Harvey Weinstein is making headlines today.
He’s given his first real interview from prison since his bizarre talks with Candace Owens.
This one is with the Hollywood Reporter.
Much of what he discussed with Maer Roshan has been out there: all the sexual malfeasance was consensual. He misses his kids and his family. He’s lonely in prison.
He says he’s dying, which is terrible. In the accompanying photograph, he looks gaunt and shrunken.
The biggest revelation: that he still gets a pension from Disney. Comes to $60,000 a year, which he splits with his first wife.
So it’s $30,000 a year, less taxes. But handy for the prison canteen.
EVeryone hates Harvey now but he makes a good point about the Oscars. They were dreadfully boring in the 1980s after the gold rush of 70s movie making. He made them exciting again.
He says, rightly so: “Before I got there, a bunch of big studios ran the Oscars. They just passed the awards among them. I made it possible for smaller indie movies to finally get attention. They complained that I fought dirty or made them too expensive. Fuck them. I fought hard for great movies because I loved them. Is that a bad thing?”
Also, the two directors in contention this year — Ryan Coogler and Paul Thomas Anderson — made movies for Harvey. Coogler got his start with Harvey on “Fruitvale Station.” PTA released “The Master” with him.
He says: “It’s a two-man race — Paul Thomas Anderson and Ryan Coogler. I had the pleasure of working with both of them. I worked with Paul on The Master. I worked with Ryan on Fruitvale Station. These are two of the greats. I love Ryan — he’s the class of the field. When Paul Thomas Anderson and I made The Master, he came to me and said, “Is there somewhere we can cut? It’s long.” I watched it and said, “It’s a fucking masterpiece. I’m not cutting a frame.” He was the most gentlemanly of gentlemen. The Academy should declare a tie.”
