Biography Written About Harvey Weinstein’s Past

By: Claire Ying

“Hollywood Ending” by Ken Auletta, a well-related journalist, is a biography of the notorious Harvey Weinstein, a movie tycoon who was responsible for third degree rape and another sex offense, both committed in New York in 2006 and 2013 respectively. However, he still expects a trial in California.

In 2000, Weinstein reached the height of his career in the entertainment industry. He oversaw Miramax, a studio he and his brother, Bob, founded in 1979. He had also just started Talk Magazine with the now editor, Tina Brown. When not in Hollywood, Weinstein mingled with politicians, throwing them extravagant parties, or co-directing fund-raisers in their favor.

According to Auletta’s biography, Weinstein told the M.C., Nathan Lane, “I’ll ruin your career,” and “bellied” him into a corner all because the jokes he prepared were not to Weinstein’s approval.

It is also known that Weinstein’s history of offenses is lengthy, starting back when he was just in sales in Buffalo. He then began targeting a younger generation, one that “increasingly spent their free time on social networks like Facebook.” Even in his 60s, he continued to assault women in their 20s.

Unsurprisingly, the author sat in on each day of Weinstein’s trial back in February of 2020 and included the incident in the biography. He writes, “Trials are not movies, shot under controlled conditions and subject to revision in the editing room. They are live productions, dependent on the chemistry of their participants, and not a little bit of luck.”

The biography also states Auletta’s impression of Weinstein 20 years prior. Back then, Auletta did not have much knowledge of the details that went into Weinstein’s felonies, so he focused on the direct actions towards the victims instead.

“Hollywood Ending” exposes another tragedy of the picture-perfect Hollywood façade. Auletta’s recollection of Weinstein’s life, connections, and works, arguably all biased due to his disparagement of Weinstein’s actions, give readers a sense of awareness of a lifetime’s worth of wrongdoing.

Sources:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1657493309733x420990379283661300/%E2%80%98Hollywood%20Ending%2C%E2%80%99%20a%20Cradle-to-Jail%20Biography%20of%20Harvey%20Weinstein%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf