Heavenly made hell, reveals Winslet

When Kate Winslet won the lead actress Oscar for The Reader in 2009, she thanked 19 people by name along with many others in general.

She did not mention Harvey Weinstein, whose company financed and distributed the movie.

‘‘That was deliberate. That was absolutely deliberate,’’ Winslet says.

‘‘I remember being told. ‘Make sure you thank Harvey if you win’. And I remember turning around and saying, ‘No I won’t. No I won’t.’ And it was nothing to do with not being grateful. If people aren’t well behaved, why would I thank him?

‘‘The fact that I’m never going to have to deal with Harvey Weinstein again as long as I live is one of the best things that’s ever happened and I’m sure the feeling is universal.’’

Winslet made her first movie, Peter Jackson’s psychological drama Heavenly Creatures, for Weinstein’s Miramax Films -- a fact, Winslet says, that the disgraced producer brought up every time she saw him.

‘‘For my whole career, Harvey Weinstein, whenever I’ve bumped into him, he’d grab my arm and say, ‘Don’t forget who gave you your first movie’. Like I owe him everything. Then later, with The Reader, same thing, ‘I’m gonna get you that Oscar nomination, I’m gonna get you a win, I’m gonna win for you’.

‘‘But that’s how he operated,’’ Winslet continues.

‘‘He was bullying and nasty. Going on a business level, he was always very, very hard to deal with – he was rude.

‘‘He used to call my female agent a [vulgar name for a woman] every time he spoke to her on the telephone.’’

When allegations of sexual assault and harassment against Weinstein broke last week, Winslet was one of the first to condemn his actions and embrace the courage of the women who came forward.

She says the current times demand strong statements.

Weinstein’s actions surrounding The Reader have long been seen as grievous on numerous counts. Says Winslet of The Reader: ‘‘I can’t even begin to describe the disgraceful behaviour that went on – and I’m actually not going to because it’s a can of worms that I’m not prepared to publicly open – nothing to do with sexual harassment, thankfully, lucky me. My god. I somehow dodged that bullet.’’

Winslet does reveal one thing about the film that she believes has never been reported: Weinstein shut down The Reader with four days left on the production schedule. ‘‘We still had a full four days of shooting of very key scenes that for me – as a person playing that part – were absolutely crucial to the story and to Stephen Daldry, they were as well,’’ Winslet says.

‘‘And Harvey just decided, ‘OK, we’re done. No more money. I’m pulling the plug’. We had to stop and were sent home. That was it.’’

That was the last time Winslet worked with Weinstein.

‘‘I was bullied as a child. Never again. Certainly not by Harvey Weinstein.’’