Kevin Smithis sharing details about a phone call he received fromHarvey Weinsteinjust one week beforesexual harassmentclaims against the producer rocked Hollywood in 2017.
The actor and filmmaker, 49, revealed in a recent interview withBusiness Insiderthat Weinstein, whom he had worked with in the past, called him out of the blue after not speaking for over two decades.
“I said, ‘Hey, how are you?’ And he goes, ‘You know, we haveDogma, I just realized, and we got to get it out there again,’ ” Smith recalled.
“I said, ‘We do! People online are always asking where they can get it,'” Smith said. “And he then goes, ‘You know, that movie had a big cast, we might even be able to do a sequel.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah man, right on. I might think about that.’ And he was like, ‘We’ll talk.’ ”
John Shearer/WireImage
One week after the phone call, on Oct. 5, 2017,The New York Timesreleased a story that featured dozens of womenaccusingWeinstein, 67, of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse over a period of at least 30 years.
“I felt sick to my stomach,” Smith recalled upon reading the story.
TheNYTstory resulted in Weinstein’s dismissal from The Weinstein Company. He wasarrestedin May 2018 but was released on bail. He has denied all accusations against him.
“There are people who are the real victims here, but I have to be honest with you, I felt like it was someone using something you love to provoke a reaction,” he said regarding the phone call.
“He was starting to circle the wagons,” Smith continued. “It was him looking to see who was a friend still because his life was about to shift completely. And I used to be a defense guy. I wrote a piece inVarietyon how he’s still got the edge when people would go after him like, ‘Harvey’s lost his touch.’ ”
In a 2004 editorial inVariety, Smith defended Weinstein after the release of Peter Biskind’s bookDown and Dirty, which accused Weinstein and his brother Bob of bullying and intimidation to make Miramax a hit-making production company in the ’90s.
REUTERS/Mike Segar
But after theNYTstory broke, Smith no longer defended the producer, andtweetedthat he was “ashamed” that Weinstein had financed his films.
Weinstein is currently set to go to trial in January 2020 for charges of rape, predatory sexual assault and criminal sexual act based on the accusations of two women, according toThe Washington Post.
He has plead not guilty to all charges.
source: people.com
