The first sexual abuse allegations directed towards film producer Harvey Weinstein were made public in early October, and now over two months later and with 2017 nearly over, new information is still coming out about the Hollywood mogul's behavior. Since this scandal broke, Weinstein has been dismissed from The Weinstein Company, expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the list of consequences goes on. Weinstein continues to deny these allegations, but according to a new report, he tried to raise $25 million from Netflix for himself before the scandal broke.
Weeks before The New York Times and The New Yorker published their stories about the numerous women who claimed that Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed/assaulted them, Weinstein, who know these articles were coming, reportedly approached Netflix, wanting to secure "emergency cash" from the streaming service. At the time, Weinstein didn't reveal why he wanted so much money, but according to insiders who spoke with Page Six, he was looking to sell part of his extensive movie catalog to Netflix to the tune of $25 million. However, Netflix execs passed on this deal. According to another source, Weinstein approach Netflix in the context of wanting "hush money," but rather to present the company with a business opportunity. Weinstein also allegedly went to other companies for money, though it's unclear if he had sought approval from The Weinstein Company's board to do this.
Harvey Weinstein was already in business with Netflix long before the sexual abuse allegations against him started pouring in. The streaming service airs the UK TV series Peaky Blinders, which Weinstein imported in for the United States, and The Weinstein Company was also behind Marco Polo, one of Netflix's expensive shows, and was cancelled after two seasons. It was recently reported that Weinstein is believed to have spent a lot of money hiring lawyers and Mossad-trained investigators to discredit the women who were accusing him of sexual harassment. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance is also looking into whether or not Weinstein embezzled funds from The Weinstein Company or his former company Miramax to bribe some of his accusers to stay silent.
This Netflix story is just the latest update to come out of the Harvey Weinstein scandal. Last week, director Peter Jackson revealed that Miramax told him not to hire Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino for his Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Jackson now believes that this request was made as a way to discredit Weinstein's accusers. This scandal has also led to many other men in the movie and television industries to be accused of sexual misconduct, from Kevin Spacey to Louis CK to Danny Masterson.
To keep track of what movies are coming over the next 12 months, look through the final entries of our 2017 premiere guide and all of our 2018 premiere guide. You can also browse through our 2018 Netflix guide to see what the streaming giant will be releasing soon.
