Can Paz de la Huerta Help Get Harvey Weinstein Arrested?
Vanity Fair
ESSENTIAL INDUSTRY and AWARD NEWS FROM HOLLYWOOD, compiled by REBECCA KEEGAN
Friday, November 3, 2017
It's Friday, and you can't take that away from me.
Hello from Los Angeles, where we're hearing from the New York Police Department's key Weinstein victim, learning alarming stories about the House of Cards set, and swaying gently to Dave Matthews Band to celebrate one pure thing in this world: the opening of Lady Bird.
THE BALLAD OF PAZ
In the four weeks since The New York Times published its first piece detailing decades of sexual harassment and assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein, his career has crumbled, and dozens more allegations have surfaced. But one question has persisted: given the difficulty of prosecuting sexual assault cases and the power of Weinstein's legal and political allies, would the disgraced producer ever face arrest? This week, I spoke to the woman who may represent the New York district attorney's best shot at prosecuting Weinstein: Paz de la Huerta, who described to me and to the N.Y.P.D. two alleged rapes in 2010. The first happened when de la Huerta, who had appeared in Weinstein's film Cider House Rules at age 14, ran into the producer at age 26 at the Standard, High Line hotel in Manhattan in November 2010, and accepted a ride home from him. "Immediately when we got inside the house, he started to kiss me and I kind of brushed [him] away," de la Huerta said. "Then he pushed me onto the bed and his pants were down and he lifted up my skirt. I felt afraid. . . . It wasn't consensual . . . It happened very quickly. . . . He stuck himself inside me. . . . When he was done he said he'd be calling me. I kind of just laid on the bed in shock." The second alleged rape happened when Weinstein showed up in de la Huerta's apartment lobby weeks later. Through a spokeswoman, Weinstein has "unequivocally denied" any allegations of nonconsensual sex.
Because de la Huerta alleges a forceful rape which happened after June 2006, within New York's statute of limitations for rape in the first degree, her case is among the most compelling for police and prosecutors. "I believe based on my interviews with Paz that from the N.Y.P.D. standpoint we have enough to make an arrest," N.Y.P.D detective Nicholas DiGaudio told me. For de la Huerta, who was starring on HBO's Boardwalk Empire at the time of the encounters, the impact was lasting. "I was very traumatized," de la Huerta told me. "I don't think I was taking very good care of myself. What happened with Harvey left me scarred for many years. I felt so disgusted by it, with myself. . . . I became a little self-destructive. It was really hard for me to deal, to cope."
Paz de la Huerta while promoting Enter the Void at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2009.
By Henny Garfunkel/Redux.
THE HOLLYWOOD SWAMP
V.F.'s Yohana Desta writes:
Another day, another batch of hellish updates to sort through as Hollywood's sexual misconduct reckoning continues. Let's start with Kevin Spacey's last 24 hours. On Thursday night, eight anonymous employees who worked on House of Cards accused the actor of turning the show's set into a "toxic" environment. One former production assistant accused Spacey of putting his hands down his pants without his consent, while another said Spacey would harass him and make him feel uncomfortable. Incidents weren't reported because the employees feared for their jobs. "Who is going to believe crew members?" a former camera assistant said. "You're going to get fired." Meanwhile, Scotland Yard has opened an investigation into an incident that reportedly happened over a decade ago in London: an aspiring British actor told the police that in 2008, he met Spacey at his apartment, smoked some marijuana with him, then passed out. When the actor woke up, he claims he found Spacey performing oral sex on him. Spacey's career has taken a massive hit as a result of the horrendous allegations. The Oscar-winning star has been dumped by C.A.A., as well as by Polaris P.R. and his publicist Staci Wolfe. In addition, the fancy awards season push for his performance in All the Money in the World has also come to a halt, a bellwether for Spacey's ongoing descent.
On the other side of things, Corey Feldman's campaign to name powerful predators in Hollywood is ramping up. On Thursday, the actor went on Dr. Oz and accused actor Jon Grissom of sexually abusing him when he was a teenager. Grissom had roles in Feldman films like License to Drive and Dream a Little Dream. Feldman also called the Los Angeles Police Department while on the show to file a report against Grissom. It's the first new name Feldman has revealed since announcing his campaign a little over a week ago.
LADY OF THE HOUR
V.F.'s Katey Rich writes:
Coming to theaters this weekend after an acclaimed run at the early fall festivals, Greta Gerwig'sLady Bird is emerging as an unlikely awards-season heavyweight, with critics raving about everything from Saoirse Ronan's lead performance to the scenes set to "Crash into Me" by Dave Matthews Band. Today, Vanity Fair highlights one more thing that has critics swooning. Nicole Sperlingspoke to Laurie Metcalf, the television and stage veteran who hadn't made a film in nearly a decade when she signed on to play Lady Bird's exasperated mother, Marion. "The part was very personal to me," Metcalf said. "I see the mistakes Marion is making because I can stand outside the role and see it, but also, I've been inside it."
AW, HONEY . . .
V.F.'s Laura Bradley writes:
Rest in peace, Rosario; you will be missed. On Thursday night, Will & Grace laid Karen's maid and best friend to rest—a decision creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan made after the retired actress who played her, Shelley Morrison, elected not to return for the show's revival. "[Rosario] felt too much a part of the fabric of the show to just dismiss it with a line or two or an explanation," Kohan told Variety. "It felt like it merited more of a loving farewell." And Megan Mullally, the show-runners continued, nailed her final goodbye to her longtime screen buddy from the first cold read. According to Mutchnick, both of them knew that Mullally had it in her: "Megan is just someone who's displayed this one side," Mutchnick said. "But as soon as we knew we had a chance to do something heavy, we knew we had the actress that could deliver the most dramatic episode we've ever done."
STOP: HAMMER TIME
V.F.'s Hillary Busis writes:
The mighty Thor (and Chris Hemsworth's mighty biceps) are set to rule the box office this weekend, with a box-office take that will likely soar into the $400 million range globally by Sunday. These days, Marvel movies are almost always a safe bet in terms of money-making—but Thor: Ragnarok may have an extra ace in the hole due to the fact that the movie, get this, also happens to be very good. V.F.'s own Joanna Robinsonlays out how Taika Waititi's jokey space opera breathes new life into a franchise that needed it, and takes a closer look at the film's tantalizing end credit sequence as well. Here, though, the point isn't so much about connecting the thread for the larger Marvel-verse; Ragnarok works primarily because it feels so much like a kooky standalone, and we can only hope it inspires the studio to take more risks with its upcoming slate.
That's the news for this cloudy Friday in L.A. What are you seeing out there? Send tips, comments, and a puka shell necklace to Rebecca_Keegan@condenast.com. Follow me on Twitter @thatrebecca
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