Bryan Singer Makes a Big-Screen Comeback After Nearly a Decade — In Theaters Now

Paramount, apparently unsatisfied with an ordinary year in Hollywood, has gone full chaos mode and decided to give second (or third, or fourth) chances to a bunch of industry figures who weren’t exactly waiting by the phone for good PR. It’s not just a small club either—think more like a reunion tour of problematic men whose names you probably know, most with serious allegations in their pasts and some with ties high up (yep, even to the White House). If you’ve noticed a whiff of ‘boys will be boys’ energy lately, it’s not your imagination.

So let’s break down who’s been getting the invites. Paramount has recently hired just a slew: Johnny Depp, Brett Ratner, ex-NBC boss Jeff Shell, and animation legend John Lasseter. Even Max Landis got a brief shot, though he was dropped before his mug made it on set. Five hires, five men accused of sexual misconduct—I'm not saying they’re hosting a club meeting, but… you see the pattern.

It’s impossible to talk about this without mentioning Bryan Singer, whose career and controversies are basically the definition of Hollywood’s ‘can’t look away’ problem. Singer was booted off Bohemian Rhapsody back in 2018 when sexual assault allegations reached the tipping point. He’d faced these accusations on and off since 1997. Before things imploded, he had some serious industry cred directing staples like The Usual Suspects and Apt Pupil. At one point USC even named a film program after him—until students protested, and that name quietly vanished. After exiting the spotlight, Singer deleted his socials and jetted to Israel.

Fast forward to August 2025. Out of the blue, Singer is back with a new movie called Monument, aiming to make his directorial comeback. But here’s the twist: even after wrapping up years ago, Monument is still flying under the radar in the U.S. Nobody’s picked it up for distribution here. Either everyone’s nervous, or they’re just waiting to see who blinks first.

The Movie: Monument

• Setting: 2019, during Israel’s occupation of Lebanon
• Plot: Jon Voight plays Yacov Rechter, commissioned to design a memorial to fallen Israeli soldiers. His son Amnon (Joseph Mazzello) wants the monument to recognize all victims, not just one side.
• Written by: Alena Alova
• Produced by: Bad Hat Harry Productions
• Trailer highlight: Amnon questions everything:

  "The security zone should be the war zone, and our presence should be called what it is, an occupation, and the Lebanese army should be called our proxy militia, Lebanon is our Vietnam. Our government constantly undermines the very ideals they claim to promote."

• Cast: Jon Voight, Joseph Mazzello

The film finished shooting three years back, before the October 7 attacks—a key detail that makes its release right now almost awkwardly well-timed. The current Israel/Iran war hovers over everything, and let’s just say it’s not a subtle movie.

Reviews? Almost non-existent. The Jerusalem Post basically said it comes across as an outsider’s perspective—sympathetic but not exactly in-the-weeds when it comes to Israeli details (and Singer isn’t Israeli). Still, early audience reactions have reportedly been engaged, especially at a UCLA screening where, according to Singer, students from all backgrounds stuck around for 90 minutes to actually talk—proving if nothing else that the movie does spark massive conversation.

Or as Singer describes it:

"Among American students, Israeli students, Arab students, Lebanese students, other students. It was great to see—and listen to."

At the end of the day, Monument might be less about the drama onscreen and more about the one off of it: a comeback attempt from a director whose baggage is heavier than most, and a movie that will mean very different things to different people depending on where you stand. With Hollywood’s current hiring spree, everyone’s favorite question is back: just how far can (and should) studios separate art from artist? Stay tuned—this saga’s nowhere near over.