Weinstein Co. Will Aid Any Criminal Prosecution, Claims ‘Utter Surprise’
“These alleged actions are antithetical to human decency,” says board
Matt Donnelly | October 10, 2017 @ 6:45 PM
Last Updated: October 10, 2017 @ 7:04 PM
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The Weinstein Company board of directors expressed “utter surprise” at Tuesday’s allegations of rape and further sexual assault made against former CEO Harvey Weinstein.
Three allegations of rape, and more charges of sexual misconduct, were outlined in a lengthy investigative piece from The New Yorker. Only hours after publication, stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie came forward with tales of unwanted touching and advances made by Weinstein.
Co-founder Bob Weinstein, as well as board members Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg and Tarak Ben Ammar, later released a statement expressing shock and dismay at “the recently emerged allegations of extreme sexual misconduct and sexual assault.”
After calling the alleged behavior “antithetical to human decency,” the board declared that the allegations “come as an utter surprise to the Board. Any suggestion that the Board had knowledge of this conduct is false.”
The statement concluded with a resolution from the board to assist “in all criminal or other investigations of these alleged acts, while pursuing justice for the victims and a full and independent investigation of our own.”
TWC previously said it is conducting an internal review of the company following the outpouring of allegations, including those from former staffers.
Read the full statement:
The Weinstein Company’s Board of Representatives – Bob Weinstein, Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg and Tarak Ben Ammar – are shocked and dismayed by the recently emerged allegations of extreme sexual misconduct and sexual assault by Harvey Weinstein. These alleged actions are antithetical to human decency. These allegations come as an utter surprise to the Board. Any suggestion that the Board had knowledge of this conduct is false.
We are committed to assisting with our full energies in all criminal or other investigations of these alleged acts, while pursuing justice for the victims and a full and independent investigation of our own.
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.
