Weinstein, silence focus of PBS show

NEW YORK — In making a documentary about disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, PBS’ “Frontline” wanted to focus less on what he did than on how the alleged sexual misconduct went on for so long.

“Weinstein” airs at 9 p.m. Friday on most PBS stations, including WOSU-TV (Channel 34), two nights before the Academy Awards. It details the fear, intimidation and self-interested passivity that papered over allegations of harassment and assault dating back nearly 40 years, involving the famous and obscure alike.

More than 100 women have come forward since stories about the influential film producer’s behavior were first published in The New York Times and New Yorker magazine last fall. Weinstein has denied some of the allegations. Several women speak to “Frontline,” their stories unfolding with numbing similarity, usually starting with an unwanted request for a massage.

To illustrate how long this has been going on, PBS interviewed two women who worked on Weinstein’s first film in the early 1980s, back when he ran a concert promotion business in Buffalo, New York.

For people not motivated to keep quiet, Weinstein had many tools at his disposal. Alleged victims signed non-disclosure agreements. Investigative companies were used; one lawyer who told Weinstein he heard that he assaulted women was told that the lawyer’s own behavior had been investigated. New York authorities, despite convincing an Italian model who alleged she was groped by Weinstein to wear a wire when she met with him again, dropped their case after a sophisticated tabloid campaign to disparage her.

PBS did not get an interview with Weinstein, but his camp discusses some of the accusations in the film. The documentary’s final scene was of reporters recently cornering Weinstein. “We all make mistakes. Second chance, I hope,” Weinstein said, before getting into an SUV.