The New Yorker’s highly regarded journalist Ken Auletta tried to nail movie mogul Harvey Weinstein in 2002. His article, “Beauty and the Beast,” was a valiant attempt to take Weinstein down before Miramax was clamped down by Disney and the Weinstein brothers started their own company.
Auletta, alas, was met with obstacles thrown by lawyers and publicists the closer he got to his target. He didn’t get everything in. Still, the article was pretty brutal, and full of juicy moments.
Now, Auletta is back. He’s writing his masterpiece, an expose of Weinstein that will most certainly circle back to “Beauty and the Beast” and then attempt to push forward through the revelations of the last 18 months. His publisher is Penguin Random House.
Auletta is in the early stages, interviewing as many people as he can who knew Weinstein or who interacted with him. It remains to be seen who and how many are willing to talk, on or off the record. But the writer is motivated certainly. That 2002 incident no doubt left him hungry to finish his story.
Weinstein, continues to fight for his life in the New York courts, where he faces a possible trial on five counts of sexual misconduct including rape. One count has been dismissed, and the 0thers remain unclear as to their strength.
