In 2017, Hollywood was rocked with the shocking s*xual abuse scandal of Harvey Weinstein. The producer who was responsible for bringing many stars to the fore, was charged and arrested for assaulting and r*ping dozens of women and aspiring actresses over a period of 30 years. With each allegation, a new shocking revelation emerged from the Hollywood camp which involved many A-listers speaking out about their traumatic relationship with the producer.
But Weinstein’s despicable behavior was not restricted to s*xual abuse alone. The now disgraced producer was instrumental in almost ruining the future of many massive films by prominent directors. Oscar winner Peter Jackson and his blockbuster Lord of the Rings trilogy was caught in Weinstein’s domineering web.
Harvey Weinstein Almost Ruined Lord Of The Rings
Peter Jackson’s massive blockbuster trilogy Lord Of the Rings based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, became one of Hollywood’s biggest film franchises, making a total of almost $6 billion worldwide. The 3 films shot one after another almost did not see the light of day due to the initial involvement of Harvey Weinstein. Jackson and partner Fran Walsh initially approached Miramax Studios and Harvey Weinstein as early as 1996 to bankroll the film with the condition that it must be shot as a continuous trilogy. Weinstein and the studio did not want to take the risk of financing 3 films and convinced Jackson to reduce his budget into a 2-film format.
While the King Kong director conceded to the request, he also gave Weinstein a budget of $140 million for the production of the two movies which was taken as confirmed. But the producer unexpectedly went back on his word and laid down a shocking condition that he would part only with $75 million if Jackson agreed to making just one part to the narrative. This was when the Oscar winning director put his foot down and pulled out of the problematic partnership saying,
“We didn’t really feel comfortable with that. At all, in fact.We thought it was a recipe for disaster.”
Jackson’s gut instinct about Weinstein and the films proved to be spot on with the Lord of the Rings trilogy becoming an iconic success in the box office as well as with audiences worldwide.
Charlize Theron Openly Accused Harvey Weinstein
The Harvey Weinstein scandal opened up a Pandora’s box of allegations from the heart of Hollywood. Many top stars in the industry came out with their shocking stories and experiences with the producer. Among the many A-list actors who were on the receiving end of Weinstein’s abuse, Charlize Theron spoke openly about his disturbing demeanor over the years. Speaking of the manner in which he manipulated each actor against the other, Theron said,
“One of his lines was that Renée [Zellweger] and I slept with him to get jobs. There was no limit to him. Pitting women against each other? He was really, really good at that. There was a lot of, like, ‘Well, I’m talking to Gwyneth [Paltrow] for this movie…’ Even in the s*xual favors, he would still pit us against each other.
Theron went on to firmly state that she was never involved in giving any type of s*xual favor to Weinstein to bag a role and claimed that the producer’s allegation of the same was completely false. She also empathized with the many victims who were silenced and rendered helpless by Weinstein over 3 decades.
Source: The Things
