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Jean-Claude Van Damme is reportedly the subject of criminal charges in Romania over allegations that he knowingly engaged in sexual relations with women trafficked by a criminal group.

The 64-year-old action star, known for his performances in Street Fighter and Double Impact, is accused of receiving five Romanian women as a “gift” from a group of traffickers while in Cannes, France.

According to a report by the local CNN affiliate Antena 3, a criminal complaint has been filed with the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT).

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DIICOT launched their investigation after a woman allegedly witnessed the incident at an event organized by Van Damme in Cannes and shared what she had seen with prosecutors, according to the outlet.

Antena 3 quotes attorney Adrian Cuculis, who is representing one of the victims, as saying that “several Romanians who are currently being investigated for forming a criminal group and pimping, allegedly offered Jean-Claude Van Damme five Romanian women — photo models in Romania — for him to have sexual relations with.”

Cuculis added that “the person who received those benefits knew their condition,” and that the women "were in a state of vulnerability, with the suspicion that they were exploited within the meaning of Article 182 of the Criminal Code."

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For his part, Baker spent a great deal of time on the campaign trail discussing the headwinds faced by indie filmmakers. In his Indie Spirits speech, referring to the time it takes to make a film, he asked a rhetorical question: “How do you support yourself with little or no income for 3 years?”

We posed that question to producer Alex Saks on this week’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast as we explored the issue of why even the most successful indie filmmakers are unable to make a living. Saks is an indie producer, with 24 producing credits that include Baker’s “A Florida Project” and “Red Rocket.” Prior to producing she was a  film finance agent at ICM, where she structured indie film deals and helped director clients get their films off the ground.

“Sean said at his Indie Spirit Awards speech, ‘I’m able to do this because I don’t have kids, I don’t have a family,’ and it’s objectively not sustainable otherwise,” said Saks on the podcast. “He’s done it because of sheer passion and force of will, and probably because he can’t possibly see himself doing anything else, but that is such a rarity on multiple levels. It is a big point to how is this sustainable, and I think the answer is it’s not.”

While on the podcast, Saks got into the reasons this is the case, including a breaking down the math involved with equity investment, which is how a majority of how the films premiering at the bigger festivals get financed. Using the rosy (some would say dream) scenario of a film costing $5 million and selling for $7 million, Saks explained how little money actually reaches the creative team.

Under this scheme, the equity investor floated cash flow to make the movie. They would recoup their $5 million investment, plus a 20 percent premium — so, $6 million goes to the investor. The sales agent would also take a 10 percent fee from the sale; that’s $700,000. From the $7 million sale, that leaves $300,000 to split between the investor and the filmmakers. That means just $150,000 for the creative team, which can include the producers, writer, director, and crew members. The splits vary from project to project, and are individually negotiated.

Under this same $5 million hypothetical budget, the director drew a salary for their services during production. However, if a film takes three years to make, it could amount to less than minimum wage.

Summary:

An isekai slice-of-life fantasy romantic comedy and a satirical take on the weeaboo lifestyle, Me and My Waifu follows Tom (Simon Pegg), a 40-something loser who's been a hardcore weeaboo since childhood. One night, when he decides to binge-watch a slice-of-life anime before putting an end to his otaku lifestyle under the advice of his friend Peter (Nick Frost). But when a blackout occurs and Tom accidentally injures himself--and his television--while attempting to navigate himself through the dark, he wakes up the next day to find the anime's protagonist, a young dandere schoolgirl named Yumiko (Erica Mendez) has come to life as his roommate.

Now, Tom and Peter must assist Yumiko through the ups and downs of the real world, as Tom begins to find friendship in her--and the line between his otaku life and personal life begins to blur along the way.

Me and My Waifu also stars J.K. Simmons as Tom's therapist Francis, Erika Harlacher as a fictionalized version of herself that Tom and Peter attempt to seek help from, Xanthe Huynh as the voice of Yumiko's best friend Chiemi, Rosamund Pike as Tom's ex-girlfriend Sarah, Paul Rudd as Tom's douchebag officemate Walter, and Taika Waititi as Tom's boss Michael.

Director: Edgar Wright

Writer: Edgar Wright

Cast:

• Simon Pegg as Tom
• Nick Frost as Peter
• Erica Mendez as Yumiko
• J.K. Simmons as Francis
• Xanthe Huynh as Chiemi
• Paul Ridd as Walter
• Taika Waititi as Michael

Rotten Tomatoes: 75%

Metacritic: 54

VOD: April Fools' Day

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