Harvey Weinstein’s abuse of women has been dominating the news cycle since early October. Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the disgraced mogul will be the subject of a BBC documentary from Ursula MacFarlane (“Charlie Hebdo: Three Days that Shook Paris”). The 90-minute doc is expected to air on Britain’s BBC Two sometime in 2018.
Tentatively titled “Weinstein,” the documentary will chronicle Weinstein’s career as a Hollywood power player, the allegations against him, and the widespread problem of sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry. It will also feature interviews with some of Weinstein’s victims alongside producers, directors, actors, agents, lawyers, journalists, and more. “Weinstein” will “delve into the complex mix of money, power, exploitation, and abuse that developed with the emergence of the studio system in the 1930s.”
“Through telling the story of Weinstein’s extraordinary rise and fall, this film will really get to the heart of the big questions that lie at the center of the scandal: how did Weinstein get away with his behavior for so long, what does his story reveal about how powerful men have operated in Hollywood and beyond and will this be a watershed moment in terms of the way women are treated in the workplace?” explained doc EPs and cousins Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn.
“The breaking of silence over Harvey Weinstein is a watershed moment for the creative industries and for wider society,” added BBC Two controller Patrick Holland. “Ursula is a brilliant filmmaker and is perfectly placed to make the definitive documentary.”
“The Hunting Ground” filmmaking team Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick are also working on a documentary about sexual assault in Hollywood, but their project is not specific to Weinstein.
Weinstein’s abuse of women became public knowledge thanks to exposés from The New York Times and The New Yorker. Since then, myriad additional reports have been published and more than 80 women have publicly accused Weinstein of sexual harassment or assault. In turn, his fall from grace was the catalyst of the #MeToo movement and sparked revelations about numerous other predators like Kevin Spacey, Brett Ratner, James Toback, and Louis C.K.
“One Deadly Weekend in America,” “West Side Stories: The Making of a Classic,” “Abortion: The Choice,” and the BAFTA-nominated “Breaking Up with the Joneses” are among MacFarlane’s previous credits.
