WEIN & SLEAZE
Dems turn on film mogul Brother Bob ‘wants him gone’
Harvey Weinstein flees NYC as the fallout from sexual-harassment allegations continued.
IT’S Cain and Abel — Hollywood style.
Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein may have been stabbed in the back by his own brother, who, sources told The Post, has been trying for years to replace his sibling as the sole head of their marquee film studio.
Bob Weinstein (at left in photo), the disgruntled co-founder of The Weinstein Company, may have been the mastermind behind an exposé of lurid sex allegations that led to his brother’s humiliating downfall, the sources said.
“Bob’s wanted Harvey out for years,” said a former staffer, who added that the two brothers are becoming increasingly suspicious of each other.
Insiders believe that Bob may have helped concoct the explosive New York Times story that exposed the harassment allega- tions from Ashley Judd, Rose McGowan and other former employees.
“Bob may have even fed this story” to the Times, the insider said.
There may have been a taste for vengeance in the brother’s fateful move, as another insider said, “Bob wanted Harvey to get what’s coming to him.”
The backlash from the scandal is expected to oust Harvey from the storied franchise — for now — settling a long-simmering feud between the two.
“There has always been a lovehate relationship between the brothers,” says a former Weinstein employee.
“There have been times they wouldn’t speak for months. Let’s just say they have an ‘inconsistent’ relationship.”
Another source added, “Bob’s trying to take over and push Harvey out,” and also said that some staffers at The Weinstein Company believe Bob was a source of the damning Times story.
Bob Weinstein responded to The Post, saying, “These asser- tions are untrue.”
The duo founded Miramax — the entertainment company that revolutionized the indie film business — in 1979 in Buffalo.
They sold the company to Disney in 1993 and exited in 2005 to found The Weinstein Company.
While Harvey got credit for Miramax’s string of high-end Oscar wins, Bob was behind the brand’s Dimension Films, which made hits like the “Scream,” “Scary Movie” and “Spy Kids” series.
The Weinstein Company held an emergency board meeting on Thursday and Harvey is expected to be suspended, according to reports. He previously said he is planning on taking a leave of absence.
The Hollywood Reporter said that billionaire investor and close Harvey friend Dirk Ziff resigned from the board.
A source told The Post that three options emerged from the emergency board meeting: “Having Bob and company COO/president David Glasser run the company while Harvey is gone, bringing in an outside big name to run it, or selling the company.”