Canadian Politics Today

That's what I'm saying here.  Do we want to know the details ?  Do we want to know that Steve McQueen, Liz Taylor, Judy Garland are in our hearts because they had sex with a movie studio president or a director ?

Wouldn't matter to me. As far as I'm concerned the only difference between the most popular actors and actresses and those I've never heard of are that the former got a break, got lucky, knew the right people, whatever. In all likelihood the most talented actor in the world never got a role and went home to work in his dad's garage because he didn't meet the right people or get the right break.

  In all likelihood the most talented actor in the world never got a role and went home to work in his dad's garage because he didn't meet the right people or get the right break.

I guess so.  Maybe the morality of these closed systems just needs to catch up.  If that's the case, all we have to do is see to it that Weinstein and everybody with him falls hard.

I guess so.  Maybe the morality of these closed systems just needs to catch up.  If that's the case, all we have to do is see to it that Weinstein and everybody with him falls hard.

You are never going to change this system. The sexuality, the hotness, if you will, of the eager young actors and actresses is their primary commodity. Which means they have to make themselves seem as hot as possible. That is going to provoke interest from those with influence and power. Bargains are going to be reached, and compromises made.


 

Hah.... 'never'... Surely people also said Weinstein would 'never' be brought down.  Things change, and they change on the back of other major changes such as the web peering into every corner, and every relationship.  Sexuality itself is changing under your feet, if you haven't noticed.

Bargains and compromises are always made but morals will dictate what is allowed and what is not.  Even today, there are limits to what Hollywood will put up with.  When these things crash into the public view then there are changes.  See the Hayes Code and the Arbuckle controversy.

I guarantee you that tomorrow a producer, assistant producer, director, whatever, will be interviewing a young star/starlet and they will talk around the subject and will wind up in a hotel room or his apartment that night. Casting is not like hiring for a job, especially not for actors/actresses without much experience. It's a matter of feel (no pun intended) and preference. The people with power don't need to justify why they selected someone, nor could you really get them to justify it by some unbiased criteria. Which means they're free to give those roles (which aren't exactly top billing) on the basis of who is willing to sleep with them. Likewise enough hopefuls are ruthless enough to offer it up that this puts pressure on other hopefuls to match them. The chance for fame and fortune in exchange for an hour of sex? Lots will take that bargain.

I guarantee you that tomorrow a producer, assistant producer, director, whatever, will be interviewing a young star/starlet and they will talk around the subject and will wind up in a hotel room or his apartment that night. Casting is not like hiring for a job, especially not for actors/actresses without much experience. It's a matter of feel (no pun intended) and preference. The people with power don't need to justify why they selected someone, nor could you really get them to justify it by some unbiased criteria. Which means they're free to give those roles (which aren't exactly top billing) on the basis of who is willing to sleep with them. Likewise enough hopefuls are ruthless enough to offer it up that this puts pressure on other hopefuls to match them. The chance for fame and fortune in exchange for an hour of sex? Lots will take that bargain.

I agree, and I have no issue with a woman (or man) sleeping their way into a movie/TV role.  It's almost instinctual - self preservation, and happens at every level.  We can talk about everything from rock stars and athletes to college professors and job interviewers.  The problem is that this guy is forcing it.  It always seems weird that these people would have be so scummy about it - even ending in ****.  This is the same as Cosby.  I find it hard to believe that these perverts cant find someone willing. 

I agree, and I have no issue with a woman (or man) sleeping their way into a movie/TV role.  It's almost instinctual - self preservation, and happens at every level.  We can talk about everything from rock stars and athletes to college professors and job interviewers.  The problem is that this guy is forcing it.

This is key.  We can't really know what kind of quid-pro-quo arrangements get one actress a role ahead of others. I don't know what could be done to stop it if that's how things are done in Hollywood.  But Weinstein's conduct is on a whole different level. Several of these accounts, if true, cross well into conduct that would be considered criminal-- if Joe Average acted like the way numerous women now describe Weinstein acting during their encounters, Joe would be in jail.

The difference between Weinstein and Joe Average is that Weinstein has the resources to offer the would-be complainant strong incentives to not complain, the power to make anybody who did complain deeply regret it, and the legal resources to make any prosecutor think long and hard about pursuing a case against him.

It always seems weird that these people would have be so scummy about it - even ending in ****.  This is the same as Cosby.  I find it hard to believe that these perverts cant find someone willing.

That's another thing that's fascinating. Why would he?

In the NYPD recording, he told the young woman that "he was used to it", speaking of getting to grope women. (sounds strangely like someone else, doesn't it?)   Maybe he has just developed a feeling of entitlement. "I'm Harvey **** Weinstein and I get to grope women if I feel like it."

Maybe he feels that he's such a big deal that it doesn't even matter whether the woman agrees or doesn't, he's the only one who matters.

Maybe it's all about ego. Maybe he does it just to prove what an Alpha Man he is. He can do whatever he wants and nobody can stop him.


On that note:  one of the more remarkable stories told in recent days was Terry Crews talking about being groped by a male Hollywood exec. Terry Crews, former pro football player, 250 pounds of muscle, a man who looks like he was carved out of stone by some Greek artist. Terry is not a big name actor, but he is well known for his wildly popular "Old Spice" commercials, and movie roles like "President Camacho" in Idiocracy. Terry Crews has built a career of being so masculine that his roles are usually comedy roles that make a parody of hyper-masculine identity. 

Terry Crews is so physically powerful that he could literally punch a hole in anybody who made him mad.  Why would anybody in their right mind grope Terry Crews?  I can only think of 3 reasons.

1. They were suicidal and wanted someone to literally punch a hole in them.
2. They were legit crazy for Terry Crews and his sexy body.
3. To prove they could do it.  An ego move.

Crews said that he didn't know how to deal with this.  He knew that if he stomped the guy out then and there, he'd be the one in trouble. He feared that nobody would actually believe his side of the story. He said he was afraid that the guy had the power to end his acting career, to blacklist him.   Crews said that the next day the exec called to apologize, and Crews did not pursue anything further or come forward out of fear of the potential repercussions towards his career.

If you can walk up to the biggest, strongest guy in the room and fondle him without his consent... doesn't that make you the biggest strongest guy in the room?  Maybe the guy just did it to prove he's a big deal.

If a guy like Terry Crews had to sit there and take it... what hope does some 20 year old newcomer have?

I guarantee you that tomorrow a producer, assistant producer, director, whatever, will be interviewing a young star/starlet and they will talk around the subject and will wind up in a hotel room or his apartment that night.

I have a hunch that after seeing the flaming ruin being laid upon Harvey Weinstein, producers and directors might be thinking twice about doing that. 

 -k

At last we have found a real conspiracy.  The NYT didn't help cover it up, though,they helped expose it.

The fact that NBC News had this bombshell story in their pocket and somehow dropped it has become one of the interesting sidebars to this saga.

Farrow contends that he presented NBC with 8 on-camera interviews, the blood-curdling NYPD recording, and a piece that was ready to go.

NBC contends that the piece was substantially different from the piece that New Yorker magazine published this week and that Farrow had added significantly to it since they had decided not to go with it.

This article details both claims:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-nbc-killed-ronan-farrows-weinstein-expose


A couple of slightly related news items:

1)  Weinstein has engaged the services of Charles "the lawyer who killed Gawker" Harder.  Harder is the lawyer who won the lawsuit for Hulk Hogan that ended Gawker as a business.  One wonders if NBC News was picturing settling a similarly massive lawsuit when they decided Farrow's story wasn't good enough to broadcast.

2)  Matt "MATT DAMON!" Damon is one of the many names who've been drawn into this, since Weinstein has worked with virtually everyone in Hollywood.  Damon is accused of having helped kill a 2004 story about Weinstein in which Sharon Waxman detailed Weinstein's associate Fabio Alfredo Lombardio Fettuccini, head of Mirimax Italy, who apparently procured girls for Weinstein when Weinstein was in Italy. Waxman contends that Damon, along with Russell Crowe, called her to pressure her on behalf of Weinstein.

Damon's version of the story is that Weinstein just told him that Waxman was doing a smear-job on Fettucini, and asked Matt to call her and talk about what a good guy Fabio is. Damon had worked with Fabio while filming in Italy, and thought he seemed nice, and the phone call was less than a minute, and Damon wasn't aware that Waxman was writing about Fabio being Weinstein's Italian pimp.  Damon denies intentionally doing anything to kill Waxman's story, which she says was substantially gutted by the time it eventually appeared in print.

One wonders if NBC News received any phone calls from friends of Handsy Harv regarding Farrow's story.

 -k