“I am here to talk about Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson,” Evan Rachel Wood says towards the beginning of the new trailer for Phoenix Rising. Part 1 of the documentary, “Don’t Fall,” debuts March 15th on HBO, and Part 2, “Stand Up,” follows on March 16th.
The film premiered at Sundance last month and chronicles abuse allegations leveled against Manson, including accusations that he “essentially raped” Wood during a music video shoot. “He studied how to manipulate people,” Wood’s mother Sara says in the trailer. “He groomed her. He’s a predator.”
Phoenix Rising also delves into Wood’s work to pass California’s Phoenix Act in 2019, which extended the statute of limitations on abuse charges. In the process, Wood shared her story without mentioning Manson’s name. “Numerous women heard my story and they knew exactly who it was,” she recalls in the trailer. “I realized that I wasn’t the only one that this had happened to.”
The preview ends with a moment of catharsis. “I was like, ‘What is this feeling?’ and it’s the feeling of being believed,” Wood said through tears. Phoenix Rising is directed by Amy Berg (Deliver Us from Evil, The Case Against Adnan Syed), and you can check out the trailer below.
