Curbing The Hollywood Male Tradition (Listen To Women)

In light of the sickening whirlwind of revelations about Harvey Weinstein, and now, his brother, Bob, and the incredibly productive conversations that it’s sparked, including Alyssa Milano’s #MeToo campaign, let us like to speak more about how deep-rooted this problem is of the abuse of male power, particularly white male power and white supremacy. Most people associate white supremacy with forms of extremism like Naziism, the KKK, and alt-right, when, in fact, it’s an unconscious, albeit oftentimes overtly conscious attitude that many white, wealthy males unknowingly possess, especially in Hollywood and in world leaders.

No, it doesn’t always come in the form of extreme hate groups, but white supremacy shows itself in more subtle forms in our everyday society through how many white males in power or below-the-line positions treat others in a belittling or demeaning manner. Sure, not every male in power that is corrupt is white, but our system is set up to ensure that white males succeed, and it always has been; it’s institutionalized.

Confronting Compounding Issues & Healing Together

Americans have a sexual predator and white supremacist, our very own Harvey Weinstein, Donald Trump, still in the Oval Office. Let me be clear about three things before we delve into my analysis. This widespread issue of sexual assault, abuse of power, and white privilege needs to stop being about liberals versus conservatives, democrats versus republicans. This needs to stop being about men versus women. These are false narratives, the latter of which men are creating as a form of protest, sadly, for the recent spreading of awareness of female sexual assault victims. This needs to stop being committed by, silenced by, and perpetuated through intimidation by men in power.

Film Inquiry would like to show support for the bravery of the industry victims that have come forward in the past weeks and for women who have suffered at the hands of abusive men in power in general: Asia Argento, Lucia Evans, Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, Emily Nestor, Mira Sorvino, Rosanna Arquette, Emma de Caunes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Judith Godrèche, Katherine Kendall, Dawn Dunning, Minka Kelly, Kate Beckinsale, Cara Delevingne, Rose McGowan, Louisette Geiss, Lysette Anthony, Sophie Dix, Isa Hackett, Abigail Breslin, Jennifer Lawrence, Reese Witherspoon, Martha Stewart, Paula Wachowiak, Angie Everhart, Ashley Judd, Alice Evans, Amber Anderson, Claire Forlani, Florence Darel, Jessica Barth, Heather Graham, Katya Mtsitouridze, Laura Madden, Lauren Sivan, Lauren O’Connor, Léa Seydoux, Lena Headey, Louise Godbold, Lupita Nyong’o, Marisa Coughlan, Melissa Sagemiller, Mia Kirshner, Romola Garai, Sarah Ann Masse, Sarah Smith, Tara Subkoff, Tomi-Ann Roberts, Trish Goff, Vu Thu Phuong, Zelda Perkins, Zoë Brock, Zoe Kazan, Björk, Erika Rosenbaum, Britt Marling, Mimi Haleyi, countless other women in entertainment that have spoken out, others that continue to speak out daily, the 1,700,000+ women that have out come across 85 countries in the world since Milano’s #MeToo Twitter campaign, and every woman who has ever suffered abuse; trauma is a lifelong suffering. We support you. To the countless women who have chosen to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, we support you. We believe your truth, the truth.

This article is intended to display what constitutes appropriate ways to conduct oneself on-set, in meetings, and when you are in a position of power and male by highlighting examples of poor workplace and industry behavior; what not to do and how not to act. Appropriateness to decent men may seem superfluous to hear, but, unfortunately, in light of recent backlash against the push for workplace gender equality, it’s necessary to remind every man in the film industry and beyond who may be heading down this path of intended drunkenness of power. Yes, it is often premeditated, this type of behavior, and nurtured by a society that has encouraged this behavior since, as Emma Thompson put it, “time immemorial.”

The Varying Degrees Of Abuse Of Male (Mainly White) Privilege

It goes without saying that there are varying degrees of abuse of power from men, from the obvious extreme case-scenarios of rape and sexual assault and child abuse and pedophilia, to the more subtle cases that get brushed under the rug by complicity, which will be touched upon through how male intimidation has fed into this cycle in the film industry for 100 years, silencing and shaming innocent people, hence why we haven’t made much progress. Let us start with the extreme forms of flawed, distorted, perverted masculinity.

Harvey Weinstein, arguably the biggest name in Hollywood on the production end for 40 years, got away with raping and assaulting women for that long. Not only that, he was a verbally abusive and volatile man, but everyone knew, “Harvey could get you an Oscar.” And, well Oscars are the all-important thing in this industry, right?

No. Of course, not. That’s a narrative Weinstein helped to create to solidify his power and fulfill, what many would come to realize were his depraved “needs.” We stand with all of the victims who have shared their experiences with Weinstein. We will not refer to these as “accusations.” There have been nearly 60 now, but it should only take one woman to believe for a conviction, if this were a just world.

The Extreme Cases

Speaking of trying to change history, let us discuss Woody Allen. Marrying his stepdaughter while she was reportedly of age. That was considered weird when it happened, but people accepted it. And, as bizarre as it was, it was supposedly consensual; though, rich, powerful male – minority, younger, innocent stepdaughter, there is a power dynamic there, and that dynamic recurred in a far more unfortunate way as a result of people empowering Allen as an artist. It resurfaced with a vengeance when he molested another daughter, this time adopted daughter Dylan Farrow of his then-girlfriend, Mia Farrow. She was only seven years old.

Vanity Fair constructed an insightful piece into this in 2014. These are some undeniable facts surrounding the case. Allen had been in therapy for inappropriate behavior toward Dylan with a child psychologist before the allegation of abuse was presented to the authorities or made aware to the public. In fact, Mia Farrow instructed her babysitters to never be left alone with Allen. Allen refused a polygraph (lie-detector test) administered by the Connecticut state police. As a result, Allen lost four court battles: a lawsuit, a disciplinary charge against the prosecutor, and two appeals. He was required to pay more than $1 million in Mia Farrow’s legal fees. The judge wrote a scathing, 33-page decision addressing Allen, citing his behavior as “grossly inappropriate and that measures must be taken to protect her.”

Three witnesses, two babysitters and a French tutor, all confirmed Dylan’s account of the events. The Yale-New Haven Hospital Child Sex Abuse Clinic’s finding that Dylan wasn’t sexually molested, boasted as evidence by Allen’s attorneys, was not accepted as reliable by Judge Wilk nor by the Connecticut state prosecutor who originally commissioned them. No psychologists or psychiatrists were on this panel for the finding, only two social workers and pediatrician.

So, since, Dylan “couldn’t perceive facts correctly,” her notes of the incident were destroyed. Immediately after that, Allen rushed to the steps of Yale University to hold an “emergency” news conference to brag to the public that, according to these two social workers and a pediatrician, he had not molested Dylan. The Connecticut state police, the state attorney, Frank Maco, and Judge Wilk all doubted report’s reliability and didn’t trust Allen’s approach (brush everything under the rug; “deny, deny, deny”). Maco had probable cause to charge Allen with the sexual assault of his underaged daughter, but didn’t due to the fragile state of Dylan, the “child victim.”

Allen has been nominated for nine Academy Awards since then and won one for Best Original Screenplay in 2012 for Midnight In Paris. Every time Hollywood and the media embraces him and worships him as some “god” of cinema, Dylan suffers. Listen to her. That is institutionalized complicity. Now, Allen has a two-deal contract with Amazon, who just fired executive Roy Price and severed all ties with The Weinstein Company.

Weinstein’s expulsion from The Academy and Roy Price’s firing from Amazon after sexually harassing Isa Hackett in an obscene way is a great step forward, and begins an important conversation. However, and this may be tough to hear, especially for the Oscar fanboys and all of the silly websites that literally center around the Oscars, it highlights another glaring hypocrisy: when will The Academy expel Bill Cosby and convicted child rapist Roman Polanski?

They thought it appropriate to award him an Oscar, even after he had anally raped a 13-year-old girl he was auditioning, then plead guilty and fled the country to avoid capture. Even more sickening? The entire audience, everyone in the industry, gave him a standing ovation when his name was announced. There aren’t exceptions for extreme cases such as Polanski’s. It’s simply inexcusable and disgusting.

Cosby was accused of drugging and sexually assaulting, often raping, 58 women. The case was declared a mistrial due to a hung jury, however, he will be retried. He will be brought to justice, and his victims will see as much semblance of peace as they personally can. This does not make the hung jury any less hurtful. It shows just what money and power can do, particularly if you are a male and have an image as one of children’s beloved old television hosts.

When will Victor Salva, director of the Jeepers Creepers series, who was convicted of molesting a 12-year-old male actor who had trusted him to star in a feature film and possession of child pornography, be excluded from his industry? His latest film, Jeepers Creepers III, is currently out. I wonder what the distributors were thinking, or if they even knew?

Most recently, filmmaker James Toback was ousted as his true self, a sexual predator, being accused by 38 women for sexual harassment. An additional 193 women and counting have come forward to Glenn Whipp, the author of the LA Times article, bringing the total victims that have spoken out against Toback to 231. His denial and excuse? It had been “biologically impossible” for him to engage in this behavior for the last 22 years because of a heart condition and and diabetes, and that he didn’t remember meeting these women, and if he did, it was only for five minutes. I’s the classic male power-dynamic mentality of “deny.” It is no longer effective.

How To Silence Allen, The Ultimate Silencer

When will Amazon break its contract with Allen? When will the actors working with him stop caring about winning an Oscar and start sticking up for what they believe in? Allen even poked fun at the Dylan Farrow rape joke made by French comedian and “master of ceremonies,” Laurent Lafitte at Cannes last year during his Cafe Society press junket, and laughed it off. Ronan Farrow’s New York Times expose had just been published that same week. Actor Griffin Newman is taking the cue and setting an example of what to do: boycott. Newman wrote this in a series of tweets recently about an upcoming, undisclosed Allen film that he shot one scene for, and it’s powerful:

I need to get this off my chest. I worked on Woody Allen’s next movie. I believe he is guilty. I donated my entire salary to RAINN. It’s a one scene role. I spent a month debating whether or not to quit. I deeply regret my final decision. Why didn’t I quit? My parents were incredibly proud. I felt there things to be gained from the experience on that set. I was a coward. It was an educational experience for all the wrong reasons. I learned conclusively that I cannot put my career over my morals again. I had been feeling this way for the last month, but the awful continuance revelations of the last week compounded my guilt ten fold. I’ve spent the last decade struggling as an actor, and learned to sideline my views because the thought of closing any doors was terrifying. I’ve been steadfast in what I stand for in my personal life and on Twitter, but would largely take the check and bite my tongue on set. I can’t keep professionally operating from a place of fear. It’s time to show a courage in my actions mirroring my words without concession. To anyone who thinks I took the easy way out by taking the job THEN denouncing it, I assure you that is the worst combination of choices. I have unequivocally believed that he is guilty since reading Dylan Farrow’s NY Times piece.

Newman donated his earnings to RAINN, America’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. More actors need to take a stand for what is just and morally sound. I won’t go so far as to name names, but you know who you are, condemning those convenient and condoning and enabling those you work with that bolster your success has got to stop. The whole, “I don’t like to get caught up in other people’s business” argument is valid, to a certain extent, but once assault, abuse, rape, or pedophilia comes into factor, that’s where a clear line in the sand needs to be drawn. What may have pushed Newman over the edge was the revelation that Allen’s new film has adult-teen sex scenes, according to Page Six. Jude Law’s character (44) has sex with Elle Fanning’s character (15).

This is especially disturbing, not only given his background and the recent flurry of sexual assault stories in the industry, but also given his comments the other week on the Weinstein allegations. He stated that he was “sad for Harvey that his life is so messed up,” yet he discouraged a “witch hunt atmosphere, a Salem atmosphere, where every guy in an office who winks at a woman is suddenly having to call a lawyer to defend himself. That’s not right either. But sure, you hope that something like this could be transformed into a benefit for people rather than just a sad or tragic situation.” Face in palms.

Now, Newman, along with the countless voices of other brave women, have prompted other victims to name their sexual predators. Former actor Blaise Godbe Lipman accused talent agency, APA’s Tyler Grasham of sexually assaulting him in 2007, prompting child actors Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) and Cameron Boyce (Disney’s Descendants) to immediately fire Grasham, prompting him to be let go from the agency. With Price gone from Amazon, Weinstein off of The Academy Board, and Grasham fired from APA, we are starting to see an industry coming together and take a firm stance. Oscar-winning filmmaker, Paul Haggis, who visited Film Inquiry the other week, never one to stray away from taking a firm stance on a social justice issue, offered his two cents in the midst of the over-pouring scandals and the Hollywood tradition in an interview with The Guardian:

Los Angeles is a town run by a group of powerful corporations, the studios, and they inevitably want to make what they know they can sell. This means they often lag a few years behind creatively…People have been hoping for a new trend of more serious American film-making for a while.

It is really hard for their [The Weinstein Company’s] innocent employees in New York, who worked hard and may well lose their jobs, but a lot of people are compromised by Harvey’s alleged actions. Although everyone thinks it is vile behavior, you have got to focus on those who may have colluded and protected him. For me, they are as guilty as he is and in some cases more so, if I can say that. I mean, he was a predator and a predator is a predator. But what about those who would rather look the other way?

It [Hollywood] is not an innocent place and never has been. Most of this behavior has been aimed at women, but I am sure that former child stars such as Corey Feldman and Corey Haim, who have both made allegations in the past that no one took seriously, are worth considering, too.

Were people covering for pedophiles, too? We have to think that may have happened as well, because no one speaks out about being abused just to benefit their career. I find it particularly terrible that people had their dreams held to ransom in that way. People make compromises, but you don’t have to. I did sometimes, of course, especially in my early TV days. But then I made a conscious decision: if it doesn’t sell, it doesn’t sell. I hawked the screenplay for Crash around the studios for the longest time. They all turned it down. But I felt I couldn’t keep selling little pieces of my soul, and now I have earned the right to the final edit on the films I direct. Sometimes people won’t work with me because of that, but there you are. How many Academy Awards have they won?

Complicity

Even after his appearance on Good Morning America recently with George Clooney, Matt Damon doesn’t sound convincing that he didn’t know about Harvey Weinstein. There are problematic, contradictory moments in the interview; Damon claims he didn’t know that there was a sexual predation element to it, yet he knew about Gwyneth Paltrow’s experience with Emma in 1996, and still called Sharon Waxman to intimidate her from publishing an expose of the Weinstein scandal in 2004.

Ben Affleck’s own groping incident was brought back into light, but he since apologized for it, however, Rose McGowan has now accused him of knowing about Weinstein’s behavior at Sundance. Waxman, former New York Times reporter, was called by Damon and Russell Crowe to reportedly squash that story back in 2004 attempting to expose Weinstein’s said deviancy, and instead, promote Fabrizio Lombardo, who has now been accused as one of the men who chose the vulnerable women that Weinstein liked to prey upon. If these accusations are true, Lombardo is, by all means, a sex trafficker.

What was Damon’s response? “We vouch for each other, all the time, and it didn’t even make her article. Whether it didn’t jibe with her storyline…it was an incomplete rendering of someone that I was giving but I had perfectly professional experiences with Fabrizio and I didn’t mind telling her that.” In “mansplaining” translation, “deny, deny, deny,” and, “she’s lying” and, “I didn’t do anything wrong.” His “mansplaining” is nothing new. We will explore Project Greenlight and the context of the infamous Effie Brown incident in 2015 later.

Is Clooney so innocent in the Weinstein scandal? Was he complicit? Why is he now taking a firm stance against the media for not exposing the story earlier, victimizing himself? Clooney said on the Today Show, “whoever had that story and did not write it should be held accountable.” The irony is, Waxman was about to publish that 2004 story, but Damon made that phone call; regardless of what his intentions were, money and power teamed up against her to bury her (the media’s) story.

Tarantino, a former close friend of Weinstein and longtime collaborator, finally admitted to knowing what Weinstein did, and expressed his guilt of not coming forward with it far sooner to prevent the some of the approximately 60 women now that have come forward with their stories of abuse solely related to his actions. He encouraged more men who knew to speak out. Follow his lead and speak out in support of the victims and listen, make your own changes to better yourselves, and spread a healthier culture in society for women.

Coverups & Beyond

For every step forward, there is a step back. The Italian media is so dominated by the Italian government, that, unfortunately, it’s created an unsafe atmosphere for Asia Argento. It’s ironic how Woody Allen thinks the term, “witch hunt” applies to men being accused of heinous crimes, when it still only happens to women. It’s as if the Salem Witch Trials never ended, and women are still being punished for phantom crimes that they never committed as a form of societal control over them. In general, the societal values in Italy have become masochistic towards women. Argento, the daughter of the greatest horror auteur in the history of cinema, Dario Argento, was forced out of her own country. Opinion writer for Libero, the largest right-wing Italian publication, Renato Farina, claimed that women such as Argento use sex to gain success and further their careers, calling it “prostitution, not rape.” Editor-In-Chief of Libero, Vittorio Feltri, victim-blamed Argento, instead of condemning Farina:

Asia Argento? To me, it feels strange that there are some consensual rapes. I do not think that this girl was opposed to it. It is even more funny, the fact that first, they give it away, then whine a little, and after 20 years they repent, accusing the presumed rapist. It seems even paradoxical. I say this because you gave yourself away consensually and you’re an adult. In the end, you’re the one who gave yourself away. You did not have to, because not all women gave in to this gentleman. Some have refused. Instead of participating in film, go shopping, or be a cashier in a supermarket, and nobody will force you to become a great actress. If your goal is to take advantage of [an opportunity], it’s a form of prostitution.

So, you have men joining forces to condemn Argento as a prostitute out for self-gain and fame. Writer and politician Vittorio Sgarbi chimed in, “I have the feeling that he [Weinstein] was actually assaulted by her.” Are. You. Kidding. Me? It doesn’t end. Writer and journalist Mario Adinolfi tweeted that Argento was “trying to justify high-society prostitution.” Obviously, we have a long, long way to go. Argento recently announced that she is moving to Germany to escape Italy’s “climate of tension” and “victim-blaming.” She proclaimed in an Italian interview on Rai 3’s Cartabianca, “Italy is far behind the rest of the world in its view of women.”

She is now taking action to sue Libero, which will hopefully lead to a conversation in the media of this widespread problem in Italy and elsewhere (America). Sure, The Academy, Amazon, and APA are taking baby-steps, and it’s a great start, but organizations like 20th Century Fox is making it so difficult for the industry to unite against this epidemic. It isn’t just the entertainment industry, obviously. Uber is repulsive for their sickening corporate environment, the restaurant business is akin to The Hunger Games, and Silicon Valley is the new Wild West. Bill O’Reilly, a political commentator for Fox News, famously ill-tempered, has settled sexual harassment and assault lawsuits with six Fox employees since 2002.

Let us think about that; 20th Century Fox knew about O’Reilly’s behavior for 15 years (that we know of), and let him continue to work. That’s an extreme form of white privilege (perhaps the most extreme in recent times is having Donald Trump sit in the White House despite the numerous sexual assault allegations against him). Shockingly, O’Reilly’s most recent settlement was in January of 2017 with his victim, Lis Wiehl, Legal Analyst at Fox News for $32 million, a settlement almost unheard of. Even more shocking? 20th Century Fox renewed his contract for four years after the settlement was reached.

20th Century Fox stands by its decision. One can only hope that pressure from the general public and the media can change this.

The Tortured Male Artist Facade

How was it that Bertolucci and Brando conspired to violate Maria Schneider onscreen in The Last Tango In Paris without her knowing, and it was only unearthed last year? Where does art end and abuse and exploitation begin? Enter Lars von Trier, who’s been getting away with vicious, abusive behavior his entire career.

Why do directors think they must abuse their cast and crew to be considered “brilliant?” Why is it that men instantly develop increased superiority once they’re given money for a project? Björk, one of the most brilliant artists of the past 100 years, recently revealed her experience with Von Trier on the set of Dancer In The Dark, which discouraged her from pursuing an otherwise immensely promising career as an actress. Björk issued a public statement on her Facebook account recently:

In case someone does not want to click on facebook (I do not blame you, facebook is horrible)

in the spirit of #MeToo i would like to lend women around the world a hand with a more detailed description of my experience with a danish director . it feels extremely difficult to come out with something of this nature into the public , especially when immediately ridiculed by offenders . i fully sympathise with everyone who hesitates , even for years . but i feel it is the right time especially now when it could make a change . here comes a list of the encounters that i think count as sexual harassment :

1 after each take the director ran up to me and wrapped his arms around me for a long time in front of all crew or alone and stroked me sometimes for minutes against my wishes

2 when after 2 months of this i said he had to stop the touching , he exploded and broke a chair in front of everyone on set . like someone who has always been allowed to fondle his actresses . then we all got sent home .

3 during the whole filming process there were constant awkward paralysing unwanted whispered sexual offers from him with graphic descriptions , sometimes with his wife standing next to us .

4 while filming in sweden , he threatened to climb from his room´s balcony over to mine in the middle of the night with a clear sexual intention , while his wife was in the room next door . i escaped to my friends room . this was what finally woke me up to the severity of all this and made me stand my ground

5 fabricated stories in the press about me being difficult by his producer . this matches beautifully the weinstein methods and bullying . i have never eaten a shirt . not sure that is even possible .

6 i didnt comply or agree on being sexually harassed . that was then portrayed as me being difficult . if being difficult is standing up to being treated like that , i´ll own it .

hope

let´s break this curse

warmth

björk

Von Trier, Passolini, Bertolucci, Allen, Polanski, Russell, and even Tarantino need to take a cue and realize that acting erratically onset isn’t synonymous with control or creative autonomy or power or the right to do whatever you want to your “subordinate” cast and crew members. You do not need to be a detestable human being to be considered an admirable artist. Period.

Speaking of where art ends and exploitation begins, let us discuss Gasper Noe, shall we? There is absolutely no excuse for filming a single-shot, 9-minute, graphic, digitally unsimulated anal rape scene in Irreversible. Not only was it physically and mentally exhausting for Monica Belushi, but it is one of the most extreme, perverse forms of male gaze in the history of cinema. What on earth justifies including that in the film? What on earth constitutes that as art?

The idea of the tortured artist is an age-old construct. It stems from a theme in history. Let me be clear, the majority of brilliant artists are not abusive, and if they’re tortured, they often channel it into their work and not project it onto others either through their work or during the making of their art or otherwise. The idea of the tortured creative person seems to have become appealing to many men pursuing a career as an artist; like the aspiration of having a woman as arm candy, it’s a problematic image to aspire to be. Just because Van Gogh, Hemingway, Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Salinger, Jodorowsky, and other prominent historical creative figures were conflicted men who often resorted to abuse, doesn’t mean that has to be an aspiration or measure of success.

Abusive Personalities, Too Much Testosterone Is No Excuse

Harassment isn’t always sexual, it can be verbal, physical, and psychological. This is in no way to discredit the overwhelming amount of victims of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse, but merely to explore how else men can control women, and, in general, embrace the white supremacist attitude and get away with it. World leaders have consistenlty gotten away with abuse, and still do, unfortunately because of this system.

You know we are at a horrible time in our society when one of the most qualified candidates in years, Hillary Clinton, loses to a sexist, xenophobic man with not only no political experience, but with no concept of classism or cross-cultural relations.

Let us highlight some examples of unsafe work environments in the workplace. One example is George Clooney’s disturbing but fascinating, rare on-set experience with David O. Russell on Three Kings; a rare look into what an unhealthy set environment looks like. First of all, let’s get this out of the way: Russell admitted to groping his transgender niece, and still stands by doing nothing wrong. His excuse?

“She is always causing drama since the transgender transformation and has become very provocative and seductive.” Unfortunately, this is a textbook case of victim shaming that inhibits a productive conversation about rape culture, perpetuated by the male tradition.

That’s who we are dealing with, here. Anyways, during this onset experience of Three Kings, Russell engaged in what can only be described as psychotic behavior with extreme abuse and a skewed sense of drunken power. There are two sides to every story, but there is only one account that has been consistent throughout the years and confirmed again and again. This is what Clooney said about working on Three Kings with Russell:

He yelled and screamed at people all day, from day one. At me often and at someone daily. He’d throw off his headset and scream, “Today the sound department f*cked me!” For me, it came to a head a couple of times. Once, he went after a camera-car driver who I knew from high school. I had nothing to do with his getting his job, but David began yelling and screaming at him and embarrassing him in front of everybody. I told him, “You can yell and scream and even fire him, but what you can’t do is humiliate him in front of people. Not on my set, if I have any say about it.”

Another time he screamed at the script supervisor and made her cry. I wrote him a letter and said, “Look, I don’t know why you do this. You’ve written a brilliant script, and I think you’re a good director. Let’s not have a set like this. I don’t like it and I don’t work well like this.” I’m not one of those actors who likes things in disarray. He read the letter and we started all over again.

But later, we were three weeks behind schedule, which puts some pressure on you, and he was in a bad mood. These army kids, who were working as extras, were supposed to tackle us. There were three helicopters in the air and 300 extras on the set. It was a tense time, and a little dangerous, too. David wanted one of the extras to grab me and throw me down. This kid was a little nervous about it, and David walked up to him and grabbed him. He pushed him onto the ground. He kicked him and screamed, “Do you want to be in this f*cking movie? Then throw him to the f*cking ground!” The second assistant director came up and said, “You don’t do that, David. You want them to do something, you tell me.”

David grabbed his walkie-talkie and threw it on the ground. He screamed, “Shut the f*ck up! Fuck you,” and the AD goes, “Fuck you! I quit.” He walked off. It was a dangerous time. I’d sent him this letter. I was trying to make things work, so I went over and put my arm around him. I said, “David, it’s a big day. But you can’t shove, push or humiliate people who aren’t allowed to defend themselves.” He turned on me and said, “Why don’t you just worry about your f*cked-up act? You’re being a dick. You want to hit me? You want to hit me? Come on, pussy, hit me.”

I’m looking at him like he’s out of his mind. Then he started banging me on the head with his head. He goes, “Hit me, you pussy. Hit me.” Then he got me by the throat and I went nuts. Waldo, my buddy, one of the boys, grabbed me by the waist to get me to let go of him. I had him by the throat. I was going to kill him. Kill him. Finally, he apologized, but I walked away. By then the Warner Bros. guys were freaking out. David sort of pouted through the rest of the shoot and we finished the movie, but it was truly, without exception, the worst experience of my life.

Russell’s behavior onset hasn’t changed since, because he holds the Hollywood male mentality of “I did nothing wrong,” and thus hasn’t learned anything. How haven’t others spoken out against Russell? Is it because his name has become synonymous with winning an Oscar as well? And thus, any notion of moral integrity or code goes out the door in the name of success? These are tough questions meant to spark deep thought and internal and external dialogue.

Remember I Heart Huckabees? What a heart-warming film. Well, Russell, still a young, inexperienced filmmaker at the time in 2004, called veteran actress Lily Tomlin the C-word, among other offensive terms, and violently destroyed the set. See for yourselves:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SG43wa7Alo%20

Now, if we fast-forward ten years to American Hustle, you have Amy Adams a victim of onset abuse at Russell’s behest. In a leaked email to Sony chief, Michael Lynton from journalist, Jonathan Alter, it stated:

He grabbed one guy by the collar, cursed out people repeatedly in front of others and so abused Amy Adams that Christian Bale got in his face and told him to stop acting like an asshole.

Adams confirmed this in an interview with British GQ:

I was really just devastated on set. I mean, not every day, but most. Jennifer [Lawrence] doesn’t take any of it on. She’s Teflon. And I am not Teflon. But I also don’t like to see other people treated badly. It’s not OK with me. Life to me is more important than movies.

Nothing has changed. So why, then, does Lawrence still work with him? Well, she is tough, we know this. But there is far more going on beneath the surface. There was one eyewitness account of a public verbal fighting match between Lawrence and Russell on the set of Joy, but it was quickly played down by none other than 20th Century Fox.

In a 2015 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lawrence and Russell discussed their “professional” relationship openly. Lawrence cites herself as proudly being a persistent “victim to his writing,” which Russell corrected her, “how about muse?” Whatever is going on between the director and actor, it’s important to take a firm stance with the female colleagues in the industry that Russell has abused; he holds the Hitchc*ck and Kubrick mindset that actors are cattle, and therefore the director is tyrant. That simply has to stop. And if actors are cattle, then what are female actors? What are women in the industry viewed as, in general?

The Age-Old Objectification Of Women In Hollywood

Martin Scorsese captured Howard Hughes’ transformation into this sad, delusional, disabled, albeit brilliant old man, but he also made him this larger-than-life figure and somebody seemingly “cool” as a younger man. He left out the fact that he was excessively racist, and played down the sexist aspects of his personality. Hughes is perhaps one of the first famous figures in Hollywood to engrain the “ideal” for the Hollywood male that success is equated to a multitude of women.

This is hardly an exaggeration. Hughes was romantically linked to 64 women throughout his career, and never settled. It’s an aspiration, and, Hughes, an increasingly abusive person as he grew older, began choosing his women younger and younger, so that he could have more control over them and what they do. He set the standard for the objectification of women in Hollywood, as did magazines such as Playboy and Penthouse.

And, as the decades ensued, one can notice the objectification of women magnifying as it became commodified. It was something rewarded to men who achieved creative success and, subsequently, money, and, subsequently, power. Hollywood males were rewarded for their success by the attention they received from women, whereas Hollywood females were preyed upon by the media, the same Hollywood males, and the audiences, and when they received attention from men in the same way that males did when they were in the spotlight, it was frowned upon. For instance, there is this notion that it’s cool for a man to date a lot of women, but not cool for a woman to date a lot of men.

Actors, directors, producers, etc., could walk the red carpet with a different woman, and the story would be, “who is ‘so-and-so’s’ arm candy tonight?” This twisted standard has been further perverted as it’s been institutionalized to a federal level throughout all industries. Weinstein finally paid off his last victim; Money is beginning to lose its value to silence justice for sexual predation. It’s a sturdily-built wall that we are breaking through in strides now.

 

Confronting “Mansplaining”

Do you remember when we mentioned Affleck and Damon’s Project Greenlight and the “mansplaining” incident with Effie Brown? Well, it’s an initiative for up-and-coming filmmakers that has historically inhibited opportunities for female directors. It’s heart has always been in the right place, but its founders have unwittingly stood in the way of diversity.

Damon and Affleck have made it consistently clear that they want to carry the male tradition in Hollywood through their choices over the years. Before choosing a filmmaker, Damon and Affleck brought in Effie Brown (Dear White People) to produce as the only female and African-American in the production. They were mulling over scripts to choose, and during the discussion, there was talk about a script that Affleck and Damon were enthusiastic about, which included a white pimp abusing the only African-American character, Harmony, who was a prostitute, framed as a comedy. Fortunately, thanks to Brown, that prospect was bagged before they chose a filmmaker for the show.

 

It’s as if Project Greenlight was a singular platform for men like Damon to talk down to people and promote his gender and culture. Like with Weinstein, Damon felt the need to go to bat for somebody that he didn’t have to when they were still choosing scripts. Brown had this to say in the 2015 interview with Damon about the still-unknown “Harmony” script’s filmmaker: “I just would want to urge people about – whoever this director is, the way that they’re going to treat the character of Harmony – that her being a prostitute, the only black person being a hooker who gets hit by her white pimp-” when Damon interrupted her and proceeded to explain that his all-white production crew had already discussed that, to which Brown replied, “not necessarily true.”

Damon’s response? “When we’re talking about diversity, you do it in the casting of the film, not in the casting of the show.” Good did come out of this, as it ultimately sparked more conversations about diversity inclusion in film and beyond, urging the cessation of disparity of pay between genders, and paved way for the #OscarsSoWhite conversation at The Academy Awards in 2016.

Fortunately, there are other initiatives that are far more encouraging for young female filmmakers such as The Women Filmmakers Initiative at Sundance, Women In Film, the AFI Directing Workshop for Women, and The Write Room, which is a “national, nonprofit organization that extends retreats to qualified applicants in creative writing and allied fields.” Founded in 2012, their mission is to “advance the impact of women in the media via the literary creative arts and allied fields by educating, advocating and housing.” Project Greenlight is now also working with more female and minority filmmakers.

Battles Male Trolls Employ Against Women – Systematic Online Abuse Of Victims Of Abuse

Let us use a recent example of one of my heroes, Zoe Kazan, a victim, to show how rampant “mansplaining” has spread as a means of trying to curb this social movement of equality in the workplace and elimination of rape culture; the other day, Kazan tweeted:

I thought Blade Runner 2049 was great & I thought it would have been even better without the unnecessary prostitution & V.R. P.A. storylines. 100% sure you can tell that same story just as well without the naked statues of women, objectification of actresses etc. It’s a lazy choice. Added little to my understanding of the world, of our protagonist or of the themes of the film. Tangential at best. Damaging at worst. The visual imagination of the film was so extraordinary. I was so happy in many moments. But oh man was I unhappy in that doubled sex scene. I don’t normally put my critical thoughts online. But this matters because it is *totally* tangential to the themes & plot of the film. When the objectification of/violence toward women is so gratuitous, it is a choice by the filmmakers to include it. I find it irresponsible. We should all be examining what we are putting into the world & why. We can’t treat the objectification of women as a baseline, a given.

What were male users’ responses? Among many disgusting comments, there were the typical irrational people reacting, calling her an angry feminist. Her response? She merely screen-shotted all of the nasty comments to set an example. It was quite effective. And, if men would just listen to women, they would have understood how glaringly correct she was about this superfluous and offensive plot point.

Kazan wasn’t saying that Blade Runner 2049 was a bad film, she was highlighting a continuance of the Hollywood male tradition. She has a resounding point. In fact, Denis Villeneuve, who was given somewhere between $150 million to $185 million, spent almost 18 months working on that threesome sex scene with the prostitutes. That can be what happens when you give a man that much money to make a film that Roger Deakins could have replicated, pun intended, for a fraction of the budget. Villeneuve did it because he could. And that is Kazan’s point, it is an irresponsible choice, the objectification of women in film should not be encouraged as a given in this world. Listen to women.

Let’s look at another insightful status. Abigail Breslin, an assault and PTSD survivor, posted an Instagram status this month:

It’s #domesticviolenceawarenessmonth. I’m a domestic violence and sexual assault survivor. While I now am no longer with my abuser, In the aftermath of what happened to me, I developed Complex PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) . I took this pic of my ankle a few hours ago right after one of my “episodes” as I call them. I was so freaked out and disoriented I slipped and fell on a piece of glass. Usually they occur right after I’ve been triggered… problem is, triggers are often very hard to detect. Which is exactly why #domesticviolenceawarenessmonth is so important. We must keep the discussion open.
While at first i felt this was very awkward and uncomfortable to post, I reminded myself of something I say often: PTSD is absolutely NOTHING to be ashamed or embarrassed about. PTSD is the result of an uncontrollable scenario. Never feel like you are less than because you have a condition that you didn’t cause. You are still beautiful, you are still important, you are still WORTHY.

As one could imagine, there were the usual trolls who went after Breslin, despite her bravery and despite her positive message she was trying to spread. However, she got through to a lot of people by promoting self-worth, something that the male tradition has discouraged and suffocated out of women since, again, “time immemorial.”

In general, social media is a great platform to bring people together, though it is also a place where small men behind a computer screen think they have the power to spew hatred and divide people on social justice issues. Sure, go ahead, say what you will online, but silencing, shaming, and these other tactics meant to intimidate others are beginning to fade in their effectiveness for the perpetrator since the man in the oval office has normalized them and made online bullying a worldwide issue.

To quote the late, great Michelle Eileen McNamara, “It’s chaos, be kind.”

A Change Is Gonna Come

Said the great Sam Cooke. The recurring “mansplaining” theme that seems to dominate the industry leads to the recurring point in this article. Listen to women. Make an example, encourage inclusion and proper education of what diversity and healthy work environments mean to the less-advanced members of the male gender in the workplace and beyond.

There are a lot of powerful men across all industries that have, over the years, abused their power in some way or another. Specifically in America, success is catered toward the white male, and, historically and still today, actively suppressed for minorities and women through a multitude of institutional and systematic ways. Some of them are sexual predators, and many of them are still out there while their victims are suffering through guilt and shame and blame, while other complicit men are on social media taking aim at the female victims as they’re doing one of the hardest things a human being can do, telling their truths on social media platforms and recounting traumatic events, instead of listening to women.

Recently, it is being unearthed that it isn’t just aspiring actresses, it is women that are on-set as production assistants, screenwriters, producers, camera operators, editors, sound mixers, etc., abused by men in the industry who aren’t exactly giants like Weinstein or Russell or Cosby. So, it’s not just a power dynamic, it’s feeling of superiority; women are still commonly viewed as objects, and men, in the film and entertainment industry in particular, see them as fodder for them to do as they please. Again, it’s a culture that has been created a long time ago and still cultivated to this day through willful ignorance, complicity, denial, media suppression, money and verbal intimidation, and institutional policies.

What Are People Doing To Create More, Safer Opportunities For Women?

There are numerous organizations that have been speaking out in Hollywood for years against this systematic form of male oppression. Director Maria Giese, a member of the Director’s Guild Of America, was an active member of the Women’s Steering Committee, which was responsible for advancing more women DGA members via DGA-studio Collective Bargaining Negotiations in 2014. She is also a member of the Alliance of Women Directors. She co-founded and contributes to the advocacy website, Women Directors in Hollywood, whose website lists it as “The world’s foremost website to explore, expose and remedy discrimination against women directors – because global culture depends on who tells the stories.” Finally, people are starting to listen to these stories that have been told for ages.

Giese has contributed to Film Inquiry, and is responsible for initiating the biggest industry-wide Federal investigation by the EEOC for women directors in Hollywood history, citing studio executives, producers, agents, actors and male directors who are being interviewed for violation of the ACLU (read her Film Inquiry articles here and here).

Educating oneself about how prevalent sexual assault is in our culture is important. On the RAINN website, it lists facts to communicate the impact sexual assault statistics: “Every 98 seconds, another person experiences sexual assault. Sexual violence affects hundreds of thousands of Americans each year. While we’re making progress — the number of assaults has fallen by more than half since 1993 — even today, only 6 out of every 1,000 rapists will end up in prison.”

That is sad, and another symptom of our institutionalized, socioeconomic system that enables men to get away with the unthinkable, and silences women for speaking out against said men. Hopefully, one day, this number can reach 1,000 out of 1,000.

Film Inquiry’s wonderful editor-in-chief and founder, Manon de Reeper is a director of Women In Media, “an organization that encourages gender balance in film and entertainment industries by providing networking, professional development, and advocacy for above and below the line women and everyone who love making movies with them.” They “are an intersectional group of women and woman identifying crew members in the film, television, and new media industries.” Founded by Tema L. Staig, this incredible organization actively encourages their male friends, colleagues, and filmmaker peers to come to their events and #HireTheseWomen, offering a Crew List with profiles of women working above and below the line. There are no more excuses for not hiring women and providing them safe and equal opportunities.

Women In Film have a similar mission that promotes safe and blossoming opportunities for female filmmakers. They have been a strong voice against the male Hollywood tradition and have offered clear solutions for a long time.  Unfortunately, until now, nobody wanted to hear about it because it made them uncomfortable.

The Here And Now: Come Together

Now, it’s happening, whether people can accept it or not. Before the Weinstein scandal, organizations such as these have been speaking out and making waves. However, hopefully these kinds of people and organizations will hopefully get more funding now that this wound has opened up and shown itself, so they can heal it and make sure another wound isn’t opened again.

Looking at film festivals such as Sundance, Women At Sundance has actively been making a difference over the past decade. Again, on their website, they list facts to get through to industry professionals:

At a time when women make up 50.8% of the U.S. population, just 4.2% of the 100 top-grossing American films are made by female directors; and that statistic hasn’t changed over the last decade. Sundance Institute has provided unprecedented opportunities for thousands of unique voices to flourish for 35 years. Each year between 2002 and 2013, 25% of American directors at the Sundance Film Festival have been female. While markedly ahead of the mainstream industry, our commitment to achieving diversity among our filmmakers is still a work in progress.

These four programs have helped to add women in the film industry: “Direct Artist Support – Fellowships, Career Sustainability, Resource Map.” The Resource Map compiles data from over 200 programs offered by over 60 organizations that serve female filmmakers; this is an invaluable tool for networking and finding opportunity in a still-male-dominated industry. Other opportunities at Sundance include “Education, Networking, and Community”, “Financing and Negotiation – Catalyst Women, Financing and Strategy Intensive,” “Field-wide Leadership & Systemic Change – Groundbreaking Research, ReFrame, Allied Organizations.” To read more about these initiatives, check out the Women Filmmakers Initiative At Sundance website.

What are men in the industry doing to show support and prompt change? Actors such as Mark Ruffalo are speaking out and not only supporting the bravery of the women who have spoken out and expressed the pain they’ve suffered and endured, but using platforms like Twitter to say how they will change, personally, in hopes other men will have similar self-reflections:

I will never Cat call a woman again. Growing up we were taught from watching movies that a cat call was a compliment. I would do it to friends and girlfriends. Sunrise clued me in that it was totally inappropriate. Not cool. Not a compliment. Gross. #HowIWillChange

As mentioned, Tarantino admitted to knowing about Weinstein, to complicity, which will prompt other men and women to come forward. Fear is becoming no longer a driving factor, and speaking out is becoming the norm. “Whistleblowing,” as it is referred to negatively in business, is on the rise, thankfully. Recently, Kevin Smith announced that all of his future residuals that he will make off of his films that were produced by Weinstein (and there were a lot of them), to Women In Film. If The Weinstein Company crashes, then he promised to donate $2,000 per month for the rest of his life to the non-profit organization. There is hope.

Curbing the Hollywood Male Tradition

There is a paradigm shift occurring in the industry, as De Reeper told me, and we are at the unique forefront of it where we can create an entirely new ethical standard for filmmaking. Let’s start the conversation and take action. Let’s curb the male tradition across all industries and unite as one species. It’s up to all of us to support and listen to women. Show your support.

Let’s Make A Positive Change Together.

Let’s Create A New Hollywood, A New Film Industry Based On True Meritocracy.

Listen To The Women Speaking Out. Listen To Women.