When it comes to director/producer duos, there are few that are as closely connected as Quentin Tarantino and Harvey Weinstein. Starting with Reservoir Dogs in 1992, nearly all of Tarantino's movies (2007's Death Proof being the exception) have been distributed (even if just in the United States) by either Miramax or The Weinstein Company, the film studios that Weinstein oversaw. Now following the numerous sexual harassment allegations against Weinstein that have been made public, Tarantino has revealed that he was at least partially aware of the producer's alleged misconduct for years. Tarantino said:
I knew enough to do more than I did. There was more to it than just the normal rumors, the normal gossip. It wasn't secondhand. I knew he did a couple of these things.
Quentin Tarnatino says he first became aware of Harvey Weinstein's behavior when he was dating actress Mira Sorvino, who had told him about her own unfortunate experiences with the movie-making mogul, which included him reportedly massaging her without being asked and chasing her around a hotel room. At the time, Tarantino admitted he was "shocked and appalled" at such actions, but he assumed at the time that it was only directed specifically at Sorvino, and that his relationship with the actress would dissuade Weinstein from bothering her again.
But as the years passed, Quentin Tarantino heard stories of other women who said they'd been harassed by Harvey Weinstein, and The Hateful Eight director admitted in his interview with The New York Times that hee "marginalized the incidents" and wrote them off as "mild misbehavior," hence why he kept making movies in collaboration with Miramax and The Weinstein Company. Tarantino continued:
I wish I had taken responsibility for what I heard. If I had done the work I should have done then, I would have had to not work with him.
Fast-forward to now, Quentin Tarantino was "horrified" by the articles that came out about Harvey Weinstein's alleged misconduct, not realizing how widespread it was. Tarantino noted that Hollywood has been operating under a "Jim Crow-like system," and he's now calling for other powerful men who knew about what Weinstein was doing to admit as much and "vow to do better" for all women. Tarantino also mentioned that he's tried calling Weinstein several times since all this news came to light, but hasn't received a reply. As it stands now, not only has Weinstein been fired from The Weinstein Company and expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he is also the target of several criminal investigations, the most recent one from the Los Angeles Police Department.
Quentin Tarantino's next movie will be about the Manson Family murders, and currently has the working title Helter Skelter. Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for information on that project's progress, as well as any major updates regarding the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
