Hollywood continues to sever ties with Harvey Weinstein
— -- Hollywood is up in arms over the allegations surrounding Harvey Weinstein and the company he co-founded, The Weinstein Company.
The Producers Guild of America's national board of directors and officers voted today to expel Weinstein after numerous women claimed the movie mogul and producer sexually harassed or sexually assaulted them.
"This morning, the PGA’s National Board of Directors and Officers decided by unanimous vote to institute termination proceedings concerning Harvey Weinstein’s membership,” co-presidents Gary Lucchesi and Lori McCreary said in a statement on behalf of the board. “As required by the PGA’s Constitution, Mr. Weinstein will be given the opportunity to respond before the Guild makes its final determination on November 6, 2017.”
“Sexual harassment of any type is completely unacceptable. This is a systemic and pervasive problem requiring immediate industry-wide action,” the statement continued.
The co-presidents also announced a new task force in the wake of Weinstein’s allegations.
“Today, the PGA’s National Board and Officers – composed of 20 women and 18 men -- created the Anti-Sexual Harassment Task Force specifically charged with researching and proposing substantive and effective solutions to sexual harassment in the entertainment industry,” the statement said. “The PGA calls on leaders throughout the entertainment community to work together to ensure that sexual abuse and harassment are eradicated from the industry.”
Weinstein has denied any allegations of non-consensual sex in a statement to The New Yorker.
However, in addition to the PGA, here are the other organizations and companies that have severed ties with the disgraced producer.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The preeminent organization honoring the best in film said in a statement Saturday that it's voted to expel Weinstein.
It did so "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."
Weinstein and the academy had a pretty long history, dating back to 1990 when he launched an Oscars campaign for an independent film, "My Left Foot." The film went on to win two Oscars for its stars -- Daniel Day Lewis and Brenda Fricker -- and began Weinstein's long career in earning the golden trophies.
During his tenure at Miramax and later The Weinstein Company, which he founded in 2005 with his brother, Bob Weinstein, the producer racked up 341 Academy Award nominations, winning 81 of them.
The Weinstein Company
Weinstein's own film company terminated him last week after The New York Times and The New Yorker reported the stories of several women, including actress Ashley Judd, who claimed that the producer had sexually harassed or sexually assaulted them.
"In light of new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days, the directors of The Weinstein Company -- Robert Weinstein, Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg and Tarak Ben Ammar -- have determined, and have informed Harvey Weinstein, that his employment with The Weinstein Company is terminated, effective immediately," according to a statement from the company's board.
By Monday, private equity firm Colony Capital announced that it had "entered into a preliminary agreement" with Weinstein's former film company to potentially acquire all or part of it.
Tarak Ben Ammar, a Weinstein Company board member, praised the move, saying in part: "We believe that Colony's investment and sponsorship will help stabilize the Company's current operations, as well as provide comfort to our critical distribution, production and talent partners around the world."
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
BAFTA announced in a statement last Wednesday that Weinstein's membership had been revoked.
Previously, the producer was a fixture on the BAFTA awards circuit, hosting several events around the awards itself, including a pre-dinner and an after party.
"Whilst BAFTA has previously been a beneficiary of Mr. Weinstein’s support for its charitable work, it considers the reported alleged behaviour completely unacceptable and incompatible with BAFTA’s values," the statement from BAFTA said. "This has led to Mr. Weinstein’s suspension, and it will be followed by a formal process as laid out in BAFTA’s constitution."
"We hope this announcement sends a clear message that such behaviour has absolutely no place in our industry," the statement continued. "BAFTA will continue to work with the film, games and television industries to improve access to rewarding and fulfilling careers in safe, professional working environments."
Legion of Honor Award
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that he's taken steps to "remove" the Legion of Honor Award from Weinstein, who was presented with the award in 2012. It is the nation's highest honor, established in 1802 by Napoléon Bonaparte.
Other honorees include fashion designer Giorgio Armani, cosmetics mogul Elizabeth Arden, singer Bono and actor Tom Hanks.
Amazon Studios
The streaming company completely cut ties with The Weinstein Company last week following the allegations.
Amazon had been working with the company on two projects -- an untitled mafia drama series Weinstein was producing with David O. Russell, and a series titled "The Romanoffs," an eight-episode series from "Mad Men" creator Matt Weiner.
The mafia show, which The Hollywood Reporter noted was a deal estimated at $160 million, had already been greenlit to run for two seasons.
"Amazon Studios no longer plans on moving forward with the David O. Russell project. As for 'The Romanoffs,' Amazon intends to move forward without the involvement of The Weinstein Co.," Amazon Studios told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement Friday.
Russell, along with the show's stars Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore, agreed with the decision.
"We support Amazon’s decision and in light of recent news and out of respect for all those affected we have decided together that it is best to not move forward with this show," they said in a joint statement.
"In the Heights"
Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara A. Hudes, the creators of the hit Broadway musical, announced they want the musical's movie adaption rights back from The Weinstein Company.
The company snatched up the film's rights after Miranda's other hit musical, "Hamilton," became a Broadway success. Now, the creators don't want anything to do with the disgraced producer's company.
"As a woman, I can no longer do business with The Weinstein Company," Hudes wrote in a lengthy post on Twitter last week. "To those women who suffered directly at Harvey's hands, I extend my sincerest compassion and support. Unfortunately, my musical 'In the Heights' is tied up in the company...I hope The Weinstein Company has enough grace, in the wake of these revelations, to respect my stand as a woman, and allow us to extricate 'In the Heights' from them."
Hudes added, "He thrived on this. He built an empire on this. It's been hard for me to sleep at night. My stomach is in knots."
Miranda threw his support behind Hudes, writing on Twitter, "As usual, Quiara does the prose best. She speaks for us both."
