One of the big disgraces of the entertainment industry — both past and present — has been the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal that emerged at the end of last year. The most disgusting and infuriating aspect of it, of course, was just how long it was gurgling beneath the surface of the industry: just out of view of the layman.
But in the industry, Weinstein’s abuses were common knowledge: the frequent butt of far too-quickly dismissed jokes and inside references. It was so widespread, in face, that there are now calls for New York’s governor to investigate the DA for negligence in light of how omnipresent Weinstein’s transgressions were. Those who knew — and there are an infuriating many who did — tragically did nothing to stop him, allowing the man to run rampant for years.
Weinstein, of course, was not the only man to abuse his power within the entertainment industry in order to take advantage of countless women desperate to develop their careers. Kevin Spacey was infamously outed as a serial rapist, resulting in getting cut from House of Cards, replaced in All the Money in the World and excised entirely from his professional community. Woody Allen is infamous for his mistreatment of women throughout his long and stories career. Famed director Roman Polanski hasn’t set foot in the country for decades after being tried for rape, and even wracked up a number of award nominations during those years spent abroad. But Weinstein is perhaps the most egregious of this wretched company, and absolutely the highest profile.
The Weinstein scandal has, of course, hit the company that he and his brother co-founded, the monolithic Weinstein Company, hard. In the immediate wake of the allegations against him, they desperately tried to run damage control on their brand: excising their founder, making empty statements of condolence and generally committing to their painless, paint-by-numbers penance. It didn’t work, nor should it have, and they were force to move on to more drastic measures.
The Weinstein Company CEOs put the production company on the market, trying to sell off what they could for as good of a price as they could get for it. And while there were a few interested parties — the company does, after all, have a concentration and quality of talent that are the envy of the film industry — none were eager to chomp at the bit. Even when it looked like its sale was a done deal, to a majority woman-controlled business no less, even that fell through in the end.
And now, at last, we can close the chapter on the Weinstein Company. Fitfully filed on the co-founders birthday, The Weinstein Company, in lieu of profitable sale, is filing for bankruptcy after thirteen years of business. Between his company and his earlier production work, Harvey Weinstein had won a total of 81 Academy Awards (from an organization, it warrants mentions, from which he has since been expelled from). This included five specifically for Best Picture: The English Patient (1997), Shakespeare in Love (1999), Chicago (2002), The King’s Speech (2011) and The Artist (2012).
It will be interesting to see what happens now, not only to its 150 employees, films unreleased and overall pool of talent. For their and their founder’s sins, the company has met a just end. But will this serve as a warning to future abusers in Hollywood, or will it merely be a reminder not to get caught?