Dirk Ziff, a board member of the Weinstein Company, has resigned following a bombshell New York Times expose detailing at least eight settlements for sexual misconduct by co-CEO Harvey Weinstein, an individual with knowledge of the matter told TheWrap.
On Thursday, the nine-person board, minus Ziff, had a heated discussion about Weinstein’s fate at the company. By Friday morning, his fate was still in limbo, but a decision is expected on Friday.
The individual with knowledge said Ziff was not on the board call last night, indicating that he was already separating from the company. Ziff is managing partner at Ziff Capital Partners, the owner of World Surf League and also serves on the board of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
He retained star litigator David Boies, as well as attorneys Lisa Bloom and Charles Harder.
The Times then broke a lengthy investigative piece on Thursday, alleging three decades of sexual misconduct by the Hollywood mogul, and said that eight women had received monetary settlements over the years in exchange for their silence.
Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan are among the accusers. Judd told the Times that Weinstein asked to massage her in a hotel room and pressured her to watch him shower during a meeting two decades ago. The report said the women generally received between $80,000 and $150,000 in settlements.
The report was followed by an apology from the Hollywood titan, announcing he would take a leave from the film and TV company and that he would devote himself to battling the NRA and President Donald Trump.
Harder, who represented Hulk Hogan in his successful lawsuit against Gawker, then said he was preparing a lawsuit against The New York Times on behalf of Weinstein.
In an interview with TheWrap, Weinstein said, “I mean every word of that apology. The reason I am suing the New York Times is they didn’t give me enough time to respond.”
Other board members include Lance Maerov, SVP of corporate development at WPP Group USA; Tim Sarnoff, Deputy CEO at Technicolor; Marc Lasry, owner of Milwaukee Bucks and CEO of Avenue Capital Group; Tarak Ben Ammar, owner of French distributor Quinta Communications; Paul Tudor Jones, founder of The Tudor Group and Bob and Harvey Weinstein.
Hollywood Filmmaker Brothers, From the Russos to the Weinsteins (Photos)
Check out TheWrap's list of dynamic duos that are taking Hollywood by storm.
Joe and Anthony Russo
The Russo brothers exploded onto the scene with "Captain America: The Winter Solider" after toiling in television with shows like "Community." Next up, the brothers have back-to-back "Avengers" movies dropping in 2018 and 2019.
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Matt and Ross Duffer
The Duffer brothers are identical twin brothers best known for writing and directing a number of science fiction and horror films and television shows before hitting critical mass with "Stranger Things" on Netflix. The show returns for the second season this October.
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Paul and Chris Weitz
The filmmaking brothers Paul and Chris Weitz broke through with the blockbuster 1999 teen sex comedy “American Pie.” Last year, Amazon Studios signed a two-year first-look deal with the Weitz brothers production company Depth of Field.
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Bob and Harvey Weinstein
Harvey has greenlight power, which is hard to come by in this town. He’s known by one name, like Madonna or Prince. He can call Quentin Tarantino 24/7. Now THAT’S power. Bob runs profit center Dimension Films that has unveiled an ambitious slate of five films including a movie based on Hasbro’s Furby toy line.
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Jon and Andrew Erwin
The Erwin brothers, known for their Christian film resume, have directed four feature films, including "October Baby," “Mom’s Night Out” and “Woodlawn.” Their latest faith-based drama, "I Can Only Imagine," was recently picked up by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.
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Joel and Ethan Coen
The Coen brothers are American filmmakers whose credits include 1996's "Fargo," 1998's "The Big Lebowski" and 2007's "No Country for Old Men." Lately, they directed "Hail, Caesar!' and their next project is George Clooney's "Suburbicon," set to debut in September at the Venice Film Festival.
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Greg and Colin Strause
Self-titled as the Brothers Strause, the duo are most known for directing "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" and "Skyline." They also founded Hydraulx, a special effects company.
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Peter and Bobby Farrelly
The Farrelly brothers are American screenwriters and directors, whose credits include "Dumb and Dumber," "Hall Pass," "Shallow Hal," "There's Something About Mary," "The Three Stooges" and "Dumb and Dumber To."
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Hollywood is full of sibling powerhouses, including Matt and Ross Duffer and the Coen brothers
Check out TheWrap's list of dynamic duos that are taking Hollywood by storm.