Harvey Weinstein expelled from motion picture academy
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E-mail Xinhua, October 15, 2017
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This file photo taken on May 23, 2017 shows U.S. film producer Harvey Weinstein posing during a photocall as he arrives to attend the De Grisogono Party on the sidelines of the 70th Cannes Film Festival, at the Cap-Eden-Roc hotel in Antibes, near Cannes, southeastern France.[Photo/VCG] |
Hollywood movie maker Harvey Weinstein was expelled Saturday from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in response to his alleged sexual advances on female coworkers.
The 54-member board of governors of the AMPAS held a special emergency meeting Saturday morning and voted to expel Weinstein, The Weinstein Company's (TWC) co-founder, immediately.
"The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors met today to discuss the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, and has voted well in excess of the required two-thirds majority to immediately expel him from the Academy," said AMPAS in a statement after the meeting.
Hollywood was shell-shocked in recent days by a sex scandal exposure involving the 65-year-old Hollywood kingmaker.
"We do so not simply to separate ourselves from someone who does not merit the respect of his colleagues but also to send a message that the era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behavior and workplace harassment in our industry is over," according to the statement.
"What's at issue here is a deeply troubling problem that has no place in our society. The Board continues to work to establish ethical standards of conduct that all Academy members will be expected to exemplify," said AMPAS.
Weinstein has been a 20-year member of AMPAS. He won an Oscar in 1999 for producing best-picture winner "Shakespeare in Love."
The Weinstein Company was founded in 2005 after Harvey and Bob Weinstein left Miramax. It was Harvey Weinstein who led the indie film boom in the 1990s and was the creative producing force behind such award-winning and prestigious indies as "Shakespeare in Love," "Pulp Fiction," "Good Will Hunting," "The King's Speech," "The Artist," "Lee Daniels' The Butler," and the recent "Lion."
Harvey Weinstein's effective, award-season combo of celebrity-studded galas, ubiquitous screeners, and bare-knuckle brawling managed to net Miramax a legendary and unparalleled number of Academy Award nominations and wins: 249 Oscar nominations and 60 wins in just 15 years.
The Weinstein Company's board has fired Harvey Weinstein after reports of sexual harassment complaints against him last Sunday. More and more women have spoken publicly about their experiences with Harvey Weinstein, including some A-list female stars, such as Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cara Delevingne.
Lynda Obst, veteran studio producer of the Academy Award-winning film "Interstellar" starring Matthew McConaughey and Matt Damon, told Xinhua, "Hollywood is a tightly knit community that finds this level of abuse intolerable. It's bad for everyone."
The decision to kick out Harvey Weinstein from AMPAS was immediately applauded by some Hollywood celebrities on social media.
"As a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences I am proud of their decision to expel Harvey Weinstein," tweeted American actor Ron Perlman, a Golden Globe Award winner.
"Proud of the @TheAcademy! Harvey Weinstein is out. There are others -- but hopefully we are witnessing the end of an awful era," wrote U.S. actress Mia Farrow on Twitter. Farrow has appeared in more than 50 films and won numerous awards, including a Golden Globe award.
AMPAS is a professional honorary organization with a stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion pictures. The Academy's corporate management and general policies are overseen by the board of governors, which includes representatives from each of the craft branches.
The Academy has more than 8,400 members and it has only expelled one member in its 90-year history before the ouster of Harvey Weinstein.
Jeff Most, Emmy award-winning producer of the "The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler" and the box office smash, "The Crow" franchise, told Xinhua, "Film producers are in unique positions of power in Hollywood and that power must be handled responsibly and with integrity -- or, as we've seen, be prepared to suffer the consequences."
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