Wow, all this that is coming out about him and what he's done for decades really makes me wonder if I should continue to "make it" in this business. Not just the episodes of abuse - those are tragic and make my gut clench when I think about it - but the film biz isn't the only industry/culture where this happens (to the great detriment of the human race). No, what really gets me is the culture of denial, of putting up with it, the "hidden code" that seems pervasive. I mean, look what Trump endures in the press and social media for WORDS - calls for his impeachment, endless insults, rallies against him personally. And what do we hear from those same outraged people against Weinstein? Barely anything. A bit of "shock." A smattering of "sadness."
Why am I trying to get into a vocation where this kind of behavior is tolerated? Where peers look the other way for decades? Why do I want to be part of a culture where victims not only put up with it, but actively deny it? Where the victims knowingly put themselves in these positions because they're so focused on "making it"? I'm in no way blaming Chelsea Skidmore (please, I'm really not!), but by her own admission she met with Weinstein 3 subsequent times - after he beat off in front of her!!! Primarily because - again by her own admission - she wanted to progress in the business?! What kind of industry am I trying to "make it" in, that creates an atmosphere where this is okay? This kind of devaluing of human life - of women - has caused armed revolution in other parts of the world. But in Hollywood - oh well, another day on the casting couch.
Do I want to be part of this industry? I'm really thinking I don't.
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Don't forget Mr Jello Pudding Pop, Bill Cosby. He/his lawyers are still trying to keep him out of jail.
If you are shocked re: Harvey Weinstein in 2017, then maybe you never read the 1920s bestseller Jim Tully's "JARNEGAN" -- an expose of sexual abuse and complicity in the silent film industry John Ellis
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Read a bio of Darryl F. Zanuck, whose sex abuse of actresses + contract players easily eclipsed Harvey's. Though Zanuck's daily "casting couch" routine was known by all, I guess some people have forgotten. JD Hartman John Ellis
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If you want to be creative, Hollywood is not the place to pin those hopes and dreams on. It's a cesspool of predators and prey, perverts and victims, and it's always been like that.
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Yes, I'm aware of Zanuck and Cosby. And, in a more general sense, of the abuses that have gone on since the beginning of the industry. I'm also cognizant that the film industry isn't unique. I guess what I'm saying is that the Weinstein thing is sort of a tipping point. I think I'm coming around to what Tony Treloar says - Hollywood isn't the place for me to express my creativity. But is there a place where honesty and ethics rule? Where the emphasis is truly on the story and not on advancing one's career? Because that's what I see as the root cause - the "making it" mentality driving things, rather than "telling a great story."
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they make movies & TV shows outside of Hollywood. Stay independent. Self-distribute. Lots of folks are happy doin their own thing,
But if you wanna run with the big dogs- studio execs, TV execs, A-List Talent SAG, PGA, DGA, IATSE, Academy Members, attend Red Carpet premieres, go to Emmy and Oscar Award shows - then you gotta learn how to play. Sometimes you are the Hammer and sometimes you are the nail.
Don't worry bout Harvey Weinstein and ARI GOLD super Agents in La La Land. Most aspiring filmmakers, Actors, Writers don't leave community theater.
BTW, I have a Weinstein story when I was an assistant to a Hollywood Producer. They all talk and walk the same... U know what I mean?
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Yes, John Ellis, there is such a place. It's called the THEATRE. I'm a full member of the Dramatists Guild. My first play was produced in NYC when I was 10 years old.
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John, it sounds like you've made your mind up. Move on. The sooner you do the happier you will be.
Politics? Really?