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that article about Scott Rudin violently abusing his assistants is such a good example. how many people who could have been the NEXT big award-winning producer never got past rung 1 on the ladder, said “fuck this shit” and quit the industry because of him? because it seems like the answer is DOZENS

The myth of the abusive male genius needs to die. There are very few whose contributions to society are really worth being conflicted over in contrast to the abuse they unleashed. I promise you there was a woman or non-binary person or even a decent man around whose art was just as good

and of course with sexual assault the maddening thing is the hypocrisy of it all. we care soooo much about not interfering with someone’s potential when it’s like a college rapist on a swimming scholarship, but somehow the potential of women artists assaulted by violent men bears no consideration

I think every day of my life about how “the curse of the Best Supporting Actress” became a pop culture joke - women who exploded onto the scene with one huge hit in the 90s or 00’s, then totally dropped off the map - because we never did the math on how many of those were Miramax movies

And he certainly wasn't the only predator out there, just a major one we know of. There are a few actresses I sometimes wonder about who seemed to have "chosen" to leave acting when things were going well.

Like have you read about Julia Ormond? Remember her?

as soon as she came out with that lawsuit I was like “well that sure answers the question of whatever happened to Julia Ormond”

I have come to reflexively answer “Whatever happened to her?” with “She said ‘No’ to a man.” I don’t think I’ve been wrong yet. Except maybe Bridget Fonda.

Had the same reaction re: Mira Sorvino, because I always wondered why she wasn’t a bigger star

ANY movie I watch from the early 00s where an actress is nowhere to be seen now makes me think about this and wonder how many were raped by Weinstein.

Yep And/or said no to him, or someone like him, and got blacklisted for it

Didn’t Peter Jackson formally apologize to Mira Sorvino for not considering her on LOTR at New Line’s insistence?

Correction: Miramax (meaning Harvey Weinstein), not New Line.

And Ashley Judd amp.theguardian.com/film/2017/de...

Peter Jackson: I blacklisted Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino under pressure from Weinstein | Harvey Weinstein | The Guardianamp.theguardian.com Jackson said Miramax told him not to cast duo in Lord of the Rings series because they were difficult to work with

I don't think Men in Black was Miramax, but I always wonder if something like this was why Linda Fiorentino wasn't in 2 for being "difficult to work with"

Even if not, the “difficult actress” trope is similarly about the personal feelings of the men who have power over their career rather than the performer’s merit. Men have a lot more latitude to be “difficult”.

OMFG. I feel like throwing up.

The scale of the harm is pretty overwhelming when I think about how many people have likely been in similar situations (in general, not just with Weinstein or in Hollywood)

Thank you. That’s what I was thinking of.

Oh, my.

Juliette Lewis went from being an A list actor to being in a relatively obscure rock band. I'd be interested to know if that's why bc women in music have to face horrid misogyny as well.

I read "one huge tit" at first and my mind raced back to that time as I .... oh, right: "hit"...

I'd heard that Scott was an abusive creep but never understood how bad it was until reading this book. Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood a.co/d/eePz8Pc

Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood: Ryan, Maureen: 9780063269279: Amazon.com: Booksa.co Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood [Ryan, Maureen] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Holly...

that book is amazing and @moryan.bsky.social is a real one

💯💯💯

🙏🏻🔥

Wasn't Rudin the inspiration for Spacey's character in Swimming With Sharks?

That's the rumor! www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/20...

Scott Rudin Scandal: ‘Swimming With Sharks’ Tried to Warn Uswww.vanityfair.com The creator explains how the disgraced producer influenced his 1994 film about Hollywood cruelty.

Was Rudin the one who would regularly scream obscenities and throw heavy objects at his assistants heads that could literally kill them? (Sorry, it’s hard to keep track of so many bad men)

Yep that’s him there was a lengthy article a few years that interviewed a number of them and among other things it’s a real indictment of some otherwise beloved Hollywood A-listers who were sitting in his office and witnessed it and didn’t do or say anything to preserve THEIR standing with Rudin

Michael Chabon was one of the few people mentioned who came out afterwards and was like “yeah it’s super fucked up that at the time I cared more about getting my movie made than I did about this kid getting a stapler thrown at him”

Link for the convenience of people who, like me, are curious to see Michael Chabon's post in full: michaelchabon.medium.com/apology-of-a...

Apology of a Rudin Apologistmichaelchabon.medium.com Reading the accounts of Scott Rudin’s present and former employees, of the abuse they suffered and were expected to endure at Scott Rudin…

Although I know someone who was a personal assistant to his wife and she had PTSD from the experience

😬

Ugh an abusive corporate relationship

power sides with power 😑

Society if countless women in countless fields had not had their ambitions thwarted by abusive men.

they abuse people because they’re awful but we also need to start acknowledging that they abuse people AS job protection. it happened to me: a boss knew i was as good if not better & i got harassed until i quit so he wouldn’t get fired and replaced by someone better, cheaper, & younger.

i got hired to be an assistant many years ago but then i read about him and said 'fuck this shit' before i even started