“Now women are organized and united and together will beat the system, whether the men want it or not,” said the former Sony CEO. "It's hard to believe this isn't a sea change. The scandal surrounding disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein will prove to be “a watershed moment” for the film industry, says Howard Stringer, the former head of Sony Corp., and will bring about much-needed change and equality for women in show business. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the international TV market MIPCOM in Cannes on Monday, Stringer addressed the ever-growing Weinstein scandal, which includes dozens of allegations against the Oscar-winning producer, including sexual harassment, assault and even rape. Weinstein has since been fired from his own company, expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is under investigation by U.S. and British police over some of the allegations. Since the allegations surfaced many prominent actresses have … [Read more...] about Howard Stringer Calls Harvey Weinstein Scandal “A Watershed Moment” for Film Industry
Movies
Wim Wenders, Agnieszka Holland Criticize Firing of Polish Film Institute Head Over Letter to MPAA
Magdalena Sroka has been sacked as the head of the public body following allegations of "violations of legal regulations" in the letter. Wim Wenders and Agnieszka Holland are among more than 600 filmmakers who have written to Poland's culture minister criticizing the dismissal of the head of the Polish Film Institute. They claim that Polish law only allows the institute head to be dismissed by the government as a whole if it is proven that he or she has broken the law, which they claim is not the case so far. Magdalena Sroka, who had been in office two years, was fired last week for alleged breaches of professional responsibilities and "violations of legal regulations" in a letter the Institute sent to the Motion Picture Association of America. The letter, to MPAA president Christopher Dodd, sought to procure a license to use parts of the Oscars ceremony devoted to Polish filmmakers for a promotional film the institute intended for use during the Cannes film festival. The content of … [Read more...] about Wim Wenders, Agnieszka Holland Criticize Firing of Polish Film Institute Head Over Letter to MPAA
Björk Shares Story of Sexual Harassment by “Danish Director”
"i am inspired by the women everywhere who are speaking up online to tell about my experience," the musician wrote on Facebook. Following the allegations of sexual misconduct against Harvey Weinstein, Björk has shared a story of her own experiences with harassment in the film industry. “i am inspired by the women everywhere who are speaking up online to tell about my experience with a danish director,” the musician wrote in a post on her Facebook on Sunday. “it was extremely clear to me when i walked into the actresses profession that my humiliation and role as a lesser sexually harassed being was the norm and set in stone with the director and a staff of dozens who enabled it and encouraged it. i became aware of that it is a universal thing that a director can touch and harass his actresses at will and the institution of film allows it. She adds, “when i turned the director down repeatedly he sulked and punished me and created for his team an impressive … [Read more...] about Björk Shares Story of Sexual Harassment by “Danish Director”
French President Working to Rescind Weinstein’s Legion of Honor Award
Revoking the prestigious award is rare, although it also happened to another American: disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong. In another blow to Harvey Weinstein after he was ejected from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, France's president said Sunday he was working to rescind Weinstein's prestigious Legion of Honor award. Dozens of women have made allegations of sexual harassment and assault against the movie mogul in recent days, some dating back decades. Weinstein denies non-consensual sexual activity. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences took the almost unprecedented step Saturday of revoking Weinstein's membership. It said it did so "to send a message that the era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behavior and workplace harassment in our industry is over." Weinstein, who backed many British movies including Shakespeare in Love and The King's Speech, also has been suspended by the British film academy. The fallout from the … [Read more...] about French President Working to Rescind Weinstein’s Legion of Honor Award
Australian Actress Claims Harvey Weinstein Groped Her (Report)
Natalie Mendoza says, in Facebook posts reported by Australia's Herald Sun newspaper, that she told the mogul she'd "punch him if he didn’t take his hands off me." Australian actress Natalie Mendoza opened up about allegedly being groped by Harvey Weinstein in a couple of Facebook posts, according to a report in Australia's Herald Sun newspaper. Mendoza says she was lunged at by Weinstein during a private meeting, while she was filming 2005's The Great Raid, the newspaper reports. “I might have told Mr W mid-script ‘meeting’ after he sent his assistant out that I'd punch him if he didn’t take his hands off me,” she wrote in a Facebook post viewed by the Herald Sun. “Shook all the way home but high-fived myself for knowing my self worth in my early 20s." In a second post, the Herald Sun reports, Mendoza wrote, "I was so naive I did not realize it was a set-up. I managed to escape with my integrity intact. I was shaken and dazed but … [Read more...] about Australian Actress Claims Harvey Weinstein Groped Her (Report)
James Corden Apologizes for Harvey Weinstein amfAR Jokes
The 'Late Late Show' host was criticized by Rose McGowan and Asia Argento for his quips, which received a mixed response at the L.A. gala on Friday night. James Corden has apologized for his jokes about Harvey Weinstein at Friday night's amfAR gala in Los Angeles. The Late Late Show host, who emceed the event, made light of the sexual harassment and assault allegations against Weinstein. The quips received a mixed response in the room and later actresses Rose McGowan and Asia Argento, who have accused Weinstein of rape, slammed Corden for his comments. Corden himself took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon to apologize for what he said. More to come... … [Read more...] about James Corden Apologizes for Harvey Weinstein amfAR Jokes
Woody Allen Calls Harvey Weinstein Claims “Very Sad For Everybody Involved”
The filmmaker, who has been accused of molesting his adopted daughter, spoke to the BBC about the sexual harassment and assault allegations made against the former Weinstein Company executive. Woody Allen has opened up to the BBC about the sexual harassment and assault allegations made against Harvey Weinstein. The filmmaker, whose latest movie, Wonder Wheel, premiered at the New York Film Festival on Saturday night, told the British media outlet that he'd heard rumors of improper conduct by the mogul but, "No one ever came to me or told me horror stories with any real seriousness. And they wouldn't, because you are not interested in it. You are interested in making your movie." Beyond that Allen said he'd never heard any allegations of rape and sexual assault made against Weinstein. "But you do hear a million fanciful rumors all the time. And some turn out to be true and some - many - are just stories about this actress, or that actor," Allen said. He added that he found the … [Read more...] about Woody Allen Calls Harvey Weinstein Claims “Very Sad For Everybody Involved”
Harvey Weinstein Intern Alleges 1980 Harassment Incident With Naked Mogul
Paula Wachowiak, now 62, recalls a "traumatic" experience with Weinstein on one of his first films, including him asking her, "Was seeing me naked the highlight of your internship?" As more women come forward with sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein, a 62-year-old Buffalo woman has opened up about what may be the earliest reported alleged incident of harassment. In 1980, the woman says, Weinstein exposed himself to her and asked her for a massage in a hotel room before making a lewd remark. Paula Wachowiak, told the Buffalo News of her experience when she was a 24-year-old intern on one of his first movies, The Burning. Weinstein was then known as part of the concert promoting duo Harvey and Corky, working with Horace "Corky" Booker to book A-list rockers. Wachowiak, who was studying communications at the University at Buffalo, needed an internship for the summer and knew of Weinstein and Burger as concert bookers. She tried to get an internship with Harvey and … [Read more...] about Harvey Weinstein Intern Alleges 1980 Harassment Incident With Naked Mogul
‘The Ritual’: Film Review
A group of British friends take an ill-advised hiking holiday in the aftermath of personal tragedy in David Bruckner’s Netflix-bound backwoods horror yarn. Nordic Noir takes a dark detour into pagan folk-horror in The Ritual, a superior B-movie shocker set in the hinterlands of northern Sweden. Based on a prize-winning 2011 novel by British author Adam Nevill, this holiday-from-hell yarn was shot in Romania by American director David Bruckner, graduating to full-length features after several well-regarded contributions to horror anthologies. London-based Imaginarium Studios, co-founded by Andy Serkis, developed and produced the project with backing from Entertainment One. Brazenly riffing on vintage backwoods horror classics including Deliverance, The Evil Dead and The Blair Witch Project, Bruckner’s Scandi spookfest mostly relies on familiar plot twists and routine shocks. But it still boasts some superior psycho-thriller touches, plus a capable young cast led by Rafe … [Read more...] about ‘The Ritual’: Film Review
London Police Investigating 3 Further Harvey Weinstein Sexual Assault Claims
U.K. authorities were already looking into allegations from one victim. London's Metropolitan Police, already looking into claims that a woman was assaulted by Harvey Weinstein in the 1980s, is now investigating three further sexual assault allegations against the disgraced producer. According to the BBC, the police has said a second victim has alleged that she was assaulted by Weinstein in the burough of Westminster in 2010 and 2011, and in Camden in 2015. No further details were revealed. The news comes just a day after Weinstein was kicked out of the Motion Picture Academy. His BAFTA membership was suspended on Oct. 11, and The Hollywood Reporter understands he is expected to have his BFI Fellowship revoked. The disgraced mogul has denied allegations of non-consensual sex. … [Read more...] about London Police Investigating 3 Further Harvey Weinstein Sexual Assault Claims
Weekend Box Office: ‘Happy Death Day’ No. 1 With $26.5M, Another Win for Horror
'The Foreigner,' 'Marshall' and "Professor Marston and the Wonder Woman' also opened nationwide. Getting an early jump on Halloween, Universal and Blumhouse's Happy Death Day opened to a strong $26.5 million from 3,149 theaters in another win for the horror genre. The microbudgetd pic, directed by Christopher Landon and rated PG-13, stars Jessica Rothe as a college student who relives the day of her murder over and over until she discovers her killer's identity. Happy Death Day cost a mere $5 million to produce. Happy Death Day easily trounced holdover holdover Blade Runner 2049, which declined 54 percent to $15.1 million in its second weekend for an early domestic total of $60.6 million. The Alcon Entertainment, Sony and Warner Bros. cost a net $150 million to produce, s has a long way to to before landing in the black. STXfilms’ action-thriller The Foreigner placed No. 3 with $12.8 million from 2,515 theaters. That a solid start for a film that cost a reported $35 million to … [Read more...] about Weekend Box Office: ‘Happy Death Day’ No. 1 With $26.5M, Another Win for Horror
Sarah Polley Calls Weinstein “One Festering Pustule in a Diseased Industry”
The director and actress also details her negative encounter with the movie mogul in a 'New York Times' op-ed. Sarah Polley — known for directing such films Away From Her and Take This Waltz — has added her name to the growing list of women who've accused Harvey Weinstein of predatory behavior. In an op-ed posted via The New York Times, Polley details an encounter she says she had with the mogul during a meeting. After a photo shoot, Polley, who has also appeared in films such as Dawn of the Dead and Splice, explained she was pulled out of a photo shoot abruptly. "The publicist said that we needed to be in Harvey Weinstein’s office in 20 minutes," she wrote. She added that in the taxi, the publicist said, “I’m going in with you. And I’m not leaving your side.” Polley says she knew everything she needed to know in that moment and was grateful. Polley described the encounter she then had with Weinstein. "When I got there, Mr. … [Read more...] about Sarah Polley Calls Weinstein “One Festering Pustule in a Diseased Industry”
Helen Mirren to Receive Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Chaplin Award
The actress will be honored at a gala on April 30. Helen Mirren has been named the recipient of the 45th annual Chaplin Award, The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced Saturday. The Film Society will honor the Oscar-winning actress, seen next in The Leisure Seeker, at a gala on April 30. The evening will celebrate her multifaceted career in cinema which spans more than 50 years. “It is an honor and a pleasure for us to present Helen Mirren with our 45th Chaplin Award,” said Ann Tenenbaum, the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Board Chairman. “From housemaid to Queen and everything in between, Ms. Mirren has delivered masterful performances of complex characters, upending stereotype after stereotype along the way.” “Ever since her debut in Michael Powell’s Age of Consent in 1969, Helen Mirren has been lighting up screens with one finely crafted performance after another,” said Lesli Klainberg, the Executive Director of the Film Society … [Read more...] about Helen Mirren to Receive Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Chaplin Award
Academy Expels Harvey Weinstein
The Oscar-winner's lifetime membership has been revoked. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has expelled disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein from its ranks. The Academy’s 54-member board of governors — which includes such Hollywood luminaries as Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Whoopi Goldberg and Kathleen Kennedy — held an emergency meeting at the organization’s Beverly Hills headquarters today and voted to strip away Weinstein’s lifetime membership. Following the meeting, the Academy issued a statement saying the board had voted "to immediately expel him from the Academy. We do so not simply to seperate ourselves from someone who does not merit the respect of his colleagues but also to send a message thast the era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behavior and workplace harrassment in our industry is over." The Academy went on to say, "What's at issue here is a deeply troubling problem that has no place in our … [Read more...] about Academy Expels Harvey Weinstein
Bob Weinstein Gets Emotional on “Depraved” Harvey, Saving the Company and His “Waking Nightmare” (Exclusive)
The Weinstein Co. exec insists he had no idea about "the type of predator that he was" and is sickened by Harvey’s seeming lack of remorse. "I want him to get the justice that he deserves." For nearly 30 years, Bob Weinstein has lived in the shadow of his older brother Harvey Weinstein. While Harvey, 65, was the very public face of Miramax and then The Weinstein Company from Sundance to Cannes to Hollywood, palling around with stars and schmoozing Oscar voters, Bob, 62, has served on TWC’s board and tended to Dimension, their genre label, turning out movies like the Scream and Scary Movie franchises, that routinely made more money than all but Harvey’s biggest hits. Now, in the wake of the dozens of allegations charging Harvey with three decades of sexual harassment, abuse and even rape, Harvey is out, fired from the company he co-founded with Bob in 2005. And Bob, thrust into an unaccustomed limelight, is forced to try to pick up the pieces amid the growing chaos. … [Read more...] about Bob Weinstein Gets Emotional on “Depraved” Harvey, Saving the Company and His “Waking Nightmare” (Exclusive)
Hollywood Sex Abuse Film ‘An Open Secret’ Released Online
"Harvey Weinstein, by the way, is not the only one who has used confidentiality settlements. That's why more of Hollywood's behavior hasn't been exposed. This is the tip of the iceberg," says producer Gabe Hoffman. An Open Secret, a documentary about the sexual abuse of teenage boys at the hands of Hollywood big-wigs, generated plenty of publicity a few years ago, but no suitable offers for digital distribution. Now, with new sexual allegations against Harvey Weinstein and others in the movie and TV industry coming practically daily, the producer of An Open Secret has posted his film online for the first time, free for the next nine days. "It's so funny to keep seeing headlines about how Harvey's abuse was 'an open secret' in Hollywood, and that's the name of our film," said producer Gabe Hoffman. He says he has put An Open Secret on Vimeo for free viewing "to commemorate serial predator Harvey Weinstein finally being exposed." The movie got a limited … [Read more...] about Hollywood Sex Abuse Film ‘An Open Secret’ Released Online
Russia Ditches Plan to Boost Exhibition Fees After Outcry, Considers Levy System
Plans for an across-the-board $90,000 distribution fee have been scrapped, though burden of a possible new levy system will still fall on Hollywood. Russia's culture minister, Vladimir Medinsky, has ditched plans to boost exhibition fees from less than $100 to nearly $90,000 after an industry outcry. Instead, Medinsky is looking into a scheme to impose a levy on box office receipts. Such a system would mean that smaller films — European art house and others released on a limited number of screens — will not face a punitive one-off distribution fee of five million roubles. A levy would still leave bigger films, such as Hollywood blockbusters, exposed to fees that could be as high as 12 percent, though it is not yet clear whether Medinsky's new proposal would apply to gross or net receipts. Speaking to Russian news site Gazeta.ru, Medinsky said: "I believe that this is the correct principle, to make sure that at the expense of Western, Hollywood cinema, domestic cinema is … [Read more...] about Russia Ditches Plan to Boost Exhibition Fees After Outcry, Considers Levy System
Angie Everhart Says Harvey Weinstein Pleasured Himself in Front of Her
The actress revealed the details of her encounter on a KLOS morning radio show: "He says, 'You're a really nice girl, you shouldn't tell anybody about this.'" Angie Everhart has shared an encounter with Harvey Weinstein in which the actress and model claims that the producer pleasured himself in front of her while they were staying on the same boat at the Venice Film Festival. Everhart called in to the Frosty, Heidi and Frank morning show to share her story. "I had just arrived and I was sleeping, I was in my bed," she began. "I wake up and Harvey is standing above my bed. That alone is frightening." She continued, "All of the sudden he takes his pants down and starts doing his stuff. He's blocking the door. I can't get out and he — I don't know how to say this on the radio, but he finishes on the carpet of the floor." Everhart stated Weinstein told her, "You're a really nice girl, you shouldn't tell anybody about this," but that she reported the incident to … [Read more...] about Angie Everhart Says Harvey Weinstein Pleasured Himself in Front of Her
Matt Bomer and Josh Wiggins Talk Going Off the Grid in ‘Walking Out’
The film, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, opens in Los Angeles and several other markets Friday. For Matt Bomer and Josh Wiggins, who star together in Walking Out, there's something about nature that forges human connections. The film, which had its debut at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, follows an estranged father (Bomer) and son (Wiggins), who are forced to rely on one another to survive an unforgiving wilderness in Montana. The movie, which is directed by Alex Smith and Andrew J. Smith, also features Bill Pullman. "I grew up in a home that embraced outdoorsmanship as a form of male bonding, so that type of language and shared space was something that I understood from the time I was a little kid," Bomer tells The Hollywood Reporter, who called from the set of his directorial debut, an episode in the forthcoming American Crime Story: Versace. (Of the latter, he couldn't give away any plot details but did praise the cast and crew, calling … [Read more...] about Matt Bomer and Josh Wiggins Talk Going Off the Grid in ‘Walking Out’
Catalyst Adapting Hot Brit Novel ‘The Lido’ for Film (Exclusive)
Libby Page's debut novel sold to Simon & Schuster in the U.S. and tells the story of an unlikely friendship forged in London. Catalyst Global Media is set to re-team with Finding Your Feet writers Nick Moorcroft and Meg Leonard for a feature film adaptation of The Lido, the highly anticipated debut novel from Libby Page. The book sold to Orion in the U.K. and to Simon & Schuster in the U.S. within 24 hours of submission. The novel has now been sold to more than 24 territories around the world. Catalyst CEO Charlotte Walls will produce the feature film adaptation. Set in south London, The Lido tells the story of an unexpected friendship between a lost and lonely 26-year old woman trying to find her place in the U.K. capital and a local widow and pensioner who has very much found her place, but risks losing it to modernization and development. The two join forces to save the iconic Brockwell Lido, under threat of closure by the council, in a poignant and … [Read more...] about Catalyst Adapting Hot Brit Novel ‘The Lido’ for Film (Exclusive)
