Hollywood’s Surprising and Sad Loyalty to Harvey Weinstein

For years Harvey Weinstein was known in Hollywood as the man who made dreams come true.

He was the producer who scoured film festivals looking for the next big thing. He was the man who bought the black-and-white film “Clerks,” Kevin Smith’s 1994 classic; it was originally financed through maxed-out credit cards and filmed at night at the convenience store Smith manned during the day.

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He was the producer who introduced the world to Quentin Tarantino, a highly praised filmmaker. Weinstein produced Tarantino’s first feature, “Reservoir Dogs,” and every other film including his latest, “The Hateful Eight.”

The unforgettable moment of the then-young, Boston-born best friends Matt Damon and Ben Affleck standing on stage at the Oscars in 1998, overcome by emotion for their Best Screenplay win for “Good Will Hunting” — that, too, was also partly due to Weinstein. It was a “dreams really do come true” moment that warmed the hearts of millions.

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Weinstein isn’t warming many hearts right now. Recent allegations about his behavior toward women over the decades has led to his firing from the very company he founded.

The image of the old-school movie producer giving voice to a new generation of filmmakers has been shaky, at best, for years. Before actresses Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan went on record about Weinstein’s despicable behavior toward women, he already had a reputation as a power-hungry bully.

The HBO television show “Entourage,” which ran from 2004 to 2011, even created a character not so subtly based on Weinstein — and the rumors about his working style. Harvey Weingard (played by Maury Chaykin) was an abusive, foul-mouthed pig who demanded loyalty and threatened or harmed those who did not succumb to his wishes.

Related: Many in Hollywood Remain Silent About Harvey Weinstein — Why?

The character wasn’t based on nothing. Stories have circulated about everyone from actor Nathan Lane to director Uwe Boll in some way dealing with Weinstein’s abrasive, abusive behavior. Even one of Weinstein’s protégés, Kevin Smith, later had a falling out with him due to Weinstein’s short temper and over-the-top personality.

Weinstein, however, also benefitted from fierce loyalty. Many who worked with him continued to do so for years, sometimes decades.

Tarantino never left the flock and even followed Weinstein’s move from Miramax to The Weinstein Company in 2005. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck continued working with him for years; Kevin Smith had every film of his produced by Weinstein until 2008, when various frictions between the two led Smith to begin independently financing his films.

It’s that fierce loyalty that makes a new report not so shocking. A former New York Times reporter revealed in a column for The Wrap, which she founded, that two A-list stars called her back in 2004 to help do damage control for Harvey Weinstein.

Sharon Waxman revealed she was working on a story about Weinstein’s behavior toward women back then and was also investigating the hiring of a man named Fabrizio Lombardo, the head of Miramax Italy.

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According to Waxman, sources claimed the man’s job was to provide Weinstein with hookers. They also claimed he had no film experience. Waxman revealed she received calls from Weinstein friends Matt Damon and Russell Crowe, who both vouched for Lombardo and his position in the film company.

“After intense pressure from Weinstein, which included having Matt Damon and Russell Crowe call me directly to vouch for Lombardo and unknown discussions well above my head at The Times, the story was gutted,” Waxman wrote. “I was told at the time that Weinstein had visited the newsroom in person to make his displeasure known.”

Waxman also spoke to a woman who had an “unwanted sexual encounter” with Weinstein — and had been paid off.

The story was eventually killed. “I was devastated after traveling to two countries and overcoming immense challenges to confirm at least part of the story that wound up running last week, more than a decade later,” she continued. “Today I wonder: If this story had come to light at the time, would Weinstein have continued his behavior for another decade?”

“Today I wonder: If this story had come to light at the time, would Weinstein have continued his behavior for another decade?”

It’s entirely possible Damon and Crowe were going out on a limb for Weinstein at his request and had no idea why. They could have been vouching for a man they didn’t know because their friend was asking for help — no questions asked.

However, it still proves how the industry as a whole turned a blind eye to Weinstein’s increasingly bizarre and hurtful behavior.

Many people have remained silent about Weinstein and the recent revelations, including Tarantino, Damon, Affleck and others who have worked with him. Politicians with whom he was friendly, and to whom he made campaign donations — such as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama — are also, as of now, silent about him.

Some have now spoken up. Meryl Streep made a statement to the Huffington Post, calling women who have shared their stories about Weinstein “heroes.” The actress called Weinstein’s behavior “disgraceful” and “inexcusable.” Weinstein produced such Streep films as “The Iron Lady” and “August: Osage County.”

Kevin Smith also responded to a fan on Twitter about Weinstein, saying he felt “ashamed” to have prospered with Weinstein while many of the producer’s awful acts were occurring. Smith revealed at the New York Comic Con shortly before The New York Times story about Weinstein ran that he’d spoken to the producer recently and turned down a chance to direct a sequel to his 1998 film “Dogma.”

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The fact that so many remain silent shows the level of power and influence Weinstein attained in the business. It also shows he has long rooted himself in the industry as a man to be feared. Even outside of The Weinstein Company, many likely still feel under his shadow.

It turns out that ridiculous and over-the-top portrayal in “Entourage” was not so ridiculous and over-the-top after all.

(photo credit, homepage images: Russell Crowe, black & white, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Eva Rinaldi / Matt Damon…, CC BY-SA 2.0, by nicolas genin)