Earlier this week, we reported on a story from Peter Jackson and his long-time collaborator, Fran Walsh, in which they described the ways Harvey and Bob Weinstein actively discouraged them from casting certain actresses—notably, Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino, both of whom have accused the elder Weinstein of harassment—in their Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Now, another Hollywood director has confirmed that he received similar pressure from the producer, with Terry Zwigoff—probably best known for his raunchy Christmas classic Bad Santa—talking about Weinstein’s attempts to blacklist Sorvino from the film:
Weinstein’s behavior was even more grossly immature in this scenario, apparently; according to Zwigoff, he’d simply hang up the phone every time he heard Sorvino’s name. (If this was his standard M.O. for all of the women he assaulted or harassed during this period, meanwhile, he presumably didn’t successfully complete many calls.)
As Hollywood continues to wrestle with the problem of powerful predators and rampant sexism lurking in its midst, it remains to be seen just how many great performances have been lost over the years to the dedicatedly obstructive efforts of shitty men. Sorvino has expressed her dismay at the news of Weinstein’s vindictiveness toward her and her career, while simultaneously expressing relief that a long-held suspicion has finally been confirmed.