I was wondering if our British dopers can chime in with any leading figures in British entertainment that could give old Harvey (and Bob) Weinstein a lesson in bad behavior? I know about Jimmy Saville, so are there any other British directors, producers, etc., with sexual harassment/assault claims against them?
Sure: Alfred fucking Hitchcock. I love his movies that asshole.
She “took his money…” any further details you may have on the circumstances thereof? A young actress in 1997 (24, with a few named and credited scenes under her belt) did not take it to the hilt against Harvey Fucking Weinstein? Who by 1997 already had Pulp Fiction under his belt and a whole, slew of other credits, Im guessing he was a pretty major power by then.
So you mentioned she “had a lawyer” - what do you suppose the lawyer of a young actress in the 90s against the egal department of Miramax?
Jesus christ, you are not the one who gets to decide if what she did was in the interest of women or Just or McGowan or the world. She made a choice to accept a settlement, that may or may not have had a NDA, and she eventually did speak out. And you don’t get to judge that.
OK I’ll be the first to mention one little thing that I’ve wondered about.
We have the women who were approached and turned Weinstein down (often with adverse effects to their careers).
We have the women who were apparently unable to fight him off and were sexually assaulted and in some cases paid off.
We have the people who “heard rumors” but didn’t feel comfortable speaking up at the time but now say they wish they did.
We have the people who state they never were approached and never saw anything and now say they would have said something if they knew.
Am I the only one wondering about one last group, the women who slept with him to further their careers? I can’t be the only one who thinks that there are probably more than a few of them out there. Granted, the fact that they gave in under coersion or even physical threat does NOT mean that they are to blame, but just wondering who his approach actually worked on that made him think he could keep doing it. Might want to see if there are any actresses who kept getting starring roles in Miramax productions. I suspect some in the groups above are in this category and I don’t blame them for not coming forward although it would help to underscore the fact that this behavior is wrong, even if a woman can be coerced for the sake of her career.
Anybody know if Tarantino has had anything to say about this? If there is a director today who owes more to Weinstein than Tarantino (and, in many ways, vice versa), I don’t know the name. From everything I know, QT loved his professional relationship with HW, saying HW gives him the freedom and the bank to make whatever movie he wants.
Surely that’s going to change. Will QT now become, god forbid, a director for hire?
Ill admit I have wondered something similar. BUT I can’t imagine a lot of women will be willing that yes, they gave in, and thats why they are where they are now.
“Yes, I totally slept my way to the top” couldn’t be an an easy admission to voice, even if it isn’t exactly true.Some may have given in to not be ruined.
I saw a comment the other day where someone got blackballed from Weinstein’s movies because he warned an actress about Weinstein, not knowing that she was already sleeping with him. The actress mentioned it to Weinstein and a furious Weinstein called the next day to inform this person that they’d never work in another Weinstein (or maybe Miramax) film. Apart from the fact that this struck me as the height of ingratitude and betrayal of someone trying to look out for this actress’s best interests, it also made me wonder just how many there’ve been who have slept with him to get ahead. And given that some of his behavior as described is so bizarre (watch him showering, masturbating while watching them, etc.) that I’ve wondered if perhaps some of the victims speaking out now slept with him but don’t want to admit it so they’ve come up with these other stories instead in an effort to bring him down. It just doesn’t make sense that a guy in his position wouldn’t even try to get some of these women into bed, but instead just wants them to watch him do pervy things with no mention of actual sex.
Maybe not, if women start coming forward about him too…
To hear Asia Argento’s story, that was a fair bit of it. She was raped and that appears to have more or less broken her, in some ways to this day. She admits to having had consensual sex with Weinstein subsequent to her rape for several years in her early twenties, but seems to regard that whole episode in her life with residual loathing( including self-loathing ).
But from Weinstein’s POV, no doubt she was the very picture of a “success.” He got laid repeatedly over a period of years with his hot young “friend.” Hard to blame Argento too much IMHO, she sounds pretty scarred. But it surely did work towards encouraging his actions.
It’s a long list, going back decades, and not just in the entertainment world. I expect a few famous names are feeling a bit anxious right now.
I don’t see why, nobody seems to want to name any other names besides Weinstein. As deserved as the pile on is I was hoping women would start coming forward about other people already, he sure as hell isn’t the only abuser in Hollywood.
Why is it more aren’t being put on blast? Rape culture would be my guess.
Kevin Smith has pledged to donate all future residuals from his Weinstein financed films to a woman’s charity.
When this all began I was happy that people like Weinstein were at last getting their just deserts. It has now mushroomed into something I find a little worrying, and I’m not alone in this. Several commentators have warned that this is taking on shades of a McCarthyist witch hunt. Men are being ‘exposed’ for behavior that is no more than flirtational. Yes, take down true predators like Weinstein but don’t start asserting that every guy who ever winked at a woman is a sexist monster. Weinstein’s brother is now being accused of predation because he asked his secretary or whatever out. It’s common knowledge that the guy is nothing like his brother. But in this climate to be once accused is to stand convicted. And that is not right.
It’s probably a good idea for people to never ask subordinates out. There’s always the power imbalance that makes the underling worry about the consequences if they say no. So while his brother may not be a sexual harasser, that is a behavior commonly found in harassers. It’s too bad he’s getting caught up in this, but the world would be a better place if bosses stopped trying to date their secretaries.
WTF is going on in the UK?
Eventually a few people got arrested and convicted. But only after years of abuse and the police and others in power covering it up.
No true Brit would do such a thing.
Lupita Nyong’o tells her story in an in-depth essay. Just SMH nothing to say that hasn’t already been said.