Last week, Carey Mulligan made appearances at the BFI London Film Festival and the New York Film Festival, all to promote She Said, the true story of Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey’s work to expose Harvey Weinstein as a serial predator. Zoe Kazan plays Jodi Kantor, and Zoe went to the NYFF premiere, where people learned that she’s pregnant! She and Paul Dano are expecting their second child. One fashion note: Carey wore Armani to the London premiere! She looked stunning.
Anyway, I’m already going back and forth about how I want to write about She Said and what this Oscar campaign is going to look like. I mean, the film looks “good” in the sense that it’s about two dogged journalists breaking one of the most important Hollywood/women’s rights stories of the past 30 years. “Good” in the sense that both Kazan and Mulligan are talented actresses and they’ll both probably be up for awards. But there’s a specter at the banquet, which is that Plan B won the bidding war for the rights to the book, and Plan B produced the film. Plan B, meaning Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt who worked with Harvey Weinstein twice, even after Gwyneth Paltrow told him what Weinstein did to her. Even after Angelina Jolie told him what Weinstein did to her. Not only that, Pitt’s team tried to badger and shut down reporters who looked into the fact that Pitt worked with Weinstein too.
As I said, I’ve been thinking about all of this and how we should talk about it. It’s possible to simply recognize Kantor, Twohey, Mulligan and Kazan’s work and praise all of that as stand-alone achievements. It’s also possible we’ll have to talk about how Pitt’s involvement is already being whitewashed during the film’s promotion. As of this moment, Pitt is listed as one of the producers on the film. But in Deadline’s interview with Mulligan and Kazan, this is how they dealt with the issue:
Directed by Maria Schrader from Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s script, and produced by Plan B’s Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, She Said is adapted from Kantor and Twohey’s book of the same name. In the spirit of All the President’s Men and Spotlight, the film details the investigative reporting behind the story, from the initial whispers about Weinstein’s behavior through to its bombshell publication, as the pair uncovered truths that had lain buried for years while Weinstein wielded his outsized power.
Ah, the old “Brad Pitt doesn’t exist” trick. Brad who? Ol’ Whatshisname. Ah, the film is simply “produced by Plan B’s Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner” and they don’t have a producing partner, of course not! I am exceedingly curious about this plays out over the awards season. I would imagine that Pitt will once again try to shut down stories about his own choice to work with Weinstein, even though he had a very good idea about Weinstein’s serial predation.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Cover Images.
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- Carey Mulligan attends ‘She Said’ premiere during 66th BFI London Film Festival, UK.,Image: 730704119, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Ana M. Wiggins / Avalon
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- Carey Mulligan attends ‘She Said’ premiere during 66th BFI London Film Festival, UK.,Image: 730704173, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Ana M. Wiggins / Avalon
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- Carey Mulligan attends ‘She Said’ premiere during 66th BFI London Film Festival, UK.,Image: 730704516, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Ana M. Wiggins / Avalon
I say, don’t punish the women who wanted to tell this important story by making it all about Brad Pitt.
Plan B won the rights. None of the ladies chose him.
This is my take as well.
ETA to clarify – we talk a lot about movies without always dissecting who produced them. I feel like we can talk about this movie in itself, while also discussing Pitt separately, so not saying to give him a pass for anything.
Yes! Just make a seperate post to discuss BP’s involvement. Otherwise it’s always going to overshadow the work the ladies did and they don’t deserve that.
Agree with Maddy & Becks1. This discussion is two separate issues.
First off Pitt did not win the rights to this movie he brought them those are two completely different things.
You can not separate Pitt from this movie because he benefits from the movie’s success, awards, and money. It iwhat keeps him from experiencing the consequences of his actions and keeps him in a position trying to silence the voice of women and kids. People overlooking the movies that Harvey Weinstein produced, Woody Allen wrote and produced, and directed kept their powers and kept their victims silent and made more victims.
*bought
Well, the ladies who wrote the book chose him!!
This film, when Plan B purchased the rights to it, was seen as BP getting revenge on HW/ justice for AJ and Gwyneth. https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/culture/a20083510/brad-pitt-produce-film-harvey-weinstein-investigation/
Honestly, the actresses deserve praise, this story deserves to be told, and it would be a pity if BP got in the way of that. It would also be a huge pity if She Said continues to be marketed without BP’s name attached, because part of the reason this film is being made is to prop up his image. Both HW’s victims’ stories and the (hopefully unsuccessful) rehabilitation of BP need to be told simultaneously.
Absolutely @ML. This story is important: An industry propped up an abusive man and women took him down. And the story of the making of THIS VERY MOVIE is important: We continue to prop up abusive men.
The work ain’t done.
I absolutely agree with what was said above. Let the ladies have their moment. That’s what matters. But also, beyond the Weinstein connection, the whole “let’s listen to the women“ message being produced by Pitt, who’s behind a smear campaign against his ex-wife… The irony is slapping me in the face.
I’m really looking forward to this film.
About time someone made it. And I’m not into the “bash everything and everyone who has anything to do with Brad Pitt”, party train.
Mulligan looks GORGEOUS.
She’s always been a class act on the red carpet, press junkets, & interviews, etc.
A damn great actress, as well!
Bravo to the casting. All excellent choices.
@Acclaim, Carey Mulligan fan girl here, I LOOOVE her. Love all her work, love her interviews, her fashion, her look, her choices. So glad to see someone else loves her!
Sorry but Plan B was still his company. U want to punish all these other women for working with Weinstein but give them a pass when they clearly new Pitt had abuse accusations since 2016! And it was child abuse!!
I got to speak to Carey Mulligan at the London premiere of She Said as she made herself very accessible to the audience at the reception (which rarely happens in NY). She said she was such a fan of the book and how her character worked as a new mother wanting to still contribute as a journalist with such an important story and make a difference. She was really down to earth and quite charming. Big fan!!
They shouldn’t be punished. Especially since Dede and Jeremy are involved. The actresses/actors shouldn’t answer for him either, but ignoring it is not the way to go. the hypocrisy needs to mentioned. His team tried to kill stories about it before Angelina ever mentioned it in 2020 it (while also admitting there was no excuse for his actions). The responsibility to explain his action should be shifted to him.
https://mobile.twitter.com/MarlowNYC/status/1434233126377725952
I hear what all the above people are saying about separating the movie and BP.
But how can one do that, this man will benefit from the success of the movie financially and all the prestige.
I feel for Dede and Jeremy, they are probably the ones that did the heavy lift but I can’t ignore their boss is an Abuser
Awful people profit from movies, music, anything that can be bought, really, all the time. If you look at who sits at the top of all the “products” we consume daily, you will see a whole bunch of racists, mysogynists, bigots, anti-semites and overall shitty people. Are you that conscious when you shop for milk, furniture etc?
@ Maddy
So you’re saying when we know better we shouldn’t do better. We may not know who is making our furniture who making the milk, but we do know that Pitt is producing this movie and we know that he abused his wife and children.
I’m saying if that’s your standard, you should apply it to all facets of your life. Not just entertainment. It’s not hard to look up who owns what.
Do you think if I find out something about a product or company I won’t spend my money elsewhere because I will.
Do you?
Exactly!
Everyone who supports this movie is helping Brad Pitt with his money issues so he can continue to financially abuse Angelina.
And I don’t feel sorry for Dede and Jeremy, they choose to be in business with child abuser. They could have parted ways with him and started their own company.
I hear what all the above people are saying about separating the movie and BP.
But how can one do that, this man will benefit from the success of the movie financially and all the prestige.
I feel for Dede and Jeremy, they are probably the ones that did the heavy lift but I can’t ignore their boss is an Abuser
I don’t like that he could get accolades for it. It’s not just that he went on to seek HW out for a film knowing what he had done. It’s actually the working with his fixer and using the same tactics that HW used to silence the stories. That’s what the film is about and it’s what BP has been doing for 6 years. That’s what should be called out.
Child abuser Brad Pitt still is producer of the Harvey Weinstein movie and his production company so no matter of they don’t add his name it’s still his production company that’s reaping the benefits by the ones who want to award this abuser movie
Pitt is working with the very same people who silent these women, stalked and harassed them destroyed their careers to do the same to someone else and some of you think that should be over looked.
that’s exactly what some of us said. 🙄
Actually, what we said is that we think its possible to talk about the movie itself, especially the stars of the movie and the story of the movie, and Brad Pitt as two separate entities. Of course there is overlap and nothing is that simple, but its also nowhere near as black and white as thinking it should be overlooked.
There is room for nuance here when the specific question asked in the post is “how do we discuss this movie?”
They are not two separate entities, they can’t be when they are intertwine and overlap.
People have answered the question some of us believe to discuss this movie we have to add Pitt to the same discussion, you just don’t agree with that answer.
I suspect this discussion is exactly why Plan B is being sold. Ironically, Weinstein’s story illustrates that Hollywood doesn’t care if someone is a known abuser…until the allegations start to overshadow the business side. Brad is going to learn that lesson.
PLAN B IS 100% owned by Brad Pitt. Dede G. and Jeremy run it. Brad gets a Producer (or EP credit) on everything they do. That produced his first Oscar for 12 Years A Slave. They’ve done very, very important stuff. But it doesn’t mean he is actually involved with She Said. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14807308/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm
Also … I’m done with reading that he and Aniston started it together, He started it with Brad Grey — his former manager and a Hollywood heavyweight. Also part of the “B” in the title (two Brads). Aniston never brought any project to the group. She tried to force herself on the title role of The Time Traveler’s Wife but that was about it. And it didn’t work.
Grey was New York … not Hollywood … and he was brought into the top echelons of the entertainment business when HARVEY WEINSTEIN hired him to build up the concert side of Miramax. So it is all connected.
I was at the movie premiere for She Said in London and at the reception got to speak to the producers from Plan B, a woman and the only man on the panel and they were really great about just focusing on the story. Gwyneth’s name was referred to many times in the film as it seems HW was obsessed about her being one of the women stating her experience with him. I assumed that is one of the reasons Plan B bought the rights to the film. The movie is well done and very sobering, my companion was quite triggered as she works for the industry and has experience harassment even just working in production.
I saw the movie at the NYFF and it’s great, especially because the film manages to keep the focus on the victims, and not on making the reporters out to be the heroes of the story, even though their efforts were heroic.
FWIW, in the film credits, Pitt is listed as an Executive Producer of the film, and he is one of three or four other people who are given that title. Gardner and Kleiner are identified as Producers in the credits.
One other quick note about the movie- over a dozen of Weinstein’s victims worked on the film, both in front of and behind the camera, and many of them attended the premieres in NYC and London. I was concerned that some of the survivors might feel exploited by the movie but I haven’t read that any of them feel that way.