Harvey Weinstein

The Woody Allen Factor

/ kevingdrendel / 2 Comments

CANNES, FRANCE- MAY 15 : Director Woody Allen attends the ‘Irrational Man’ photo-call during the 68th Cannes Film Festival on May 15, 2015 in Cannes, France. Photography ID: 80414958 Copyright: arp (editorial use only)

An article in the Chicago Tribune, ‘I am ashamed I did this’: Stars reflect on — and rethink — working with Woody Allen, got me thinking about some things I have been chewing on but have been too reticent to explore publicly. Woody Allen, of course, has been the subject of rumors and outright allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior, but he has skated past these allegations like a Teflon President. It seemed obvious to me at the time that these allegations should be revisited in light of the recent trend in exposing sexual abuse that have been long hidden in the shadows.

Indeed, the article linked above seemed to suggest that time had come. Or should come. In the wake of the Me Too movement, with allegations tumbling out from all corners, it seemed right to.

Woody Allen is famous for his neurotic humor that permeates his acting and directing. He has long been a Hollywood insider, an icon over which the industry has gushed for decades for his innovative, creative and unique style. I never liked it and have never understood the infatuation people have with Woody Allen, and that may color my view of him. More on that later.

Woody Allen is also famous for his marriages to Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow and another, more unusual relationship. Woody Allen began a dating relationship with Soon-Yi Previn while he was also dating her adoptive mother, Mia Farrow. Woody Allen characterized the relationship as a “fling” that turned into more than a fling. (See Woody Allen’s relationship with Soon-Yi is creepier than you could imagine)

Previn was 21 when they started their “fling” and Woody Allen was 56. That makes him 35 years her senior for those who are mathematically challenged. (I had to do the math.) They were 26 and 61 when they married in 1997. Allen started the fling when he was already dating Previn’s mother, and the “fling” started with a father/daughter-like relationship!

Woody Allen claims the relationship “worked” because “I was paternal. She responded to someone paternal.” (See the NPR interview in 2015.)

It seemed wrong. 

Continue reading →

Harvey Weinstein in the Whirlwind

/ kevingdrendel / 2 Comments

Theatre Photography ID: 151700458 Copyright: SharpShooter

The Harvey Weinstein gale has caused a firestorm on the scale of the natural disasters in California, Montana and Canada, except this is no natural disaster. It is far worse. The dirty little secret is out, but how in the world did this monstrous tornado remain a secret so long?

We get angry with the perpetrators, as we should. We get angry with a culture in which men are emboldened to exploit women and in which those dirty little secrets can be kept dirty little secrets. But there is far more about which we should be angry.

There is a huge disconnect. We cry out for justice when we hear about sexual exploitation and abuse. We rightly condemned it, and we rightly condemn the perpetrators of it, but we have a culture that feeds it. We are the culture that feeds it, because “sex sells”, and we are buying it. We have created a culture that feeds the fire of monsters like Harvey Weinstein.

Our culture is saturated with sex. Continue reading →