Oscars 2018: How does Hollywood plan to handle ‘MeToo’ on glitziest night in show business?
The Academy Awards, the glitziest night in show business, takes place on Sunday, but the biggest drama may be not on the Dolby Theatre stage but behind-the-scenes moves to tackle the sexual misconduct scandal that has rocked the industry.
After moving swiftly to expel Oscar-winning film producer Harvey Weinstein last October after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has still to take action against other people in its ranks who have been accused of impropriety.
They include actor Kevin Spacey, director Roman Polanski and comedian Bill Cosby.
Weinstein, who has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone, was only the second person in the academy’s 90-year history to be thrown out.
His expulsion made the publicity-averse Academy, whose 8,000 members vote on the Oscars, the moral guardian in the #MeToo scandal that has led to dozens of Hollywood figures stepping down or being dropped from creative projects.
“The academy has always wanted to be the symbol of Hollywood, the glamour and excitement and creativity. But now this awful stuff is being told about Hollywood and it’s like, you’re going to be the symbol of the downside too,” said Tim Gray, awards editor of Hollywood trade publication Variety.
“This …read more
