It’s been five years since New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and JodiKantor finally published what many in Hollywood privately knew: Oscar-winningproducer, Harvey Weinstein, had a pattern of sexual harassment allegationsstretching back for decades and involving such high-profile stars as AshleyJudd and Rose McGowan. Following their blockbuster first story on Oct. 5,2017, the duo continued to expose Weinstein’s various crimes, as the formerMiramax head began a prolonged New York court battle that ended with a guiltyverdict and a 23-year prison sentence. (He’s currently being tried in LosAngeles on sexual assault charges.)
On the fifth anniversary of the beginning of Weinstein’s downfall — whichgalvanized the already-existing #MeToo movement — moviegoers can revisit howthe journalists cracked the case in She Said , a powerful dramatization oftheir 2019 book. Directed by Maria Schrader and starring Carey Mulligan andZoe Kazan as Twohey and Kantor respectively, the movie arrives in theaters asmany in the industry are taking stock of how far we’ve come, or not, since thestory first broke.
For the record, Mulligan thinks that Hollywood in 2022 is a different placethan it was in 2017.
“Concrete changes have happened,” the Oscar-nominated actress tells YahooEntertainment. “There are now things like intimacy coordinators, anti-harassment workshops and code of conducts before you start shooting a film.All of that stuff is now here for good and I think that’s crucial. We talk alot about how crazy it is that all of it didn’t exist before! And all of thosethings are the result of this story.”
Interestingly, Kazan first went on the record about sexual harassment inHollywood in the summer of 2017 — months before the Weinstein story broke. “Ajournalist asked me about sexual harassment… and I had never been asked aboutit before,” she says, referring to a profile published in The Guardian. “Itdidn’t really occur to me that it was something I should be nervous speakingup about. I wasn’t speaking to any specific situation, but it just seemed likesuch a matter-of-fact part not just of my experience in the industry, but awoman’s experience period. You have only to look at how little girls aretalked to about consent to understand that it is something that is pervasive.”
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At the time, Kazan — who until recently had an active Twitter feed — remembersbeing bombarded by online trolls for her comments. But she also knew that herwords had struck a chord. “My dad told me that the teenage girls who livednext door had spoken to him and said how meaningful it was that I had spokenup about this. That really helped heal the fear that I had had about speakingup. In 2022, it’s very easy to look back and think it was inevitable thatHarvey Weinstein would face some consequences for his actions, but I don’tthink it was inevitable at all.It took incredible bravery and incrediblewillingness for these two women to put themselves and their reputations on thelines.”
While Weinstein is in prison and will likely remain there for the rest of hislife, other high-profile Hollywood personalities who have been accused ofsexual harassment and abuse are finding a way back to work, including LouisCK, James Franco and Kevin Spacey. The men at the center of those storieseither avoided having their cases brought to court or, as in Spacey’s case,have been tried and found not liable. Asked whether Hollywood should provideconsequences for known abusers and harassers when the legal system can’t, SheSaid co-star Patricia Clarkson — who plays Rebecca Corbett, the New YorkTimes editor that oversaw the Weinstein story — suggests that those actorswill never truly be a part of the industry again.
“They might be finding their way back, but I don’t think they’ll ever reallybe back,” Clarkson says. “In Hollywood, the blows are too heavy now; I don’tthink many people can get up from those blows. There are also so many goodpeople in our industry that need to work and are better people. Why are wetrying to resuscitate men who have committed felonies? Why, when we have somany good people in our industry to rely on and move forward with? Let’s keepthis ship going, let’s keep it balanced and let’s keep equality right where itis.”
“I do believe in forgiveness, but I think that some of these men areunforgivable because it went on for so long,” Clarkson continues. “It wasn’tlike one night or one moment in their careers; this was a repetitive behaviorthat many people condoned in their lives. Not anymore — not anymore.”
Brad Pitt attends the 2022 Venice International Film Festival in September.The actor is a credited producer on She Said , and is currently facingassault allegations. (Photo by Rocco Spaziani/Archivio Spaziani/MondadoriPortfolio via Getty Images)
It’s worth noting that a specific aspect of She Said is representative ofthe challenges facing the entertainment industry as it attempts to chart acourse through the #MeToo landscape. Brad Pitt is one of the film’s creditedproducers, and the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star is currently facingallegations of having assaulted his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, in 2016. Askedwhether Pitt’s involvement in the film speaks to the complexities of whereHollywood is now, Schrader agrees that contemporary industry realities are”complex.”
“I have to say, one of the many reasons I’m so proud of being part of thisproject is that it doesn’t shy away from its complexity,” the filmmaker says.”I think we’ve all learned a lot during the last five years, and we all havethe possibility to change perspectives. Hollywood and its studios and itspowerful companies have the duty to take on projects which are in a societalconversation and not shy away from them. This is what we expect from the filmindustry: to speak about things even if they are complex and delicate.”
Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan, Andre Braugher and Patricia Clarkson in She Said.(Photo: ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection)
Beyond its impact on Hollywood, Twohey and Kantor’s reporting represented amajor win for journalism — an industry that’s been left battered and bruisedby corporate takeovers, harsh economic times and the relentless criticism ofpoliticians like former President Donald Trump. Much like its cinematicforbearers — Alan J. Pakula’s 1976 classic All the President ‘s Men and TomMcCarthy’s 2015 Oscar winner spotlight — She Said reminds moviegoers howimpactful carefully-reported news stories can be, particularly at a time whendistrust in the media is running high.
“Documentation is what’s important,” notes Andre Braugher, who plays former_New York Times_ executive editor Dean Baquet. “One of the themes of the filmis that without documentation, it becomes a ‘He said, she said,’ story. It’sthe importance of a paper trail that moves these investigations from solelyaccusations of bad behavior to documentation of pervasive industrial practicesis . We live in an opinion-driven world. The attempt to discover and propagatefacts is of paramount importance for our democracy, period.”
“The film speaks to what collective action can achieve when backed by aninstitution like The New York Times ,” Mulligan concludes. “It was reallyeye-opening to see the incredibly high standards that a place like the _Times_has in terms of how they report. The film does a great job showing how much ittakes to be able to run a story like this, and that words really matter andthe truth really matters.”
She Said premieres Nov. 18 in theaters