Trigger Warning: This article contains information about sexual assault which may be triggering for some. Please read with caution and exercise self-care.
A little over a year since Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison for sex crimes, actresses Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan have signed on to tell the story of the two women who helped to bring him down.
The hammer started to drop on Weinstein — once one of Hollywood’s most powerful producers — when an exposé was published in The New York Times by journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Cantor. After a second takedown, published in The New Yorker by Ronan Farrow, came out, over 80 women came forward with their stories of suffering abuse at the hands of Weinstein.
Universal Pictures is now in early development for a film exploring Twohey and Cantor’s story with production expected to begin later in 2021 with Unorthodox director Maria Schrader at the helm.
Twohey and Cantor’s exposé ran on October 5, 2017, and detailed sexual misconduct allegations that went back decades. The article marked the beginning of the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements and set in motion the events that led to Weinstein’s guilty verdict, which was handed down on March 11, 2020.
While the Weinstein accusations, trial and subsequent sentencing irrevocably changed Hollywood (and led to several other high profile men being taken down for sexual misconduct), according to Deadline, the film will instead focus on “an all-women team of journalists who persevered through threats of litigation and intimidation, told in a procedural manner like Spotlight and All the President’s Men.”
She Said is based on Cantor and Twohey’s New York Times bestseller She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement.
Mulligan is one of the most recognisable names in Hollywood right now, following her Oscar-nominated performance in Promising Young Woman — which also tackles the topic of rape and the way perpetrators are often able to act with impunity.
Per Deadline, Mulligan and Kazan starred in Ian Rickson’s Broadway production of The Seagull in 2008. In 2018, Mulligan starred in the critically acclaimed film Wildlife which Kazan co-wrote and produced. This is the first time they will appear together on screen.
Weinstein is currently serving 20 years for a felony attack on Miriam Haley, who testified that he forced oral sex on her in 2006. He is also serving an additional three years for the rape of Jessica Mann, an aspiring actress who testified he forced himself on her at a hotel in 2013.
The former film producer was acquitted of three other counts, including the most serious — predatory sexual assault.
If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual or physical violence, please call 1800-RESPECT, a national telephone support line or find more support services HERE.
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