A Pattern Of Perversion - Abusive Culture In Hollywood (David O'Russell, Harvey Weinstein, Woody Allen)
Since we know now about Harvey Weinstein and the general implication that this is a widespread and overlooked problem in Hollywood, it makes sense to take a look at some other directors, armed with this knowledge.
I got kind of interested in this guy, David O'Russell: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0751102/
He is the director of "I Heart Huckabees" and the Weinstein produced Silver Linings playbook. There are many stories of him completely losing it on his actresses. Here is one example, taken from the set of I heart huckabees:
His language doesn't exactly endear him. He bullied Amy Adams to tears:
Screaming at Jennifer Lawrence, trying to bar Harvey Weinstein to come to his set cause he said he would be a distraction to his actress. Interesting. This indicates he was aware of his predatory nature yet continued working with him.
Jennifer denies it and says she "adores him"
Got into a fight with George Clooney for allegedly attacking an extra:
Here he reflects on his "bad days":
A bit interesting as well, childish behavior:
I don't know, bad temper and childish behaviour doesn't necessarily indicate that a person is immoral, we can all lose our temper from time to time and argue with people, especially during stressful and intense working sessions. However, regularly badgering and abusing people who work for you can be such a sign.
Here he is talking about her and how he and Harvey watched a skype audition of her that impressed Harvey Weinstein.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/david-o-russell-jennifer-lawrence-682587
He doesn't really give you the creeps in the same kind of way Harvey does but he does seem like a bit of an asshole. Which is not actually illegal but I don't know. Seems like someone to at least keep an eye on and see if something else connects him to some of this darker stuff that is emerging.
Here he is enjoying the attention of a woman in red. He had a partner for 7 years at the time. Obviously this is nothing conclusive or too outrageous but worth considering.
Holly Davis
In other news in Hollywood: A man accused of raping his adopted daughter since she was seven years old is making a film that has a sex scene with a 44 year old man and a 15 year old girl.
https://pagesix.com/2017/10/21/woody-allens-new-movie-couldnt-have-worse-timing/
He recently commented about how this was sad for everyone, including for Weinstein and hoped it wouldn't lead to a witch hunt. Interesting that this is his initial reaction to these news. Facing criticism for the statement he said he meant that Weinstein was a sick man and that was sad.
This is interesting to note as well: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/harvey-weinstein-woody-allen_us_59d6842ae4b046f5ad96ecdc
"Allen’s continued success and acclaim, despite the rumors and accusations that have hovered around him for decades, has never been too surprising. Plenty of industry heavyweights have shaken off such scandals ― and even criminal convictions. But in 1994, Allen’s reputation was in shambles and his career at an impasse. The filmmaker split with longtime partner Mia Farrow in 1992 following the revelation that he’d been having an affair with her daughter Soon-Yi, then in her early 20s. In the midst of the messy separation, allegations emerged that Allen had molested the couple’s young daughter Dylan.
At that point a well-established icon in the film world thanks to films like “Annie Hall” and “Manhattan,” Allen’s brand was suddenly toxic. The director “was shunned by Hollywood’s movie community,” wrote the Los Angeles Times at the time. Weinstein, though, was unperturbed by Allen’s reputation. “Shunned by Hollywood means nothing to Miramax,” Weinstein told the L.A. Times. “We’re talking about a comic genius.”
At a time when nobody was willing to work with Woody Allen cause of the extremely serious and disturbing allegations against him, up steps Harvey Weinstein. Despite all the talk coming from Hollywood celebrities about rape-culture, victim-blaming and misogyny, surprisingly many of them seem to share the view that these things are not necessarily that bad if the perpetrator of the crimes is a genius of some sort. They do not seem to care about the effects on Dylan Farrow, seeing them rub shoulders with the man who she says molested him.
Since he actually went ahead and married his step daughter I think there is plenty of reason to believe there is something seriously wrong with this man. Yet most of Hollywood pretends that there is nothing to worry about. Carry on, the guy just fell for his step-daughter I mean, common, don't spoil his movies for us! He is a funny guy! All with the nervous ticks and peculiar behavior.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/woody-allen-talks-falling-step-6163463
I always thought it was interesting how every Woody Allen film seemed to have the most star studded line-ups Hollywood could assemble. It's hard to find an A-list celebrity actor who hasn't appeared in one of his films.
I wonder if they all read Dylan's letter?
https://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/an-open-letter-from-dylan-farrow/
Cause I did, and I certainly would not want to work with this man after having read it. Now, I fully believe in innocent until proven guilty, obviously. And I am aware that false accusations exist. However, I am capable of making my own judgment and from what I can tell the letter is genuine, credible and disgustingly disturbing. Enough so that I would not contemplate ever associating with this person unless I had absolutely clear evidence of his innocence. I doubt that these actors do.
Excerpts from the letter:
"What’s your favorite Woody Allen movie? Before you answer, you should know: when I was seven years old, Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic on the second floor of our house. He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother’s electric train set. Then he sexually assaulted me. He talked to me while he did it, whispering that I was a good girl, that this was our secret, promising that we’d go to Paris and I’d be a star in his movies. I remember staring at that toy train, focusing on it as it traveled in its circle around the attic. To this day, I find it difficult to look at toy trains.
For as long as I could remember, my father had been doing things to me that I didn’t like. I didn’t like how often he would take me away from my mom, siblings and friends to be alone with him. I didn’t like it when he would stick his thumb in my mouth. I didn’t like it when I had to get in bed with him under the sheets when he was in his underwear. I didn’t like it when he would place his head in my naked lap and breathe in and breathe out. I would hide under beds or lock myself in the bathroom to avoid these encounters, but he always found me. These things happened so often, so routinely, so skillfully hidden from a mother that would have protected me had she known, that I thought it was normal. I thought this was how fathers doted on their daughters. But what he did to me in the attic felt different. I couldn’t keep the secret anymore.
When I asked my mother if her dad did to her what Woody Allen did to me, I honestly did not know the answer. I also didn’t know the firestorm it would trigger. I didn’t know that my father would use his sexual relationship with my sister to cover up the abuse he inflicted on me. I didn’t know that he would accuse my mother of planting the abuse in my head and call her a liar for defending me. I didn’t know that I would be made to recount my story over and over again, to doctor after doctor, pushed to see if I’d admit I was lying as part of a legal battle I couldn’t possibly understand. At one point, my mother sat me down and told me that I wouldn’t be in trouble if I was lying – that I could take it all back. I couldn’t. It was all true. But sexual abuse claims against the powerful stall more easily. There were experts willing to attack my credibility. There were doctors willing to gaslight an abused child."
I find this repulsive.
Brian Peck who was convicted of raping a child is still working with children. In what context is that even remotely acceptable?
Barbara Walters scolded Corey Feldman for implying that he was a victim of sexual abuse by Hollywood predators:
Roman Polanski drugged and raped a 13 year old. There was no shortage of support from Hollywood for him. Whoopi Goldberg infamously called it "not rape-rape" and went on an incoherent rant justifying his crime:
Celebrated and applauded at the Oscars:
Meryl Streep is sad. Not for the underage girl he violated but because Roman Polanski went to jail...
Of course, Harvey wrote a letter defending Polanski:
"Alleged serial sexual harasser Harvey Weinstein once wrote an op-ed defending fellow film industry titan and child rapist Roman Polanski
The 2009 piece by Weinstein was written for The Independent and titled, “Polanski has served his time and must be freed.” In the article, the Academy Award winning film producer argued that Polanski is “at heart… a humanist”
Additionally, he writes that “the Seventies era” should be forgotten and charging Polanski over his multiple rape allegations would be “a miscarriage of justice.” For those who may have forgotten, the “seventies era” that Weinstein mentions is a reference to a 1977 case in which Polanski was charged for raping a 13-year-old girl by using predatory drugs. Since then, four women have come forward to make rape and sexual assault accusations against Polanski."
I am confused. Normally we give disgusting pedo predators this kind of treatment:
I guess it would have made all the difference if he had made a movie or two...
Or produced a band? Which brings me to my next article. Feels like something kind of obvious that we've been missing so far.
It's more on the dark, open secret in the world of protected predators and abusive culture in the entertainment industry.
Lou Pearlman. Ever heard of the guy? I hadn't either until recently yet I've been researching this stuff for years. I definitely should have.
- UPDATE
Just came across this article! I actually wrote most of this article last Sunday so this wasn't up by then but it adds more to what I'm suspecting.
Despite my efforts to dig up dirt on him I seemed to have missed this: http://www.tmz.com/2012/01/07/david-o-russell-niece-groped-state-attorney-office-charge/ - Groping his 19 year olds niece transgender boobs