Hollywood, Business As Usual

I don’t want to perseverate on this but there are a few things that need saying. I’ll put them in bullet point form.

• Nearly all of the actresses who’ve come forward to complain about Harvey Weinstein are in their forties, some in their fifties. They have very little to lose by stepping forward.
• A notable exception to that is Cara Delevigne who is 25, right in his preferred demographic for victims. Unless you believe that he took a 20 year hiatus, there are dozens, scores, or even hundreds of actresses or aspiring actresses ages 25-40 who haven’t come forward.
• Everyone in the business knows about the prevalence of sexual harassment and abuse, not just of young actresses but also of young actors, many at first hand.
• Unindicted co-conspirators include all of the biggest names in the business—Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ron Howard, Frank Marshall, the list goes on and on. None of them have anything whatever to lose. Every single one of them knows and elects to remain silent.
• The Weinstein Co. hasn’t had a hit in two years. In Hollywood years, that’s a lifetime. Do you believe that the story would have come out if they had?

Maybe the dam is about to break but I’m skeptical. I think that after a momentary furor it will be back to business as usual in Hollywood.

Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be actors. Perhaps some day a hero will come along and divert a river through the stables but I doubt it. Hollywood is about illusions, about lying. We like our illusions.