Girl You Know It's True (film)

Girl You Know It's True is a 2023 biographical film about the controversial late-1980s/early-1990s music duo Milli Vanilli that caused one of the most infamous scandals in international pop music. Between 2021 and 2022, German-Austrian filmmaker Simon Verhoeven wrote, directed and co-produced the biopic, which was produced by Wiedemann & Berg Film, with Leonine as the theatrical distributor, released in cinemas in late 2023. The movie stars Tijan Njie and Elan Ben Ali as the lip-synching stage artists Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan respectively, as well as Matthias Schweighöfer as the instigating music producer/manager Frank Farian.

Synopsis
Grammy Award-winning music act Milli Vanilli become the first act to have their prize stripped from them after they are exposed as a fake enterprise with the singers lip-syncing to pre-recorded tracks. The movie follows the meteoric rise of European dancers Rob Pilatus (from Germany) and Fab Morvan (from France) as Milli Vanilli to become one of the most successful pop duos of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Led by established music producer Frank Farian, the two then-unknowns became instant global stars with three number-one hits in the US singles charts, and many more around the world. The catch: Only few knew that the duo did not sing themselves. At the height of their fame, Milli Vanilli won the Grammy Award, but the truth was revealed shortly after, which up until today is considered one of the world's biggest scandals in music history.

Cast

 * Elan Ben Ali as Fabrice Morvan
 * Tijan Njie as Rob Pilatus
 * Matthias Schweighöfer as Frank Farian
 * Graham Rogers as Todd Headlee
 * Bella Dayne as Milli
 * Tijan Marei as Carmen Pilatus
 * Samuel S. Franklin as John Davis
 * Mitsou Jung as Melly
 * Penelope Frego as Stefania
 * Roxanne Rittmann as Emily
 * Nico Ehrenteit as Michael

Development
In August 2022, it was revealed that Leonine Studios were filming a biopic about the troubled musical duo Milli Vanilli. The project's writer and director, Simon Verhoeven, was named co-producer next to Quirin Berg and Max Wiedemann, as well as Laura Mihajlovic of Wiedemann & Berg Film.

One of the executive producers of the biopic is R&B music producer and performer Kevin Liles, who composed the original version of "Girl You Know It's True" with Baltimore DJ crew Numarx in 1986. Kirstin Winkler and Frank Farian are also among several other producers. Associate producers are Jasmin Davis, daughter of John Davis, and Brad Howell. Carmen Pilatus, sister of Rob Pilatus, Milli Vanilli's former assistant Todd Headlee, and Ingrid Segieth a.k.a. Milli, are also attached as associate producers.

Since Morvan had previously sold his film rights to director and producer Brett Ratner, he couldn't be involved in Verhoeven's film, even when Ratner was called out and sidelined during the #MeToo movement in Hollywood, which led to the cancellation of Ratner's competing Milli Vanilli biopic.

Additional production was done by Sentana Film, SevenPictures and Mediawan.

The film was picked up by Voltage Pictures.

Casting
Matthias Schweighöfer was confirmed as playing the group’s producer Frank Farian with Elan Ben Ali and Tijan Njie appearing as the Milli Vanilli front men Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus. In September 2022, roles were announced for Graham Rogers and Bella Dayne.

Filming
Filming took place in Munich, Berlin, Cape Town, and Los Angeles in 2021 and 2022 with filming continuing until the end of the year. Filming was confirmed to have wrapped in December 2022, and in February 2023 Voltage Pictures were announced to have acquired worldwide sales (excluding Germany) and were taking the film to the European Film Market.

Release
The film was released towards the end of 2023. Its North American premiere took place at the 2024 Berlin & Beyond Film Festival in San Francisco with Morvan in attendance. In June 2024, Vertical acquired North American distribution rights to the film, planning a day-and-date release on August 9, 2024.

Awards
At the Bavarian Film Awards Bayerischer Filmpreis on 19 January 2024 Girl You Know It's True won for Best Film, as well as Best Newcomers for the main actor duo Tijan Njie and Elan Ben Ali.