Harvey Weinstein megaproducer and executive ousted over sexual harassment

screech

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7,409
I don't need to be reminded that Woody Allen pursued the 16-year old Soon-yi (at least IIRC she was 16?).
According to Soon-Yi, she was a 21 year old college freshman, and the first time he was ever really nice to her she was in grade 11 (so probably 18ish), since she says in the article that she was 2 years behind in school.

Soon-Yi's siblings have panned the article. Saying how it's hard for the author to be impartial because it's freely admitted that the author is a friend of Woody's for 40 years, and there are no quotes from Mia, who is painted as a villain in the article. Ronan (who Soon-Yi refers to by his first name 'Satchel' throughout the article) has called on the journalistic integrity of the article and its author.
 

PeterG

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13,624
On The View today, it was mentioned that Julie Chen is leaving the daytime show The Talk. Maybe to help her husband deal with stories like this:

'Designing Women' Creator Goes Public With Les Moonves War: Not All Harassment Is Sexual

Linda Bloodworth Thomason, one of CBS' biggest hitmakers, reveals the disgraced mogul kept her shows off the air for seven years: "People asked me for years, 'What happened to you?' Les Moonves happened to me."

Lots of shocking info in this article. :fragile:


Exclusive: Les Moonves Was Obsessed With Ruining Janet Jackson’s Career, Sources Say

After Jackson and Justin Timberlake, both were banned from performing (as their were scheduled to) on the upcoming Grammy awards. Moonves wanted them both to apologize. Both did. Timberlake "tearfully apologized" in his interview. Jackson was less dramatic with her apology. Which apparently did not sell with Moonves, who allowed Timberlake to perform on the Grammy awards. Jackson was not allowed...

The CBS chief executive, according to sources who spoke to me, was furious that Jackson didn’t make a similarly contrite apology to him. The fallout from the incident inflicted significant damage on Jackson’s career ― which until that point had produced 10 No. 1 hits ― and still reverberates to this day.

The punishment got worse:

Moonves ordered Viacom properties VH1 and MTV, and all Viacom-owned radio stations, to stop playing Jackson’s songs and music videos. The move had a huge impact on sales of her album “Damita Jo,” which was released in March 2004, just a month after the Super Bowl.

Seven years later, a book by Jackson was published by Simon & Schuster, a CBS-owned company. Moonves was furious, cursing while asking how this got past him. One source for all of this refused to go on record because:

“I’m not interested in having that man following me to the grave and trying to screw me over the whole time.”
 

BaileyCatts

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But why is Julie Chen being punished for the actions of her husband, some that occurred years before she even met the man?
 

PeterG

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But why is Julie Chen being punished for the actions of her husband, some that occurred years before she even met the man?

What makes you think she's being punished? She chose to leave The Talk, but remains as host of Big Brother.
 

overedge

Mayor of Carrot City
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35,792
But why is Julie Chen being punished for the actions of her husband, some that occurred years before she even met the man?

I can't find an online link, but some sources said when she defended him on-air, or defended men accused of #metoo in general, she mentioned details that weren't yet publicly known. So even if she didn't know him at the time when the events happened, he might have been telling her things about them later on. I.e. she might have known about harassment taking place and she didn't report it.
 

PeterG

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Why do you think that? His comedies are very funny but I'm not sure they rise to the level of genius.

19 Oscar nominations, four wins (nominated for acting, for writing and for directing)

24 BAFTA nominations, ten wins, also a BAFTA Fellowship winner

13 Golden Globe nominations, two wins, also a Cecil B. DeMille Award winner

3 Grammy nominations, one win

Allen has also directed eighteen people to an Oscar nomination, with 7 of those 18 winning the Oscar. He is also a Tony award nominee, has written eight books and six plays.

How much more does one need to accomplish to be considered a genius?
 

MacMadame

Doing all the things
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58,281
I don't think winning awards equals genius. Awards are notoriously arbitrary and also often political. There are plenty of people who have won lots of awards that no one calls a genius.

Personally I stopped watching his films after Manhattan. I found them self-serving and repetitive.
 

VGThuy

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I won't go in too deep into it, but you don't have to think he's a genius. Some do though. I personally think his films are some of the best films I've seen, especially the 1980s ones. That said, I haven't seen a film of his since Blue Jasmine, and I don't think I'm going to watch or rewatch his films anymore because the issues I have as I've gotten older and became more aware. What was eccentric and acceptable about his behavior back then is now seen as less so now that people have become more aware.
 

overedge

Mayor of Carrot City
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35,792
IMO a lot of the nominations, awards, etc. that Allen gets are from people and organizations trying to signal that they're artsy intellectuals because they like his work and other people don't. And I think he gets recognized as a director because actors like working with him, not necessarily because the end product is great. How many times have his films been some variation on the plot of "hot young babe falls in love with older misfit guy"? Again IMO, the cumulative quality of his work across the years, with the exception of only a few films after Annie Hall, doesn't justify the number of nominations/awards he's received.

I think he's very smart about marketing himself. E.g. Mia Farrow talked in her book about how he cultivates the public image of a rumpled schmuck who's too much of an intellectual to care about how he looks, but all those khakis and shirts that he wears come from the very best clothing stores and he's very fussy about them. But I don't think that being good at cultivating a public persona is the same as being a genius.
 

VGThuy

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Anybody interested in what's going on at the New York City Ballet and the lawsuit against it and three of its male dancers?

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/lo...t-sex-scandal-lawsuit-new-details/1349505002/

Apparently one of the dancers, who has resigned, shared photos and videos of a sexual nature of a NYCB student he was dating among other male dancers (who also provided their own footage and encouraged each other to share it), employees, a donor, and even a pimp. The footage was taken without her knowledge and of course that means the fact that he shared them was also done without her knowledge. She alleges that the NYCB fostered an environment where these male dancers felt they could get away with this behavior. I wonder how male ballet dancers are treated since apparently there's much less of them than female dancers, thus they are seen as more valuable to a company.
 

Wyliefan

Ubering juniors against my will
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I was following that case on a Broadway message board, because one of the men is playing Jigger in Carousel. He got fired from the ballet company but is still in the Broadway show, which seems a bit weird. I suppose they'd say they don't have grounds to fire him since he didn't do anything to any members of their cast, but still.
 

PeterG

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I was following that case on a Broadway message board, because one of the men is playing Jigger in Carousel. He got fired from the ballet company but is still in the Broadway show, which seems a bit weird. I suppose they'd say they don't have grounds to fire him since he didn't do anything to any members of their cast, but still.

As far as I know, Kevin Spacey didn't do anything to the cast or crew of House of Cards...
 

Tinami Amori

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IMO a lot of the nominations, awards, etc. that Allen gets are from people and organizations trying to signal that they're artsy intellectuals because they like his work and other people don't.
I found his earlier films in some ways "abusive": I am paying for the privilege of watching and listening to him, figuratively speaking, recline on a psychiatrist's couch and spill all his phobias, insecurities, perversions and fantasies on me. At least paying Tom Sawyer to paint his fence was an exercise.

I think he's very smart about marketing himself.
Absolutely! Allen's claim on "intellectuals" one could not yell "the emperor has no clothes". But then there are a lot of "cheap cliches" lately one can adopt and phrases one can say to claim an "intellectual" label.

Allen's later movies, Barcelona-Paris-Rome-San-Francisco series, are better but still annoying because he is "preaching".
 

Japanfan

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Why do you think that? His comedies are very funny but I'm not sure they rise to the level of genius.

More specifically, I thought some of his dialogue was brilliant in the past. Keeping in mind that it's been over 20 years since I've watched an Allen film, the films that come to mind are "Stardust Memories", "Husbands and Wives" (I recall finding it very real and easy to relate to), "Interiors", and "Another Woman". Allen was gracious enough not to appear in the latter two movies, and "Another Woman" is my favorite, especially given that I love Gena Rowlands.

In light of coming to view Allen as a completely self-absorbed narcissist - and rather a spoiled brat of Hollywood - I don't know whether I would still consider any of his dialogue brilliant today. The angsty laments about life in rich summer homes that ultimately turned me off Allen's films for goods were not brilliant IMO, merely self-indulgent and short-sighted (i.e. Allen does realize that everyone is not rich, famous and entitled?).
 
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Jenny

From the Bloc
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How many times have his films been some variation on the plot of "hot young babe falls in love with older misfit guy"?

Maybe in the past, but in recent years, that's not been the case. Two examples are Match Point and VickyChristinaBarcelona, very different in their plot lines and styles than his early movies, and he's not even in either one of them.

But on that point, think about the number of American sitcoms where the husband is overweight and goofy while his wife is thin and pretty. Been like that for decades, still like that in many cases.

As far as I know, Kevin Spacey didn't do anything to the cast or crew of House of Cards...

One of the stories that came out at the time was from a crew member who said Spacey grabbed at him, put his hand down his pants etc.
 

VGThuy

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I think one issue is that Carousel was closing that week anyway when these allegations came out, and the dancer in that show hadn't yet been added to the lawsuit.
 

Sylvia

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Why thousands of Google employees are protesting across the world: https://www.vox.com/2018/11/1/18051884/google-employee-walkouts-explained
Thousands of Google employees across the world walked off the job Thursday to protest the company’s mishandling of sexual harassment claims.
The protests started at Google’s offices in Tokyo, then Singapore, followed by massive walkouts across Europe and the East Coast of the United States. They happened at 11:10 am local time in each time zone and were meant to send a clear message to Google executives: The company’s culture is unacceptable.
Employee anger has been building since the New York Times published an article last week detailing how Google paid millions of dollars in exit packages to male executives accused of sexual harassment, while staying silent about the misconduct.
That included a $90 million payout in 2014 to Andy Rubin, the creator of the Android phone, who allegedly coerced a female subordinate into performing oral sex on him. (Rubin denies it, though a Google investigation found the claim credible.) After leaving, Google invested in his next business venture, according to the Times.
 

Sylvia

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https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/01/07/live-updates-arraignment-of-kevin-spacey-on-nantucket/
Kevin Spacey didn’t say a word publicly during or after his brief court appearance Monday, merely grinning ear to ear as he was driven away from the Nantucket courthouse where he entered a plea of not guilty to a sexual-assault charge.
The Oscar-winning Spacey, 59, is charged with a single felony count of indecent assault and battery after the son of former WCVB anchor Heather Unruh accused him of putting a hand down the then-18-year-old’s pants at an upscale bar on the island. As part of the conditions to release Spacey on his own recognizance, Judge Thomas Barrett ordered that the “American Beauty” actor stay away from Unruh’s son.
The next hearing will be Monday, March 4, and the actor will not be required to attend.
 

Sylvia

TBD
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Bryan Singer Reacts to Bohemian Rhapsody’s Globe Wins After Backstage Turmoil: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/01/golden-globes-2019-bryan-singer-bohemian-rhapsody
Singer also posted about the film’s wins for best drama and best actor (which went to Rami Malek) on his Instagram story. When the film won those categories, neither Malek nor [Dexter] Fletcher, who stepped in to finish Bohemian Rhapsody after Singer was fired, mentioned the film’s former director in their acceptance speeches. When asked in the show’s press room about Singer, producer Graham King reportedly replied, “That’s not something we should talk about tonight,” before Queen’s lead guitarist, Brian May, added, “Good question, though.”
“So we just..we are all still supposed to be pretending we don’t know about Bryan Singer?” actress Evan Rachel Wood later asked on Twitter. “Cause it worked out really well with #Spacey and #Weinstein.”
 
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aftershocks

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Bringing the Bryan Singer discussion that began in Golden Globes thread over here:

The accused director in question's name is: Bryan Singer. Some posters have been spelling his first name as Brian.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Singer

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bryan-...n-globe-award-on-social-media-causing-uproar/

https://www.theatlantic.com/enterta...-significance-of-bryan-singers-firing/547490/

https://www.vulture.com/2014/09/michael-egan-bryan-singer-lawsuit.html

https://www.nickiswift.com/99520/shady-side-bryan-singer/

https://www.vulture.com/2014/09/michael-egan-bryan-singer-lawsuit.html About Michael Egan, the victim who is suing -- includes shocking and sad descriptions of sexual abuse of teen-age boys (Repeats mention of Singer's heated dust-up with Halle Berry on X-Men 2, also detailed in the below article; Halle has never spoken of the incident publicly)

https://www.indiewire.com/2017/12/bryan-singer-sexual-assault-rape-allegations-timeline-1201903868/
Provides an interesting rundown of troubling on-set behavior and shutdown delays on some of Singer's films, including The Usual Suspects (involving Kevin Spacey), and an instance on X-Men 2 when the actors were angered by a shutdown precipitated after an argument between Singer and Tom DeSanto (a producer/screenwriter). Reportedly during a meeting between Singer and the actors, Halle Berry became further upset and left the trailer saying, "You can watch my black ass walk out of here."

This makes me wonder about the prevalent excesses in the world of Hollywood, which can happen in other professions too. But the extent of the money, glamor, temptations and rags-to-riches opportunities make the Hollywood scene ripe for abuses of all kinds (emotional, psychological, sexual, drug addiction, alcoholism etc.) It can happen in any walk of life, but these dangers can become larger-than-life in Hollywood. It seems as if the importance of minors being accompanied by chaperones should be a legal requirement. Also, the industry needs to pay more attention to tracking down the rumors, taking the accusations more seriously, and addressing/ correcting the abuses.

Singer became a wunderkind moneymaking director who was above the law apparently, similar to Kevin Spacey.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-fox-hired-fired-bryan-singer-bohemian-rhapsody-1156527
"... taking a risk even on a deeply troubled talent might have led to rich rewards for 20th Century Fox."

"'There are artists we work with who are complex and raw in their behavior,' an executive working on Bohemian Rhapsody said. 'Do we tolerate any of that kind of behavior going forward? I don't think Bryan is an interesting debate anymore. There are a bunch of other people who are.'"

None of the described behavior should be viewed as "an interesting debate."
 

aftershocks

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Ah, after reading the posts in here, I really have to say that life is not cut-and-dried, and neither are humans and the behavior of humans. For example, I think it's possible to be a genius and an asshole at the same time. Just as it's possible to be a kind, amazing, caring, talented and rich person who does good deeds at the same time. Society often treats such people in both categories the same, with blinkers on.

It's also possible for everyone to be in love with you and to overlook eccentricities and rumors when you are making money for everyone. It's also possible for everyone to suddenly despise you and claim they always hated your films when times change and the mood of the culture does a 360.

Whoever said life is easy? And why does anyone think the fcuk-up experiences and ****ed-up people who inhabit this world are a black vs white issue? There are way more than 50 shades of gray, as well as clearcut instances of society overlooking and ignoring clearcut, troubling concerns right up until the shit hits the fan. And sometimes even then, absolutely nothing is done to tackle obviously serious issues. We know of all kinds of prevalent examples in the sport of figure skating, not just involving sexual abuse, but involving ignoring and inadequately addressing troubling problems that face the sport.

National Rifle Association, anyone (especially post Sandy Hook school shooting)? Trump, anyone (especially after he first opened his mouth to declare his presidential candidacy)? :rolleyes: :duh: Fuhgettabout everything that has happened since then. Sarah Sanders and a whole lot of people in the Trump administration are headache-inducing, living nightmares. We are existing in a time-bomb universe if you ask me; mundane surreality obscuring the omnipresent likelihood of explosive calamity stalking the horizon. Anyone personally affected or know people who are being affected by the government shutdown? Climate Change, anyone? :yikes: :scream:
 

Japanfan

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Ah, after reading the posts in here, I really have to say that life is not cut-and-dried, and neither are humans and the behavior of humans. For example, I think it's possible to be a genius and an asshole at the same time. Just as it's possible to be a kind, amazing, caring, talented and rich person who does good deeds at the same time. Society often treats such people in both categories the same, with blinkers on.

Sexual harassment is pretty cut-and-dried.

It's also possible for everyone to be in love with you and to overlook eccentricities and rumors when you are making money for everyone.

Sexual harassment and rape allegations (i.e. Roman Polanski) are a bit more than just 'eccentricities'/

It's also possible for everyone to suddenly despise you and claim they always hated your films when times change and the mood of the culture does a 360.

Possibly. But I think actors still jump at a chance to work on a Woody Allen film, and the public still flocks to Woody Allen films (myself being an exception).

Whoever said life is easy? And why does anyone think the fcuk-up experiences and ****ed-up people who inhabit this world are a black vs white issue? There are way more than 50 shades of gray, as well as clearcut instances of society overlooking and ignoring clearcut, troubling concerns right up until the shit hits the fan.

Depends on the issue. When it pertains to a possible violation of the law, it needs to be heard in a court of law.

And sometimes even then, absolutely nothing is done to tackle obviously serious issues. We know of all kinds of prevalent examples in the sport of figure skating, not just involving sexual abuse, but involving ignoring and inadequately addressing troubling problems that face the sport.

True. :wuzrobbed
 

Jay42

Between the click of the light
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In the case of Woody Allen, his most recent films have been part of his Amazon deal and Amazon shelved his most recent film, A Rainy Day in New York, back in August with no projected release date as of yet. If you Google Woody Allen Amazon you'll find several search results talking about Amazon wanting to cut ties with him after Wonder Wheel bombed. Also a lot of the cast for Rainy Day apologized and said they regretted choosing to work for Woody Allen, some I think even donated their salaries to women's organizations. There's also a movie on his IMDb page that just says Untitled Woody Allen Project but no one has signed on for it and there's no set release date. As I imagine it's part of his Amazon deal I would be surprised if it actually gets made.

In the case of Roman Polanski, it wasn't allegations, he plead guilty to unlawful sex with a minor to avoid a rape charge and then fled the country when he found out the judge intended to put him in jail despite pleading to a lesser charge.
 

aftershocks

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Sexual harassment is pretty cut-and-dried...
Sexual harassment and rape allegations (i.e. Roman Polanski) are a bit more than just 'eccentricities'/

Sure, tell that to some corporate execs and human resources managers in this here ol' US of A. Tell that to the judges and police officers who ruled against and declined to pursue sexual abuse allegations made by Michael Egan against Bryan Singer and other prominent men (Egan was a minor at the time of the alleged assaults, but he made the accusations years later, and has since been sentenced to jail himself on charges of investment fraud); tell that to writer Roxane Gay (and read her book, Hunger: A Memoir of my body); tell that to all the people in Hollywood who still admire Polanski and Allen, and possibly disbelieve or prefer to ignore their scandalous behavior; tell that to Brett Kavanaugh accuser, Christine Blasey-Ford; tell that to Clarence Thomas accuser, Anita Hill. (And as @Nell411 points out, Polanski pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and later fled the U.S. to avoid jail time).

It's surely pretty cut-and-dried when the harassment and rape occur, but not when you try to report it, especially not 20 to 30 years after the fact; especially not when some of the worst abuses are never reported, never brought to light; and often especially when they are reported. Cut-and-dried is a f'ing bastard pimp masquerading as a b**ch in broad daylight.

Possibly. But I think actors still jump at a chance to work on a Woody Allen film, and the public still flocks to Woody Allen films (myself being an exception).

Okay, maybe not everyone turned against Woody, particularly not at first. Initially, Mia Farrow was painted in a negative light and people took sides, and plenty of actors continued to work with Woody. More recently, a lot of peeps are edging away from association with Woody. But yep, like I said, it's quite possible to be a genius and an asshole at the same time. But if you are seen as a genius with 'asshole' behavior carefully under wraps, oh well, it's still possible to be loved. And it's still possible for an asshat to live in relatively comfortable denial. My original point still stands in response to some of the posted comments I read and was referencing. If you don't get what I'm saying, that's okay too.

Depends on the issue. When it pertains to a possible violation of the law, it needs to be heard in a court of law.

See it as you will. Your rejoinder here is a perfect example of you not getting what I said, not even in the ballpark, which is fine. Carry on.


Bingo. But crying a river of tears is not going to change anything.
 
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Japanfan

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Sure, tell that to some corporate execs and human resources managers in this here ol' US of A. Tell that to the judges and police officers who ruled against and declined to pursue sexual abuse allegations made by Michael Egan against Bryan Singer and other prominent men (Egan was a minor at the time of the alleged assaults, but he made the accusations years later, and has since been sentenced to jail himself on charges of investment fraud); tell that to writer Roxane Gay (and read her book, Hunger: A Memoir of my body); tell that to all the people in Hollywood who still admire Polanski and Allen, and possibly disbelieve or prefer to ignore their scandalous behavior; tell that to Brett Kavanaugh accuser, Christine Blasey-Ford; tell that to Clarence Thomas accuser, Anita Hill. (And as @Nell411 points out, Polanski pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and later fled the U.S. to avoid jail time).

It's surely pretty cut-and-dried when the harassment and rape occur, but not when you try to report it, especially not 20 to 30 years after the fact; especially not when some of the worst abuses are never reported, never brought to light; and often especially when they are reported. Cut-and-dried is a f'ing bastard pimp masquerading as a b**ch in broad daylight.

I agree with all of the above.

If you don't get what I'm saying, that's okay too.

See it as you will. Your rejoinder here is a perfect example of you not getting what I said, not even in the ballpark, which is fine. Carry on.

Care to explain further?

Bingo. But crying a river of tears is not going to change anything.

What would change anything?
 

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