Harvey Weinstein’s Film Academy Future Is in Jeopardy
Vanity Fair
ESSENTIAL INDUSTRY and AWARD NEWS FROM HOLLYWOOD, compiled by REBECCA KEEGAN
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
It's Wednesday, and I did not get a MacArthur Genius grant, but my spin instructor says I'm really killing it this week, so there's that.
Hello from Los Angeles, where we're taking away Harvey Weinstein's keys to the kingdom, escaping the week's traumas with some help from the Thor: Ragnarok premiere, and pulling out our shoulder pads to celebrate the rebooting of Dynasty.
STILL UP IN THE CLUB?
According to TMZ, Harvey Weinstein flew to Europe Tuesday night, bound for a sex-addiction clinic. The Hollywood Reporter's Eriq Gardnerwrites that Weinstein has also hired a criminal attorney, Blair Berk, to represent him. Back in Hollywood, studio heads, A-list actors, and major institutions are backing away from the disgraced producer in the wake of multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault. But one key group has yet to weigh in on Weinstein's membership: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. If they do, it is likely to be after a slow, deliberative process that would signal a major break from tradition. As one Academy governor told me on Tuesday, "There are all sorts of people who've done all sorts of things in the Academy. Did we throw out Roman Polanski? Did the TV Academy throw out Bill Cosby? I've never heard of this happening with anyone. That's not the way business is done."
Apparently that is the way business is done at the Academy's peer group over the pond, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, which suspended Weinstein Wednesday, calling his behavior "completely unacceptable and incompatible with BAFTA's values." On Tuesday, the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts rejected Weinstein's $5 million pledge to fund an endowment for female filmmakers. And, as V.F.'s Yohana Destanotes, Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the lead role in Weinstein's one Oscar hope this year, The Current War, has joined the chorus of actors condemning the producer, releasing a statement declaring himself "utterly disgusted" by Weinstein's alleged behavior. But it is the film Academy that is the institution central to Weinstein's identity as an Oscar kingmaker. How the group ultimately reacts—or doesn't—will likely be viewed through the lens of its ongoing diversity drive, which includes a pledge to double the number of women members between 2016 and 2020. Women currently represent 28 percent of the Academy.
By David Walter Banks/The New York Times/Redux.
LETTER FROM ASGARD
V.F.'s Katey Rich writes:
Though questions about Harvey Weinstein were as common as "who are you wearing?," the Thor: Ragnarok premiere red carpet in Los Angeles on Tuesday night was largely a welcome respite from the darker stories that have been dominating Hollywood. As V.F.'s Erika Harwood noted, it was an especially fashionable crowd, with Cate Blanchett and Tessa Thompson both standing out in gold, and Miley Cyrus, wearing bright florals, breaking her red carpet hiatus to accompany fiancé Liam Hemsworth. For those excited to see Liam and brother Luke on hand to support Chris Hemsworth in his third Thor film, V.F. contributor Paul Chi was there to bring back even better news: "When we find the right script that's good enough, then we'll do [a movie together]," Chris said. "But we can't do too many jobs together. It would be like the Brady Bunch."
COVER GIRL
V.F.'s Yohana Desta writes:
Star Wars: The Last Jedi season is truly upon us. In the last few days, we've gotten a new poster, a fresh trailer, and, now, a Vogue cover story featuring none other than Rey [Last Name Redacted] herself, Daisy Ridley. The feature is full of fun facts about the actress; for example, she just got a tattoo of a star within a cyclone to represent "the solidity of my family." Naturally, there's not much she can say about what we'll see in The Last Jedi itself; instead, Ridley offers harmless details, like the martial arts practice she had to undergo before being able to wield those heavy lightsabers. She also dances around highly protected plot points, promising only that we'll learn more about Rey's story—and that this particular film is less of a physical journey, a la The Force Awakens, and more of an emotional one: "More of a conversation, as opposed to a big adventure." Ah, at long last, Star Wars has entered its long-awaited My Dinner with Andre phase.
A NEW DYNASTY
V.F.'s Laura Bradley writes:
For anyone who fell in love with Dynasty in the 80s, good news: tonight, the show comes back from the dead. Well, sort of. The CW's reboot, from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage of Gossip Girl and The O.C. fame, premieres tonight. The updated Dynasty will, as ever, center on the ultra-wealthy Carrington family and their energy empire—but with a couple modern twists. Heather Locklear's original series character, Sammy Jo, has been replaced by a gay man named Sammy Joe—and the originally white Krystle is now a Venezuelan woman named Cristal. But all of the good stuff from the original will still be there. In fact, the premiere—which airs at 9 P.M. on the CW—already includes a catfight. According to Schwartz, the most important ingredient to a good stage fight is "committed actors. Two women who are ready to blow off a little steam at work." And, Savage adds, "a dress that's been rigged to lose its shoulder over and over again."
PARTY ALL THE TIME?
V.F.'s Hillary Busis writes:
Ten years ago, after a string of schlocky family films, Eddie Murphy seemed poised to make a comeback with his splashy supporting role in Dreamgirls—a part that called upon the former Saturday Night Live star to channel James Brown while using his full powers as a comedian and a singer, as well as a dramatic actor. And his performance was a triumph, as V.F. contributor Nathan Rabin writes in this re-evaluation, written as a new Dreamgirls Director's Cut is released: "Murphy's Thunder is a flesh-and-blood human being, but he also embodies the pain, frustration, and disillusionment of any number of performers whose extraordinary talents couldn't overcome their even more extraordinary capacity for self-destruction." Unfortunately, we all know what happened next; though Murphy was praised to the hills for Dreamgirls, he lost out on a supporting-actor Oscar, then went back to making schlock. Read Rabin's story to lament what might have been.
That's the news for this sunny Wednesday in L.A. What are you seeing out there? Send tips, comments, and discarded Dreamgirls gowns to Rebecca_Keegan@condenast.com. Follow me on Twitter @thatrebecca.
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