Peter Jackson: Harvey Weinstein Made Me Blacklist Accusers Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino

[sl8]

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From http://time.com/5066394/peter-jackson-harvey-weinstein-interview/

Peter Jackson: Harvey Weinstein Made Me Blacklist Accusers Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino

By SAMANTHA COONEY
Updated: December 15, 2017 1:37 PM ET

The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson said he suspects Harvey Weinstein‘s company fed him information to discourage him from working with Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino, two of the dozens of women who have publicly accused the producer of sexual misconduct this year.

In an interview with New Zealand news website Stuff, Jackson said that he didn’t have direct knowledge of the allegations against Weinstein. But he now believes the Weinstein brothers, who originally controlled the rights to The Lord of the Rings series at Miramax, convinced him not to cast Judd and Sorvino.

“I recall Miramax telling us they were a nightmare to work with and we should avoid them at all costs. This was probably in 1998,” Jackson said. “At the time, we had no reason to question what these guys were telling us – but in hindsight, I realise that this was very likely the Miramax smear campaign in full swing… I now suspect we were fed false information about both of these talented women – and as a direct result their names were removed from our casting list.”

A Weinstein spokesman denied he had any influence over the casting for the films. “Mr. Weinstein has nothing but the utmost respect for Peter Jackson. However, as Mr. Jackson will probably remember, because Disney would not finance the “Lord of the Rings”, Miramax lost the project and all casting was done by New Line,” the statement said.

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[Bradshaw3]

1. I hope they sue his fat ass off

And then after a trial, he goes to jail.

[Duppers]

14. +100

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. This is helpful for him to say. When powerful men say women are "hard to work with," there's often

more to the story, no matter the industry. Even "good" men can follow the path of least resistance when it comes to believing what toxic men tell them.

[Glorfindel]

3. Both of these extremely talented young ladies can hold their heads high.

Each of them is a class act, and being disparaged by Harvey Weinstein is a badge of honor, indicating that they rejected his repulsive advances. It's just a shame that we have been deprived of the pleasure of seeing them in more movies. Many thanks to Peter Jackson for his honesty and courage.

[RobinA]

4. Well...Courage Now

He apparently didn't have the courage back then when it counted.

[Glorfindel]

5. To be fair, there were only five or six major female characters in Jackson's works since 1998

Galadriel, Arwen Evenstar, Eowen, Tauriel, and Ann Darrow in "King Kong." I can't see Mira Sorvino or Ashley Judd applying for or being cast in any of those roles. Rosie Cotton and the terrifying harridan who screams, "Torry Kong!" are the only other two who come to mind.

[cab67]

9. In hindsight...

...Mira Sorvino would have made a good Arwen.

[Orrex]

12. Or Galadriel.

[cab67]

16. perhaps

But Cate Blanchett nailed that role.

[Orrex]

17. Yes, absolutely. I won't hear a word said against Ms. Blanchett.

For me, she's one of those "could read the phone book and I'd still watch" kind of people.

[cab67]

7. He may not have realized the need for courage.

It sounds like Jackson was unaware of the misconduct allegations against Weinstein. I've been in this situation myself; I've been told unpleasant things about colleagues (male and female) from people I had no reason do doubt, only later to learn there were ulterior motives behind it.

[SharonClark]

18. They are not 'young ladies' - they are women!

Women whose careers were sidelined by a creep.

[Glorfindel]

19. Good Lord. I imagine if I had called them "women," you'd have corrected me to say they are

"proud possessors of vaginas." Damned if you do, damned if you don't, but I'll err on the side of good manners, thank you very much.

[RandomAccess]

6. Uncoopertive women got disappeared

And not just by Harvey Weinstein.

Either thru being blacklisted like Sorvino and Judd, or by taking themselves out of the business entirely, like so many women we'll never know much about. When the Weinstein scandal broke, Tippi Hedrin ("The Birds" ) tweeted that she left the business when Hitchcock threatened her when she wouldn't comply with his inappropriate behavior. I always wondered about HER. How many other women have we lost the talents of this way?

[Honeycombe8]

10. I totally believed Hedrin from the start.

She wrote about this in a book, I believe. I've heard her talk about it in interviews. I was shocked to find out that old, fat Hitchcock was a perv, and very vindictive.

She said that even later, after it was all over, she rec'd a "gift" from him....when she opened it, it was a doll with the head cut off. Just bizarre stuff like that. He had told her he'd ruin her career.

Makes me wonder if Grace Kelly was more cooperative? Or the others he hired for his films?

[Honeycombe8]

8. Peter Jackson is apparently one of the good ones.

Wish there were more like him. He didn't have to come out and reveal this. He's a stand-up guy.

[33taw]

11. I am not so sure. A good guy would have stood up to it when it occurred, not when the wind is

At his back on this issue.

[Honeycombe8]

13. Someone in the know told him they were hard to work with.

No reason not to believe it. He trusted whoever told him that.

That sort of info is passed along a lot "in the biz," I suspect.

I don't blame him at all. There's no reason, unless you suspect it's a lie, to go investigate on your own with different sources. I'm sure he was already working long hours, as were his assistants. It's not like they were big stars. Easy just to choose someone else.

[BannonsLiver]

15. Id need to know more

He was told they were difficult to work with. Jackson probably never knew they real reason Weinstein was bad mouthing them. Most people when told someone is difficult to work with don’t seek to find out for themselves.

I’m of the belief that better late than never applies to situations like this and those who finally get it should be welcomed, not shit on.