‘Innocence Of Muslims’ Director Found: Sortcore Porn Director Alan Roberts

More details surrounding the anti-Islamist film that set off a powder keg of violence and unrest in the Middle East have been slowly emerging throughout the day. The biggest so far? The director of Innocence of Muslims has been discovered.

Gawker has confirmed that the director of the film is one Alan Roberts, whom they call “a schlocky softcore porn director.” The 65-year-old Roberts is listed as the director on the film’s casting calls and call sheets from the summer of 2011, when the film was called Desert Warriors. This news comes nicely coupled with reports of the true identity of one “Sam Bacile,” an alias for the man who was the so-called “brains” behind the offensive film. Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was confirmed to be the notorious “Bacile,” discovered to be an Egyptian Coptic Christian and charlatan hiding in California.

It was Nakoula who brought on Roberts, whose IMDb page shows a resume of softcore erotica and low-budget films.

“I am sure it was the same Alan Roberts, as I remember him speaking about this project,” said filmmaker David A. Prior, a longtime acquaintance of Roberts. Another anonymous business partner of Roberts also confirmed his involvement. “He did work on [Innocence of Muslims],” he said.

Though we’re getting closer, details about the film’s production are still unclear. It was recently confirmed by some of the film’s cast that they were unaware of the anti-Islamist themes that wound up in the final product, an alibi confirmed by the film’s seemingly over-dubbed dialogue. It is unknown whether Roberts was another patsy fooled by Nakoula, but sources seem to indicate that he was as clueless as his actors.

“They redubbed it, they brought in the actors, put in new sounds, changed the names,” said the business partner. “And this was done later, before it was initially released. Of course Alan had nothing to do with it.”

One of the actresses in the film concurred, saying:

“My gut tells me he was just a has-been director who was trying to prove he could still be Hollywood.”

Alan Roberts (itself an apparent alias for one Robert Brownell) does have several high profile editing entries on his resume:

“At one time he edited some fairly large films but he really never got a break to the really big ones for whatever reasons,” said the business partner. “But for the work I’ve seen, the editing he’s done, he’s actually very creative.”

Attempts to reach out to Roberts have gone nowhere. After news of Innocence of Muslims hit the mainstream, he apparently went into hiding.