of Stone”, “Army of the Dead”) stars as German music producer Frank Farian. The cast also includes Graham Rogers (“Ray Donovan,” “The Kominsky Method,” “Aworthy”) as Milli Vanilli’s American assistant Todd and Bella Dayne (“Humans,” “Troy – Fall of a City.” ) as Milli, Farian’s right-hand.

LEONINE Studios and Wiedemann & Berg Film Reveal First Look at Milli Vanilli biopic GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE

The film revolves around the true story of the infamous scandal involving dancers Robert Pilatus’ and Fabrice Morvan in the late 1980s as pop phenomenon Milli Vanilli. Choreographed by music producer Frank Farian, they became global stars with three number-one hits in the US. But only a few insiders know that the duo is not singing but lip-syncing to the voices of two other artists. At the height of her fame, Milli Vanilli won a Grammy, but the behind-the-scenes situation escalated and the pressure on Rob and Fab grew. When the truth is exposed, they stare into the abyss while the world witnesses one of the biggest scandals in music history.

Award-winning filmmaker Simon Verhoeven will direct, based on his original script GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE. Quirin Berg and Max Wiedemann, producers of the Oscar® winning film THE LIVES OF OTHERS, the two-time Academy Award-nominated film NEVER BLESSED, and the groundbreaking Netflix Original series DARK are in production. . Producer Kirstin Winkler (“2012”, “10,000 BC”, “Anonymous”) will oversee production.

Principal photography took place in Munich and Berlin (Germany), Capetown (South Africa) and Los Angeles (USA). Filming will end in December 2022. The film follows a realistic linguistic approach and is shot almost entirely in English. The title echoes Milli Vanilli’s 1989 breakout hit GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE, originally written by US Hip-Hop group Numarx and later covered by successful music producer Frank Farian.

Kevin Liles, member of Numarx, legendary co-founder and CEO of music company 300 Entertainment is executive producing with co-producers Simon Verhoeven, Frank Farian and Stefan Gärtner. Associated producers are Jasmin Davis, daughter of the late John Davis and Brad Howell, who were the real voices for Milli Vanilli and were invaluable consultants during the development phase. Carmen Pilatus, sister of the late Rob Pilatus, former assistant to Milli Vanilli, Todd Headlee, and Ingrid Segieth aka Milli, Frank Farian’s right-hand man, are also involved as associate producers.

Screenwriter and director Simon Verhoeven said: “GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUTH is captivating on so many levels. Not only does it tell the spectacular rise of two underdogs to the top of showbiz in just one summer, but it also offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at that illusory world of fame and fortune. Its sometimes tragic and immoral conspiracies. Personally, I don’t think Rob and Fab deserve to be the sole scapegoats of this scandal.”

Quirin Berg, Creative Director and Executive Producer at LEONINE Studios: “GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUTH comes from the heart of a decade when MTV planted the flag on the moon and we could watch music but not just listen. Our film celebrates Rob and Fab and what they achieved with Milli Vanilli, and Simon’s brilliant script captures the complexity and ultimately the tragic dimension that comes with it. Not only does he deliver an incredibly entertaining story, but he’s also a class of critical reflection that raises more questions that seem more relevant than ever today. It took years to secure the music rights and it’s an important milestone to see this project in production now.”

The film is produced by LEONINE Studios and Wiedemann & Berg Film, and co-produced by Sentana Film, SevenPictures and Mediawan. The production was financially supported by the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF), FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, the German Federal Film Council (FFA), Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, MFG Baden-Württemberg and Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Digitales. All rights belong to LEONINE Studios.

Independent of the LEONINE Studios feature film, US entertainment company MRC is producing a documentary about Milli Vanilli, directed by Luke Korem. Korem also serves as a producer through his Keep on Running Pictures. Bradley Jackson and Fulwell 73 also produced. Hanif Abdurraqib will executive produce. Quirin Berg, Max Wiedemann, Simon Verhoeven and Kirstin Winkler are also associate producers on this documentary project.

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Wiebke Doehla
Head of Fiction PR Wiedemann & Berg Film and LEONINE Studios
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Email: [email protected]