The frenzy over varying degrees of sexual harassment in Hollywood continues this week as Ben Affleck made another statement, Ridley Scott pushed for the cancellation of a Kevin Spacey movie premiere, Ellen Pompeo shared her James Toback experience and a reported infiltrated a Harvey Weinstein support group.
The fallout from revelations in the ongoing Hollywood harassment scandal -- sparked by serious sexual misconduct, assault and rape allegations against Weinstein -- continue to be felt by those who are coming forward, their alleged attackers, and even those who would stand in support. Sensitivity is at an all-time high, with the sheer number of allegations and ongoing reveals causing the industry to take a hard look at the way it conducts business and has conducted business for a long time.
Here's the latest developments:
Ridley Scott
Sony has already scrapped their Oscar push for Kevin Spacey's portrayal of J. Paul Getty in the forthcoming film "All the Money in the World," but Variety reported Monday the studio may be considering delaying its release altogether. Director Ridley Scott is urging the studio to cancel its scheduled premiere at the closing night selection of AFI FEST 2017 next Thursday.
The premiere was scheduled to coincide with a tribute to Scott, but the film's producer and director is nevertheless urging Sony to reconsider after a bevy of accusations of sexual misconduct were brought against Spacey, including several involving underage boys.
Already, production on Netflix's "House of Cards," starring Spacey, has been suspended, with the streaming service insisting that no matter what they decide about the future of the show, Spacey won't be a part of it. Spacey's lawyers have denied all allegations, and indicate that the star is seeking unspecified treatment.
Should Sony cancel the film's AFI FEST premiere, insiders say the film would probably be bumped from awards season altogether, shifting from a Dec. 22 theatrical premiere to a launch in June 2018.
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View StoryEllen Pompeo
The "Grey's Anatomy" star says she has been fortunate thus far in her career, but that doesn't mean she was never approached. "I actually did have a situation with James Toback where I kind of told him to go f-ck himself," she told USA Today.
According to Pompeo the incident happened earlier in her career. She said she brought a friend along with her to the public meeting with the director, and Toback didn't seem pleased. "The minute my friend left, he asked me if I would get naked in a movie," she recalled. "I was like, 'Really, dude? My friend has been missing all of 30 seconds and now you say that?'"
More than 30 women came forward in an exposé by the LA Times, detailing similar stories of being lured into meetings that quickly turned sexual. Toback has denied all of these allegations.
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View StoryBen Affleck
With Miramax distributing Ben Affleck's breakout film "Good Will Hunting," which earned him and Matt Damon screenwriting Oscars, the actor owes a lot to the Weinstein family. But in light of recent allegations against Harvey Weinstein, he's decided he can't take anything more from them.
Following in the path of director Kevin Smith, who earlier announced he would be donating all residuals from his Miramax films, like "Clerks," to Women in Film, Affleck revealed in a recent "Justice League" promotional interview on FOX 5 DC that he would be following suit.
"Any further residuals that I get from a Miramax or a Weinstein movie will go either to F.I. or to RAINN. One is Film Independent, and the other is a women's organization. I just didn't want to cash any more checks from the guy, you know?"
Accused by several women of groping them after he publicly came out against Weinstein a few weeks ago, Affleck apologized to the first, Hilarie Burton, but has not specifically addressed the others. He did tell The Associated Press, "I'm looking at my own behavior and addressing that and making sure I'm part of the solution."
He called out other men to do the same, saying sexual harassment needs to be a "men's issue" as well, where men stand up against inappropriate behavior alongside women. He also said "more women need to be pushed to power."
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View StoryHarvey Weinstein
The tumultuous environment under the Weinstein brothers lead to the creation of an employee support group in the early 1990s dubbed Mir-Anon, after alcoholics support group Al-Anon. What began as a chance to blow off steam about Harvey Weinstein's notorious temper and Bob Weinstein's obsession with the numbers evolved over the years into something deeper.
The bond was described as a shared "trench warfare" experience, some of the group's members told Vulture.
In the aftermath of the Weinstein allegations, the casual social group has grown into a private Facebook group (The Miramax Alumni Association) with more than 430 members from both Miramax and The Weinstein Company. They still meet face-to-face from time to time, mostly just to chat and reminisce.
While the group had discussed rumors about Harvey Weinstein's sexual predilections, they never spoke out publicly. It was more about comparing notes. And even now, they declined to be identified for fear it would impact their careers or business relationships in Hollywood.
"Not to make light of any of it, but it was a different time," one former executive said. "Like, tough, old-school movie business stuff. You get in trouble for that behavior now."
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View StoryMaureen O'Hara
A lot of the discussion surrounding the ongoing sexual misconduct scandal in Hollywood has been to say that this behavior is just a part of the culture and has been for a long time. One Twitter user unearthed a piece of historic evidence that may just speak to that.
The late Actress Maureen O'Hara ("Miracle on 34th Street") charged that Hollywood producers were lashing out against her for refusing to sleep with them in the New York Mirror back in 1945, essentially blacklisting her from finding work. In the newspaper clipping, which James Rhodes posted, O'Hara said, "I'm ready to quit Hollywood ... Because I don't let the producer and director kiss me every morning or let them paw me they have spread word around town that I am not a woman."
This was reported in 1945. What a woman 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/6cTFGgadNf
@JRhodesPianist