"Krystal," a kooky romantic comedy filmed in south metro Atlanta and starring Felicity Huffman and her husband William H. Macy, premiered at a Virginia film festival in November 2017. That's right around the time, the FBI alleges, Huffman was involved in a scheme to fraudulently boost her daughter's SAT scores.
Authorities say Huffman, known for her role on "Desperate Housewives," was among a slew of well-heeled parents involved in a pricey racket to land their kids at elite colleges. "Full House" actress Lori Loughlin was also among the alleged suspects.
The wide-ranging scam involved the Key Worldwide Foundation, a purported charity that actually served as a pipeline for the alleged suspects to funnel bribes, the Justice Department says. The payments in some cases secured private "proctors" who would pretend to administer the SAT, then secretly correct errors afterward to result in higher scores, authorities say.
Charging documents say Huffman started corresponding with a person identified only as a “cooperating witness” in the summer of 2017 and allege that “Huffman and her spouse made a purported charitable contribution of $15,000 to KWF to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on behalf of her oldest daughter.”
Macy isn’t named in the documents and hasn’t been charged. He directed “Krystal,” which also starred Atlanta artist T.I., Rosario Dawson, Nick Robinson and Kathy Bates. It’s about a lovelorn teen (Robinson) who pretends to be an alcoholic so he can attend AA meetings with Krystal (played by Dawson), the object of his affection. Its cinematic release was in 2018.
We visited the set when the movie was filming in 2016 and got a few minutes with Macy.
“It’s been a really lovely experience,” said Macy, who grew up in Macon and Decatur. “It feels like home, to a certain extent, to be here.”
We didn’t talk about kids or college during our short interview but he did mention how much he enjoyed working with his wife.
“It’s always fun to act with Felicity. She’s a hoot to act with. She’s incredibly talented and she’s great fun and unexpected,” he said. “You never know what she’s going to do.”
Here’s the video:
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