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Now he's been outed as a serial sexual abuser in the New York Times. Read the story here. If you want to hear how this class guy (allegedly) masturbated into a potted plant in front of a television reporter, you can read this story. His feminist lawyer Lisa Bloom apparently jumped ship, although I doubt she will ever be able to wash away the stink of her initial defense of him. (I wonder if Harv is still going to turn her book into a mini-series?) Now actress Rose McGowan, who alluded to Weinstein as "her rapist" in a tweet, is calling out other actresses in Hollywood on their silence. Good for her. It's about time. I want to congratulate her and Ashley Judd for speaking out. It took a lot of courage, especially in light of all of the luminaries who have remained silent. Bravo.
That's all great, but the truth of the matter is that Harvey Weinstein is not alone. Hollywood is filled to the brim with abusers who will take advantage of people willing to do anything to succeed in the movie or television industry. The casting couch is as old as Hollywood itself. I recently stopped reading a book on David O'Selznick, the producer of Gone With The Wind, because I was disgusted with his matter-of-fact harassment of actresses. But the problem goes far beyond sexual abuse, or even corrupt business dealings. Some of these tin-plated. little gods are so used to having their way in all things without question that they feel they can ignore the law and safety procedures. That's how poor Sarah Jones ended up dead on a railroad bridge in Georgia. And let's not forget Vic Murrow and the two children who died with him on the set of the Twilight Zone movie. Trust me, they are not the only fatalities of the unbridled hubris of producers and directors.
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| Sarah Jones, victim of filmmaker hubris. |
Although I haven't paid the awful price that many have paid in Hollywood, I have, as Mick Jagger might say, received "my fair share of abuse" from these self-entitled abusers*, but that's not what makes me angry now. I am more angry at a Christian producer/distributor who hired a friend of mine to edit a book he wanted to publish and then simply neglected to pay her. I am even angrier at one of the producers of a successful theatrical faith-based film, who now runs and an "advisory film service." An author friend of mine, who is very naive about the film business, called him. He told her that her book, which he had not read, could indeed be a movie. After a four hour sales pitch, this good Christian had her agreeing to pay over $20,000 in advisory services, after which he would try to help her raise the money to make her film. Fortunately, this nearly-retirement age woman called me before she signed any contracts. She was initially shocked that I thought the guy was a charlatan. She asked me how much money I had to pay to have one of my scripts made into a movie. "Nothing," I told her. "They paid me. That's how it supposed to work." Strange, that isn't what her advisor taught her.
Say what you want about Harvey Weinstein, but at least he didn't wrap the cloak of Christ around himself when he abused people.
I would like to think that Harvey Weinstein's downfall came because the film community has become sufficiently "woke" to the problem of sexual harassment, but I doubt that is the case. I believe if Harvey was still enjoying the success he did during the 1990s and the 2000s people would have continued to turn a blind eye to his abuses. The glint of money and fame blinds an awful lot of people to ethical wrongdoing. But now there's one thing I don't have to worry about anymore. Not too long ago, I complained about the business practices of a certain Christian producer. The person pooh-poohed my concerns and said that the producer "wasn't doing anything Harvey Weinstein doesn't do."
Now, thank God, no one will be able to use Harvey Weinstein as an acceptable excuse for bad behavior.
Rest in Peace, Harvey.
*I will tell my own tale of woe in a future book tentatively called "Christploitation: Memoirs of a Movie Missionary." Until then, feel free to read my memoir, The Promise, or the Pros and Cons of Talking with God, a tale of first faith and first love and how the two became almost fatally intertwined.
Other blogs about the film business:
The Downward Media Spiral, Part 1Follow me on Twitter: SeanPaulMurphy
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