AMPAS Board of Governors sets new precedent by kicking out Weinstein for actions not related to his Academy membership
Steve Pond | October 14, 2017 @ 1:13 PM
Last Updated: October 14, 2017 @ 5:16 PM
AWARDS BEAT
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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has expelled Harvey Weinstein in the wake of numerous allegations of sexual harassment and rape.
The decision was made by the Academy Board of Governors, which held a special meeting on Saturday morning to consider the disgraced mogul’s future in the organization.
The vote to expel Weinstein was “well in excess” of the required two-thirds majority from the 54-member board, according to an Academy statement.
Weinstein was stripped of his membership, the statement added, “not simply to separate ourselves from someone who does not merit the respect of his colleagues but also to send a message that the era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behavior and workplace harassment in our industry is over. What’s at issue here is a deeply troubling problem that has no place in our society.”
Although as a matter of policy the Academy does not publicly reveal disciplinary actions against members in most cases, this is believed to be the first expulsion for activity not directly related to AMPAS membership.
Actor Carmine Caridi was expelled from the organization in 2004 for screener piracy, and other members have been kicked out for selling their Oscar tickets.
While the Weinstein decision sets a precedent that may well have been uncomfortable to some members of the board, the Academy was under enormous pressure to act against the mogul whose actions, detailed in New York Times and New Yorker stories, have drawn universal condemnation.
The Academy statement suggested that the organization was now comfortable with moving into a realm of ethics oversight that it previously avoided. “The Board continues to work to establish ethical standards of conduct that all Academy members will be expected to exemplify,” read its final sentence.
A change.org petition calling for Weinstein’s ouster had drawn more than 135,000 signatures as of Saturday morning, while the president of CBS Films, Terry Press, threatened to resign from AMPAS if it didn’t expel Weinstein.
Academy bylaws allow the board to expel or suspend members “for cause” with a two-thirds vote.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) suspended Weinstein’s membership on Wednesday. The Producers Guild of America called its own Saturday board meeting to discuss Weinstein’s future in that organization, but then delayed the meeting until Monday.
Weinstein has been a longtime member of the Academy, and received Oscar nominations as a producer of Best Picture nominees “Gangs of New York” and “Shakespeare in Love.” He won an Oscar for the latter film.
He also revolutionized Oscar campaigning in the 1990s and 2000s with a more aggressive and expensive style of campaigning that often pushed against the edge of Academy campaign regulations. In addition to “Shakespeare in Love,” his Oscar-winning films over the years, both at Miramax and at the Weinstein Company, included “My Left Foot,” “Pulp Fiction,” “The English Patient,” “Chicago,” “The King’s Speech” and “The Artist.”
The Academy statement:
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors met today to discuss the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, and has voted well in excess of the required two-thirds majority to immediately expel him from the Academy. We do so not simply to separate ourselves from someone who does not merit the respect of his colleagues but also to send a message that the era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behavior and workplace harassment in our industry is over. What’s at issue here is a deeply troubling problem that has no place in our society. The Board continues to work to establish ethical standards of conduct that all Academy members will be expected to exemplify.
A Short History of Harvey Weinstein's Oscar Campaigns (Photos)
Indie mogul Harvey Weinstein, who was fired last October from his position of co-CEO of The Weinstein Company, revolutionized the Oscar race both at TWC and his previous company, Miramax.
Harvey Weinstein first got into the Oscar race in a big way in 1990 with a "guerilla" campaign for the art-house drama "My Left Foot" by setting up meet-and-greets between Academy members and film talent. The result? Oscar wins for stars Daniel Day Lewis and Brenda Fricker.
In 1995, Weinstein mounted a surprisingly aggressive campaign for upstart director Quentin Tarantino's ultraviolent "Pulp Fiction" -- helping to redefine what sorts of movies could appeal to the Academy. Tarantino shared a screenplay Oscar with Roger Avary.
Miramax snagged its first Best Picture victory for 1996's "The English Patient" -- which earned a total of nine awards, including for director Anthony Minghella and lead actress Juliette Binoche.
Weinstein built an awareness campaign for the then-unknown Billy Bob Thornton for 1996's "Sling Blade" -- which yielded an Oscar for his adapted screenplay and a nomination for Best Actor.
Miramax pulled off a double coup with 1997's "Good Will Hunting," delivering Robin Williams his long-awaited first Oscar and a rare screenplay prize for two twentysomething newbies, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
One year later, Miramax pulled out all the stops after landing two Best Picture nominations, including for the Italian-language drama "Life Is Beautiful." According to Peter Biskind's book "Down and Dirty Pictures," star-auteur Roberto Begnini "moved into L.A. for a month during the peak of the voting period." The film came away with three Oscars, including Best Actor.
That year, Miramax pulled off a bigger upset when "Shakespeare in Love" seized Best Picture over Steven Spielberg's heavily favored "Saving Private Ryan." "Shakespeare" won a total of seven Academy Awards, including for actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Judi Dench.
Miramax surprised many by landing yet another Best Picture nomination for the 2000 Juliette Binoche-Johnny Depp bonbon "Chocolat."
In 2003, the Weinsteins had a hand in four of the five Best Picture nominees: "Chicago," "The Hours," "Gangs of New York" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (on which they had producer credits). "Chicago" won the top prize -- as well as five others.
In 2004, Miramax took advantage of a careful reading of Academy rules and scored four nominations for the Brazilian inner-city drama "City of God" -- even though the film had failed to land a Best Foreign Language film nomination the previous year.
The Weinsteins exited Disney-owned Miramax and founded their own company in 2005 -- and got right back in the Oscar race with two nominations for one of their first releases, the Felicity Huffman vehicle "Transamerica."
By 2009, The Weinstein Company landed its first Best Picture contender with "The Reader" -- and also snagged Kate Winslet her first Oscar as Best Actress in a role that many thought was more of a supporting part.
Two years later, TWC scored its first Best Picture win for "The King's Speech" -- as well as three other awards, including Best Actor for Colin Firth.
The following year, Weinstein pulled off another coup: landing five Oscars, including Best Picture for the mostly silent, black-and-white ode to Old Hollywood, "The Artist."
In 2013, TWC again had two horses in the Best Picture race: Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" and "Silver Linings Playbook" -- which landed Jennifer Lawrence the prize for Best Actress.
Last year, Weinstein successfully landed six nominations -- including Best Picture -- for Garth Davis' tear-jerker "Lion." But just as Open Road won the top prize in 2016 for "Spotlight," another upstart, A24, used a lot of Harvey touches to score the indie "Moonlight" a Best Picture win.
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This is the first Oscar season in decades without the disgraced mogul who challenged the major studios and changed the game at the Academy
Indie mogul Harvey Weinstein, who was fired last October from his position of co-CEO of The Weinstein Company, revolutionized the Oscar race both at TWC and his previous company, Miramax.
