“Harvey Weinstein is someone who was addicted to power and submission” Oscar-winning screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz tells Metro.co.ukto add, ‘It’s dangerous – and deadly.’
His latest project is the new film She Said, which tells the story of a collective of women who broke decades of silence and overcame incredible adversity to bring the Hollywood producer’s crimes to light.
Speaking to Metro ahead of the film’s UK release, it’s clear the focus is less on the ogre and more on the villagers who brought him down.
“There are a lot of predators in society. Weinstein is right at the top of the list,” says Rebecca.
She Said stars Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman, An Education) and Zoe Kazan (Ruby Sparks, The Big Sick) as journalists whose 2017 Weinstein investigation helped bring the #MeToo movement to the fore and bring the tycoon to justice.
Directed by Maria Schrader, the film tells how the two reporters – Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey – told the story while working at The New York Times.
Their groundbreaking exclusive, which rocked Hollywood to its core, was the result of a dogged determination to break down the wall of silence, intimidation and NDAs that for years had kept women from speaking out against Harvey Weinstein’s abuse. .
More than 100 women have brought charges against the infamous movie mogul. Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie have both accused Weinstein of harassment; Paltrow said she was proposed when she was 22, while Jolie spoke of a “bad experience” with him in her youth.
Basing her screenplay on Kantor and Twohey’s book ‘She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement’, Rebecca explains that much of her motivation was driven by a sense of rage and injustice.
“I just thought it was an incredibly important topic.” she says. “There is so much violence against women. I tried to give the survivors a voice in the story like they did in the book.
It was the first time a film had been allowed to shoot in the offices of The New York Times, which were empty and available thanks to the Covid lockdown. The film also depicts the personal lives of Kantor and Twohey, showing the sacrifices the women made behind the scenes – Twohey was battling postnatal depression while conducting the investigation.
In writing the screenplay, Lenkiewicz worked with three female victims of Weinstein; Zelda Perkins, who was working as an assistant when Weinstein sexually harassed and intimidated her, Rowena Chiu, her colleague who was assaulted by Weinstein, and Laura Madden. Played by Jennifer Ehle, Madden’s story opens the film in Ireland in 1992, as she stumbles down a street in tears, her face stricken with horror, after an assault.
Rebecca says: “I have seen, like other women who have suffered violence, that there are consequences. That it is not something that you overcome very simply, or never, in a certain way.
“It infuriates me that you get a longer sentence for robbery than for sexual violence. Like it’s just an event that people are recovering from. The trauma is very complex. All the women I met were amazing , bright and resilient, and coped in different ways, but it was so interesting to see how it impacted their lives in a very formative time in their early twenties.
“The experience didn’t break them, but it certainly had consequences. They felt shame. There is often a sense of shame in women when there shouldn’t be. What s “What happened isn’t their fault. The aftermath is so complicated when her body was violated. Or with the traumatic bullying, like with Zelda Perkins. It’s just really hard to live with.”
In 2020, Weinstein was found guilty of rape and sexual assault during his criminal trial in New York. He is currently serving a 23-year sentence in California.
Another trial is underway in Los Angeles for seven other abuse charges against four women, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Jurors were instructed to avoid the trailer and film for fear of harming the trial.
If Weinstein is found guilty, he will die behind bars.
Rebecca received the book chapter by chapter as it was written, so she could work on the script for the film at the same time. She says she was honored to be asked to write the film, privileged to take on the task, but also “terrified” by the prospect.
“It was daunting to make history work and honor those represented in it. I had no concerns for Weinstein himself, or his staff, or his machine.
How #MeToo inspired movies
“Five years ago, the #MeToo shone a light on issues around gender and violence. In the wake of the movement, filmmakers have tackled these issues through an enduring collection of documentaries (Untouchable) and feature films (Bombshell),” says Sonal Kantaria, Documentary and Film Theory Tutor, MetFilm School.
“The films approach women as the main protagonists of their stories in a thought-provoking way and without shirking issues of sexual assault and violence. They reinforce the idea that survivors are not alone and can feel a sense of of solidarity through a shared experience.These stories and representations are important for all generations, but particularly for the younger generations, both from a historical and contemporary point of view.
“The #MeToo movement quickly grew to a global reach where women shared stories of gender discrimination, assault and violence in unprecedented and courageous ways through social media. It was the first time that such a response took on a global dimension and directly addressed these issues not only in the film industry, but also in the workplace and in society.
“The impact has led to some changes, although there is undeniably much more to do. In the film industry, it has brought gender stereotypes, disparities in power, pay and representation to the fore.
The film was well received by critics, with website Rotten Tomatoes awarding it 83% and The New York Times calling it “a silent thriller that speaks volumes”.
Five years later, #MeToo has changed everything and changed nothing.
In Hollywood, the women of the cinema have new protections; privacy coordinators have been introduced and hotlines set up to handle complaints. But the harassment is still everywhere, says Rebecca.
She says, “It’s not settled at all. Sexual harassment is still pervasive. Women always feel vulnerable. The articles have opened many conversations and changed some of the ways people operate. Things have changed a bit in the industry. But not enough. Not yet.
“Sexual harassment should not be part of the professional life remit of actresses, or anyone in any workplace. It’s not just about actresses. I hope this movie screams out to everyone who wants to stand together when they are being bullied or abused.
“There is still a lot of work to do,” adds Rebecca.
“Starting in school, it would be great to weed out the ideas of misogyny and patriarchy and for equality to happen.
“We’re over the moon but we still don’t have equal pay. It’s just a gaping fault in society that half the people are treated worse than the other half. That’s prejudice. This problem is universal. We need to educate everyone about consent, equality and respect. It is imperative.
She Said Prime Ministers in the UK on November 25.
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