Oscar Hero To Zero: How Harvey Weinstein's Power Enabled Him -- And Led To His Decline

By Natalie Robehmed and Madeline Berg

When Seth MacFarlane hosted the Oscar nomination ceremony in 2013, he joked to the Best Supporting Actress contenders, “Congratulations, you five ladies no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein.” The audience laughed, but the joke hinted at a dark industry axiom: Working with Weinstein could lead to the Oscars, but it could also lead to unwelcome advances.

Over the past few years, the careers of Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly and Bill Cosby have been shattered by allegations of sexual harassment and assault. The accusations leveled against Weinstein in the last week that led to his dismissal from the production company he cofounded owe much to the women who came forward, as well as to a decline in societal tolerance for sexual harassment. But the revelations were also facilitated by Weinstein’s diminishing power, which has shrunk along with the influence of The Weinstein Company—and that of other independent movie makers.

More Than 30 Women Have Accused Harvey Weinstein Of Sexual Harassment Or Assault

With his brother, Bob, Harvey Weinstein cofounded movie production studio Miramax in 1979, specializing in indie films on shoestring budgets that won awards--and made money. The duo sold the outfit to Disney in 1993 for $80 million, but continued to operate it, producing hits such as Pulp Fiction (1994), which grossed $213.9 million on an $8 million budget, and notching Best Picture Academy Awards for The English Patient (1997), Shakespeare In Love (1999) and Chicago (2002). In total, Miramax films garnered 58 Oscar wins and grossed well over $3 billion worldwide under the Weinsteins’ leadership.

The studio’s outsized Oscars performance was thanks in no small part to Harvey’s bullish campaigning--both for his own movies and against competitors. He told FORBES in 1989: “I don’t care if me and my brother have to walk through the subway handing out pamphlets that say, ‘You don’t have to be Irish to love My Left Foot,’ with pictures of a Hasidic Jew sitting next to a Chinese guy...I will get people to see this movie.” Sure enough, it notched two Academy Awards at 1990’s ceremony.

Weinstein’s ability to orchestrate Oscar nominations and translate them into wins resulted in a stunning 341 nominations and 81 Academy Awards for films the brothers produced or distributed, more than double the similarly-sized Lionsgate’s 122 nominations and 30 awards.

Here Are All Of Harvey Weinstein's 81 Oscar Wins

“Everyone knew if you were in a Harvey movie, chances are you were going to win or be nominated for an Oscar,” said Sasha Stone, founder and publisher of AwardsDaily.com, an industry awards tracker since 1999. “It’s a sick thing to be in a business where that was the collateral used to coerce women.”

In 1997, Miramax had one of its best years, winning 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture for The English Patient, which tallied $232 million to become the company’s highest-grossing film at the time. That's also the year with the highest number of allegations by women who have chosen to come forward publicly so far.

Five women say Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them in 1997; these include two allegations of rape. Asia Argento claims Weinstein performed oral sex on her, against her wishes, and Rose McGowan, who settled with Weinstein for $100,000 in 1997, also alleges she was raped that year. Weinstein denies all allegations of non-consensual sex. He also denies that any acts of retaliation were taken against women for refusing his advances. 

“There’s a lot on the line, the cachet that came with Miramax,” Ashley Judd told the Times. The actress alleged Weinstein invited her to his hotel room in 1997 at the Cannes Film Festival, repeatedly requested a massage and then asked the novice actor to watch him take a shower.

After exiting Miramax in 2005, few expected the Weinstein brothers to replicate their success at The Weinstein Company. But after a few rocky years of no wins and a series of bad investments, they bounced back with a 2010 debt restructuring that wiped much of their balance sheet clean.

The statuettes returned, too: Between 2010 and 2012, The Weinstein Company peaked as Inglorious Bastards took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor at the 2010 Academy Awards and was nominated in seven other categories. In 2011, The King’s Speech won Best Picture and three other Oscars, and The Fighter, which the Weinstein Company distributed overseas, won two. In 2012, the company took took home eight awards: five for The Artist, two for The Iron Lady and one for Undefeated.

Weinstein has so far been accused of three counts of harassment during those years. Emma de Caunes, a French actress, claims that in 2010 he had her to his hotel room, revealed himself and demanded sex, which she refused. British television presenter Myleene Klass alleges that, that same year, Weinstein propositioned her with a so-called sex contract over lunch. Jessica Barth claims that in 2011 Weinstein invited her to a business meeting in his hotel room before requesting a naked massage, which she rejected.

But since 2013, Weinstein’s golden touch has rusted. Lee Daniels’ The Butler, which came out in 2013, is the last Weinstein film to cross $100 million at the domestic box office. Between 2014 and 2017, The Weinstein Company has picked up only three Oscars--one of which was for the documentary Citizenfour, which it distributed, but did not produce.

While the independent production house has been losing clout, larger studios and technology companies have stepped up to the podium. At this year’s Oscars, Amazon nabbed three awards, and Netflix won one; The Weinstein Company took home none. Its single 2018 Oscar contender, the Jeremy Renner-fronted Wind River, looks doomed.

With Harvey Weinstein Out, The Weinstein Company Faces Serious Business Challenges

The same shift is apparent on the festival circuit, where The Weinstein Company historically padded out its slate with acquisitions but can no longer compete with deep-pocketed streaming platforms. It did not buy a single film during this year’s Sundance Film Festival, while Netflix spent more than $36.5 million on 10 titles. Amazon spent some $25 million on just four movies.

“In Hollywood, access to capital is key,”said Hal Vogel, a longtime media analyst and founder of Vogel Capital Management. “Streaming platforms can simply write much bigger checks.”

To wit, Amazon is estimated to spend $4.5 billion on content in 2017. As the torch passes, so too does the balance of power.

In August, a report asserted that Roy Price, Amazon Studios programming chief, had allegedly made sexual remarks to TV producer Isa Hackett in July 2015. Hackett, emboldened by the 30-plus women who have now accused Weinstein, went public this week.

“You will love my dick,” Price allegedly said to the producer of The Man in the High Castle, among other comments.

"We take seriously any questions about the conduct of our employees,” an Amazon spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement.

Yesterday, Price--who has not yet publicly commented on the accusations--was placed on an indefinite leave of absence.