A new anti-abortion movie that will center on the organization Planned Parenthood has been shot in secret and will arrive in theaters next year. The movie, titledUnplanned, comes from filmmakers Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon, who serve as the project’s writers and directors. They previously collaborated on the very successful faith-based moviesGod’s Not DeadandI Can Only Imaginewhich, working from tiny budgets, went on to become big successes at the box office.
Unplannedwas shot for a budget of $6 million and recently wrapped filming in Oklahoma. The movie will tell the story of Abby Johnson. She served as clinic director at Planned Parenthood and claims to have helped facilitate 22,000 abortions before leaving the organization in 2009. Johnson’s decision to leave came after watching via ultrasound as an abortion was performed. Co-director Chuck Konzelman had this to say about the movie.
“No matter which side you come down on, there’s a big chunk of this movie that will make you uncomfortable, because Abby has been pro-choice and pro-life…But it’s not an attack movie. it’s about right and wrong. We just try to tell Abby’s story, and it’s an interesting journey.”
The team behind this project is prepared for pushback from Planned Parenthood already. The organization sued Abby Johnson previously, claiming that she had breached her confidentiality agreement. Outside of that, Planned Parenthood is, in itself, controversial. Those who are against abortion are opposed to the organization. However, those in favor of it often point out that abortions are a relatively small part of what they do, as they also offer contraception, pregnancy planning, pregnancy testing, as well as STD tests and treatment, among other services.
This is the second anti-abortion movie that was shot under a veil of secrecy this year. There is alsoRoe v. Wade, which was met with a ton of trouble when it was revealed how extreme the nature of the content depicted in the movie will be. There were multiple reports of crew members quitting the production in droves once the nature of the project they were working on was revealed.Unplannedsuffered no such snags during its production. This fall will also see the release ofGosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer, another anti-abortion movie with a heavy conservative lean, which hits theaters on October 12.
There is no word yet on a release date, butUnplannedis expected to get a wide release sometime next year. The directors, as well as producer Daryl Lefever, despite whatever controversy may arise, are hoping to replicate the success of their previous faith-based dramas.God’s Not Deadgrossed $60 million worldwide, working from a budget of just $2 million.I Can Only Imaginefound similar success, bringing in $83 million on a $7 million budget. This news was previously reported byThe Hollywood Reporter.
