The film “Girl You Know It’s True” about the duo Milli Vanilli, founded by Frank Farian, was only released in cinemas on December 21, 2023. Now Farian has died at the age of 82. In a statement, the cast and crew of the biopic expressed their dismay at the death of the German pop music producer and former pop singer and paid tribute to him.
“His music will live on”
“Frank Farian’s enormous creativity, tenacity and passion as a music producer is legendary and will remain so in our memories,” says Quirin Berg, producer of the film, in a press release. And he continues: “Without his trust and his music, our film “Girl You Know It’s True” would not have been possible, and we are very grateful for that. Our thoughts are with his family and especially his daughter Nicole, whom we wish a lot of strength in these days.”
Director and screenwriter, Simon Verhoeven, also spoke out via press release: “Frank supported our film from the beginning, even though my script was quite critical of it – and I will always be grateful to him for that.” He praises Farian’s performances in the music studio as a “talent of the century” and “music maniac”. This is what he says: “With Boney M. and Milli Vanilli, he not only made history, but above all gave endless people good times and good vibes. […] Our film also shows his life and celebrates his music, which will never die.”
The film, in which Frank Farian is portrayed by actor Matthias Schweighöfer, was awarded the Bavarian Film Prize in the “Best Film” category on Friday (January 19th). “It’s nice for me to know that he’s still very happy about the win […] was happy,” explains Verhoeven.
Milli Vanilli star Fab Morvan, who assisted the filmmakers as an advisor and co-producer, also expressed his condolences: “His music will live on. We cannot deny the happiness and joy he brought into this world.”
More about “Girl You Know It’s True”
The biopic tells the story of producer Frank Farian (Matthias Schweighöfer), who is able to recruit the little-known dancers Rob Pilatus (Tijan Njie) and Fab Morvan (Elan Ben Ali) for his new music project. The duo is storming the international charts as Milli Vanilli. They are celebrating success with three number one hits even in the USA and their meteoric rise seems unstoppable. The excessive life in Hollywood is just as much a part of it as the secrets behind the scenes. Because Rob and Fab don’t sing themselves, they just lip sync to the voices of other singers. In the midst of her Grammy win and a tour of America, the truth finally comes to light. While those behind the crime quickly retreat, Rob and Fab find themselves at the center of the biggest scandal in music history.