Harvey Weinstein Biography

Harvey Weinstein, (born March 19, 1952) is an American film producer and former film studio director. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded Miramax, which produced several popular independent films including Pulp Fiction, Clerks, The Crying Game, and Sex, Lies, and Videotape. Harvey won an Academy Award for producing Shakespeare in Love, and garnered seven Tony Awards for producing a variety of winning plays and musicals, including The Producers, Billy Elliot the Musical, and August: Osage County.

Weinstein and his brother Bob were co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company from 2005 to 2017. In October 2017, the company's board of directors fired Weinstein following numerous allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault against him.

Education and early career

Weinstein was born in the Flushing section of the New York City borough of Queens, to a Jewish family. His parents were Max Weinstein, a diamond cutter, and Miriam (ne Postel). He grew up with his younger brother, Bob Weinstein, in a housing co-op named Electchester in New York City. He graduated from John Bowne High School and the University at Buffalo, and received an honorary SUNY Doctorate of Humane Letters in a ceremony at Buffalo in 2000. Weinstein, his brother Bob, and Corky Burger independently produced rock concerts as Harvey & Corky Productions in Buffalo through most of the 1970s.

Film career

1970s: Early work and creation of Miramax

Both Weinstein brothers had grown up with a passion for movies, and they nurtured a desire to enter the film industry. In the late 1970s, using profits from their concert promotion business, the brothers created a small independent film distribution company named Miramax, named after their parents, Miriam and Max. The company's first releases were primarily music-oriented concert films such as Paul McCartney's Rockshow.

1980s: Success with arthouse and independent films

In the early 1980s, Miramax acquired the rights to two British films of benefit shows filmed for the human rights organization Amnesty International. Working closely with Martin Lewis, the producer of the original films, the Weinstein brothers edited the two films into one movie tailored for the American market. The resulting film was released as The Secret Policeman's Other Ball in May 1982, and it became Miramax's first hit. The movie raised considerable sums for Amnesty International and was credited by Amnesty with having helped to raise its profile in the United States.The Weinsteins slowly built upon this success throughout the 1980s with arthouse films that achieved critical attention and modest commercial success. Harvey Weinstein and Miramax gained wider attention in 1988 with the release of Errol Morris' documentary The Thin Blue Line, which detailed the struggle of Randall Adams, a wrongfully convicted inmate sentenced to death row. The publicity that soon surrounded the case resulted in Adams' release and nationwide publicity for Miramax. In 1989, their successful launch release of Steven Soderbergh's Sex, Lies, and Videotape propelled Miramax to become the most successful independent studio in America.

Also in 1989, Miramax released two arthouse films, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, and director Pedro Almodvar's film Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, both of which the MPAA rating board gave an X-rating, effectively stopping nationwide release for these films. Weinstein sued the MPAA over the rating system. His lawsuit was later thrown out, but the MPAA introduced the NC-17 rating two months later.

1990s-2000s: Further success, Disney ownership deal

Miramax continued to grow its library of films and directors until, in 1993, after the success of The Crying Game, Disney offered the Weinsteins $80 million for ownership of Miramax. The brothers agreed to the deal that would cement their Hollywood clout and ensure that they would remain at the head of their company, and the next year Miramax released their first blockbuster, Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, and distributed the popular independent film Clerks.

Miramax won its first Academy Award for Best Picture in 1997 with the victory of The English Patient. (Pulp Fiction was nominated in 1995 but lost to Forrest Gump). This started a string of critical successes that included Good Will Hunting (1997) and Shakespeare in Love (1998), both of which won several awards, including numerous Academy Awards.

2005-2017: The Weinstein Company

On March 29, 2005, it was announced that the Weinstein brothers would leave Miramax on September 30 to form their own production company, named The Weinstein Company, with several other media executives, directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, and Colin Vaines, who had successfully run the production department at Miramax for ten years. In February 2011, filmmaker Michael Moore took legal action against the Weinstein brothers, claiming he was owed $2.7 million in profits for his documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), which he said had been denied to him by "Hollywood accounting tricks". In February 2012, Moore dropped the lawsuit for an undisclosed settlement.

On October 8, 2017, The Weinstein Company's board fired Harvey Weinstein, following numerous allegations of his sexual misconduct.

On October 12, 2017 Hachette Book Group dropped the imprint for Weinstein Books.

Managerial style and controversies

While lauded for opening up the independent film market and making it financially viable, Weinstein has been criticized by some for the techniques he has allegedly applied in his business dealings. Peter Biskind's book Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film details criticism of Miramax's release history and editing of Asian films, such as Shaolin Soccer, Hero, and Princess Mononoke. There is a rumor that when Harvey Weinstein was charged with handling the U.S. release of Princess Mononoke, director Hayao Miyazaki sent him a samurai sword in the mail. Attached to the blade was a stark message: "No cuts." Miyazaki commented on the incident: "Actually, my producer did that. Although I did go to New York to meet this man, this Harvey Weinstein, and I was bombarded with this aggressive attack, all these demands for cuts. I defeated him." Weinstein has always insisted that such editing was done in the interest of creating the most financially viable film. "I'm not cutting for fun," Harvey Weinstein said in an interview. "I'm cutting for the shit to work. All my life I served one master: the film. I love movies."

Another example cited by Biskind was Phillip Noyce's The Quiet American (2002), whose release Weinstein delayed following the September 11 attacks owing to audience reaction in test screenings to the film's critical tone towards America's past foreign policy. After being told the film would go straight to video, Noyce planned to screen the film in Toronto International Film Festival in order to mobilize critics to pressure Miramax to release it theatrically. Weinstein decided to screen the film at the Festival only after he was lobbied by star Michael Caine, who threatened to boycott publicity for another film he had made for Miramax. The Quiet American received mostly positive reviews at the festival, and Miramax eventually released the film theatrically, but it was alleged that Miramax did not make a major effort to promote the film for Academy Award consideration, though Caine was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Weinstein has also cultivated a reputation for ruthlessness and fits of anger. According to Biskind, Weinstein once put a New York Observer reporter in a headlock while throwing him out of a party. On another occasion, Weinstein excoriated director Julie Taymor and her husband during a disagreement over a test screening of her movie Frida.

In a 2004 newspaper article, in New York magazine, Weinstein appeared somewhat repentant for his often aggressive discussions with directors and producers. However, a Newsweek story on October 13, 2008, criticized Weinstein, who was accused of "hassling Sydney Pollack on his deathbed" about the release of the film The Reader. After Weinstein offered $1 million to charity if the accusation could be proven, journalist Nikki Finke published an email sent by Scott Rudin on August 22 asserting that Weinstein "harassed" Anthony Minghella's widow and a bedridden Pollack until Pollack's family asked him to stop.

In September 2009, Weinstein publicly voiced opposition to efforts to extradite Roman Polanski from Switzerland to the U.S. regarding a 1977 charge that he had drugged and raped a 13-year-old, to which Polanski had pleaded guilty before fleeing the country. Weinstein, whose company had distributed a film about the Polanski case, questioned whether Polanski committed any crime, prompting Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley to insist that Polanski's guilty plea indicated that his action was a crime, and that several other serious charges were pending.

Activism

Weinstein has been active on issues such as poverty, AIDS, juvenile diabetes, and multiple sclerosis research. He serves on the Board of the Robin Hood Foundation, a New York City-based non-profit that targets poverty, and co-chaired one of its annual benefits. He is critical of the lack of gun control laws and universal health care in the United States.

Weinstein is a longtime supporter and contributor to the Democratic Party including the campaigns of President Barack Obama and presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, and John Kerry. He supported Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, and in 2012, he hosted an election fundraiser for President Obama at his home in Westport, Connecticut.

Sexual assault allegations

See Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct allegations for more information In October 2017, The New York Times and The New Yorker reported that more than a dozen women accused Weinstein of sexually harassing, assaulting, or raping them. Many other women in the film industry subsequently reported similar experiences with Weinstein, who denied any non-consensual sex. As a result of these accusations, Weinstein was fired from his production company, his wife Georgina Chapman left him, and leading figures in politics whom he had supported denounced him.

Personal life

Weinstein has been married twice. In 1987, he married his assistant Eve Chilton. They divorced in 2004. They had three children: Remy (previously Lily) (born 1995), Emma (born 1998), and Ruth (born 2002). In 2007, he married English fashion designer and actress Georgina Chapman. They have a daughter, India Pearl (born 2010), and a son, Dashiell (born 2013).

Honors

In 2004, Weinstein was appointed an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his contributions to the British film industry. The award is "honorary" because Weinstein is not a citizen of a Commonwealth country.

On 2 March 2012, Weinstein was made a Chevalier (knight) of the Legion of Honour by the French Consulate in New York City, in recognition of Miramax's efforts to increase the presence and popularity of foreign films in the United States.

He also received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Selected filmography

Producer

Year	Film	Notes
1981	The Burning
1982	The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
1985	Deep End	Documentary
1986	Playing for Keeps	also writer
1988	Light Years a.k.a. Gandahar (English Version)
1998	Shakespeare in Love	Academy Award for Best Picture BAFTA Award for Best Film Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy Satellite Award for Best Film - Musical or Comedy Nominated - Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture
2000	Malna	Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language
2002	Gangs of New York	Nominated - Academy Award for Best Picture Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Film Nominated - Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture
2003	Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World	co-producer (uncredited)
2009	Nine	Satellite Award for Best Film - Musical or Comedy Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
2011	My Week with Marilyn	Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best British Film Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
2013	One Chance

Director

Year	Film	Notes
1986	Playing for Keeps	also producer
1987	The Gnomes' Great Adventure

Executive producer

Year	Film	Notes
1989	Scandal	co-executive producer
	The Lemon Sisters	co-executive producer
1990	Hardware
	Strike It Rich
	Crossing the Line	co-executive producer
1991	Madonna: Truth or Dare
1992	Reservoir Dogs
1993	True Romance
	The Hour of the Pig
1994	Pulp Fiction	co-executive producer
	Il Postino: The Postman
1995	Kids
	Smoke
	The Crossing Guard
1996	The English Patient
	Flirting with Disaster
	Scream
	Jane Eyre
	The Crow: City of Angels
	Emma
1997	Jackie Brown
	Good Will Hunting
	Princess Mononoke	English-language version
	Scream 2
	Air Bud
1998	Phantoms
	Senseless
	Wide Awake
1999	The Cider House Rules
2000	Down to You
	Scream 3
	Love's Labour's Lost
	Committed
	Scary Movie
	Chocolat
	The Yards
	Bounce
	Dracula 2000
2001	The Others
	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
	Iris
	Spy Kids
	Texas Rangers
	Scary Movie 2
	Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
2001-2005	Project Greenlight	Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program (2002, 2004, 2005)
2002	Chicago
	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
	Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
	Below
	Waking Up in Reno
	Equilibrium
	Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
2003	Cold Mountain
	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
	Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
	My Boss's Daughter
	Duplex
	Scary Movie 3
	Bad Santa	co-executive producer
	The Human Stain
2003-2004	Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2
2004	Jersey Girl
	Ella Enchanted	which is now "Disney" in 2021
	Fahrenheit 9/11
	The Aviator
	Finding Neverland
	Shall We Dance?
2004-present	Project Runway	Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program (2005-2015)
2005	Sin City
	Cursed
	The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D
	The Brothers Grimm
	Underclassman
	Proof
	Derailed
2006	Clerks II
	Scary Movie 4
	Pulse
	Breaking and Entering
	Miss Potter
	School for Scoundrels
2007	Grindhouse
	The Mist
	Rogue
	Sicko
	Halloween
	Awake
	1408
	Who's Your Caddy?
	The Nanny Diaries
2008	Superhero Movie
	Rambo
	The Reader
	Zack and Miri Make a Porno
	Soul Men
2009	Inglourious Basterds
	Fanboys
	Halloween II
2010	The King's Speech
	The Fighter
2011	The Artist
	Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil
	Scream 4
	Spy Kids: All the Time in the World
	Apollo 18
	Butter
	I Don't Know How She Does It
2012	W.E.
	Silver Linings Playbook
	Lee Daniels' The Butler
	Django Unchained
2013	Escape from Planet Earth
	August: Osage County
	Fruitvale Station
	Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
2014	Vampire Academy
	Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
	Paddington
	Big Eyes
	Marco Polo
2015	Woman in Gold
	Southpaw
	Carol
	Burnt
	The Hateful Eight
	Scream
2016	Sing Street
	War & Peace
	Lion
	The Founder
	Gold
2017	Wind River
2018	Waco
	Yellowstone

Honorary awards

Year	Association	Award	Notes
1996	Britannia Awards	Britannia Award for Excellence in Film	shared with Bob Weinstein
1997	Gotham Awards	Producers Award	shared with Bob Weinstein and James Schamus
1998	GLAAD Media Award	GLAAD Excellence in Media Award	shared with Bob Weinstein
2001	British Independent Film Awards	Special Jury Prize	shared with Bob Weinstein
2002	British Film Institute	British Film Institute Fellowship
2003	Saturn Award	Special Award	shared with Bob Weinstein
2003	DVD Exclusive Awards	Producer Award	shared with Bob Weinstein
2013	Producers Guild of America Award	Milestone Award	shared with Bob Weinstein