3 top movie makers ‘are sex fiends’
Blockbuster bosses are set to be implicated Weinstein outrage ‘is just tip of the iceberg’
UP to three movie makers involved in some of the biggest blockbuster films of the past decade are being implicated in claims of sexual assault and harassment following the Harvey Weinstein affair.
And several major players have contacted lawyers over concerns their names will be made public as allegations against the film mogul mount.
Some actresses who signed confidentiality agreements for big payoffs are considering breaking their silence to reveal Weinstein is not alone.
On top of that, several up-andcoming gay actors have spoken to lawyers about studio executives who offer “lay for pay” deals – sex in return for the promise of a future role.
An insider said: “Harvey’s misdemeanours are just the tip of the iceberg. This could be the first of many Hollywood scandals.
“It’s certainly got studios fearing the worst. They now believe anyone is fair game considering even the biggest producer in town isn’t bulletproof.
“Their fears have been worsened by the fact that they’ve learned several leading actresses have contacted legal representatives to see if they should talk about their experiences of sexual assault and harassment from producers and directors.
SCANDALS
“Many feel that the current climate has allowed them to finally speak out.
“However, some are concerned that if they do they will never work in Hollywood again.”
British director Duncan Roy, 57, confirmed that senior figures are involved in other potential scandals.
But he feared Hollywood’s “silencing machine” will stop many more cases like Weinstein’s emerging.
He added: “I have sat in rooms at SAA (Sex Addicts Anonymous) for the past five years listening to some of these people talking about their sexual problems. A lot of these incredibly powerful men believe they are entitled to take whatever they want from women and from men.”
Roy went on: “I was talking today to two people – an ex-studio head and a current head of a major agency.
“They are justifiably worried because these things are usually kept quiet because the women collude. They do what they’re told and everybody in Hollywood is terrified of upsetting everybody else because they will lose their jobs and there’s a lot of money at stake. “I think that a lot of the women who are speaking now had to sign agreements. But nobody would dare sue a high-profile actress for breaking that agreement.” Yesterday the Manhattan district attorney’s office, working overtime sifting evidence on numerous sex assault allegations against Weinstein, was understood to be probing claims he used company cash to pay off some victims. A former Manhattan assistant district attorney told the Mirror. “If he used company funds to pay off these women he could be charged with a slew of finance offences.” Meanwhile, Scotland Yard said a child abuse and sexual offences unit will be looking into an alleged assault in the London area in the 1980s.
An executive at Amazon was also drawn into the scandal.
Actress Rose McGowan, one of the first women to accuse Weinstein of sexual harassment, tweeted on Thursday: “HW raped me.”
The 44-year-old then made a series of claims in several tweets to Amazon chief executive and founder Jeff Bezos.
She wrote: “I told the head of your studio that HW raped me. Over & over I said it. He said it hadn’t been proven. I said I was the proof.” The actress also claimed the studio had won a “dirty Oscar” and added: “I love @amazon but there is rot in Hollywood.” Yesterday Amazon said studio head Roy Price had been put on leave of absence “effective immediately” and it was “reviewing options for projects we have with The Weinstein Co”. Three women had previously accused Weinstein of rape, claims he denies. Actress Kate Beckinsale, 44, also told of an encounter with Weinstein when she was 17, claiming he came to a meeting in a bathrobe and offered her alcohol. Her revelation follows accusations from stars including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Mira Sorvino and Cara Delevingne.
Sophie Dix, who once starred alongside Colin Firth, claimed Weinstein pinned her down in a hotel room when she was 22. She told The Guardian: “He started trying to pull my clothes off and pin me down and I just kept saying ‘No, no, no.’” Dix said the encounter at the Savoy Hotel in London in 1990 was “the single mostdamaging thing that’s happened in my life”. Yesterday former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton drew comparisons between Weinstein and Donald Trump. The politician, who has received campaign funding from Weinstein, called the rape and sexual assault allegations “heartbreaking”.
She told the BBC’s Andrew Marr: “This cannot be tolerated anywhere, whether in entertainment or politics. After all we have someone admitting to being a sexual assaulter in the Oval Office.”
Her remarks regarding Trump were in response to a tape in which he made crude comments about touching a married woman. Weinstein’s spokeswoman Sallie Hofmeister said: “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied.”
A Tory MP who called the allegations “dubious” and said they “beggared belief ” has retracted his statement and blamed his staff.
David Amess reportedly said: “Just as with Jimmy Savile, why did no one say anything until now?”
Hours later he issued a statement saying he was “horrified” a press release had been issued which he had not seen or authorised.
A lot of these powerful men think they can take what they like from a woman DUNCAN ROY BRITISH FILM DIRECTOR IN HOLLYWOOD