2 ACTRESSES ‘VICTIMS’ OF WEINSTEIN’S SMEAR CAMPAIGN
Director Peter Jackson admitted he was considering either Mira Sorvino or Ashley Judd for his “Lord of the Rings” trilogy but changed his mind after heeding Harvey Weinstein’s advice to avoid working with the two actresses. Sorvino said on Twitter that she burst out crying when she saw the article. She said it is confirmation that Weinstein derailed her career. Judd and Sorvino are among dozens of women who have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct. A spokesperson for Weinstein disputed the account, saying that his company Mira- max was not involved in casting, which was handled by New Line. Jackson said Friday that “aspects of Harvey’s denial are insincere.”
Director Peter Jackson said he is now realizing that Harvey Weinstein’s advice to avoid working with Mira Sorvino or Ashley Judd was likely part of a smear campaign against the two actresses.
Jackson tells Stuff that he was told by Miramax in the late 1990s that they were “a nightmare” to work with and thus didn’t consider either for his “Lord of the Rings” films.
Sorvino said on Twitter that she burst out crying when she saw the article. She said it is confirmation that Weinstein derailed her career.
Judd and Sorvino are among dozens of women who have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct.
A spokesperson for Weinstein disputed the account, saying that his company Miramax was not involved in casting, which was handled by New Line.
Jackson said late Friday that “aspects of Harvey’s denial are insincere.”
In a statement on behalf of himself and producer Fran Walsh, he said that they both expressed enthusiasm for Judd and Sorvino.
“We were immediately told by Miramax to steer clear of them, because they claimed to have had ‘bad experiences’ with these particular actresses in the past,” Jackson wrote. “We have no direct evidence linking Ashley and Mira’s allegations to our ‘Lord of the Rings’ casting conversations of 20 years ago—but we stand by what we were told by Miramax when we raised both of their names, and we are recounting it accurately. If we were unwitting accom- plices in harming their careers, Fran and I unreservedly apologize to both Ashley and Mira.”
As more and more women are coming out to narrate incidents of sexual harassment involving powerful Hollywood men, the biggest figures and institutions in entertainment have established a commission to be chaired by Anita Hill that intends to combat sexual misconduct and inequality in the industry.
A statement Friday announced the founding of the Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace, a group that grew out of a meeting called by “Star Wars” producer Kathleen Kennedy and several other prominent women in the industry.
The chief executives of nearly every major Hollywood studio, TV network and record label attended the meeting and agreed to found and to fund the group, the statement said. The long list includes Disney chief executive officer (CEO) Bob Iger, Paramount CEO Karen Stuart, Universal Music Group CEO Sir Lucian Grange and CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves.
The movie and music academies and many of the major agencies and unions that represent entertainers also signed on.
“The fact that so many industry leaders across film, television, music, digital, unions, agencies ... and guilds came together, in one room, to explore solutions speaks to a new era,” Kennedy said.
The revelations about Weinstein in The New York Times and the New Yorker in October have brought on two months unlike any the media world has ever seen, with nearly daily allegations of sexual harassment assault and abuse that have ensnared some of the most prominent players in entertainment including Kevin Spacey, Louis CK, Dustin Hoffman and Russell Simmons.