I know what you mean. However, I have to admit that I was kind of shocked about how many people got outed after Weinstein, like Andy Signore of Screen Junkies, Brett Rattner, Bryan Singer, Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman, Jeremy Piven, etc. I don't recall this sort of thing happening when Bill Cosby got outed a few years ago (and that was a pretty big deal too because of his celebrity status). I'm pretty sure it was just him that was in the spotlight at the time and I don't think there was a whole bunch of other guys getting outed one after the other shortly after the Cosby accusations. I could be wrong though.
I think it's due to the current cultural zeitgeist, and the fact that Harvey Weinsein has been one of the most powerful people in Hollywood for a long time. So his victims were not only far more numerous than Cosby's, but also included several high-profile celebrities. And having celebrities come forward with their accounts of sexual harassment apparently inspired lots of others to do it, and it grew from the snowball effect.
I guess I'm rather cynical, because none of this has been shocking to me. Hollywood is a strange place. You put someone in that sort of place, surrounded by beautiful young people, all eager for their big break. Give that person lots of money and power, and toss a shitload of drugs into the mix, and you're going to get deviant behavior. Lots of it. People have always used their sexuality to get ahead, and people in power have always used that power to gratify their sexual desires. The more a person studies human history, the more apparent this becomes (I'm not saying everyone in power is a totally corrupt rapist monster, but I'll never be surprised when I learn that one is).
Now we live in an era of easy world-wide communication, and that gives a voice to people who would've been easy to silence or dismiss in the past. So the old ways of doing things aren't going to be nearly as pervasive in the entertainment industry moving forward. Now it'll mostly be relegated to the porn industry (especially within the small independent companies).
I know what director you're referring to-Victor Salva. That guy ended up serving a 15 month sentence because of what he did. One of the films he directed after serving his sentence was Powder, which was produced by Walt Disney Studios. He also directed the Jeepers Creepers movies. Some other interesting tidbits are that Francis Ford Coppola bankrolled Clown House and has been very loyal to Salva throughout his career. Also, one of Weinstein's accusers, Rose McGowan starred in a Salva movie called Rosewood Lane in 2011. This is what McGowan had to say about Salva, "I still don’t really understand the whole story or history there, and I’d rather not, because it’s not really my business. But he’s an incredibly sweet and gentle man." That quote was from an interview which can be found here. There's also an interesting article about Salva which can be read here.
Yep, I think Jessica and I have talked a little about Salva on our podcast. Jessica thinks
Powder has totally creepy vibes that made her uncomfortable watching it. And on a similar note, I made a pseudo-joke on
our most recent podcast episode about how people should cut some slack to Roman Polanski.
It seems to be currently in-vogue to dismiss anyone who's performed any kind of sexual assault as an irredeemable monster, but I don't take such a binary view of it. For instance, when someone's convicted of sex with a minor, I think there should be a strong distinction between when the victim is pre-pubescent verses post-pubescent. And I know minors can't legally give their consent in the US, but I absolutely think that how willing the victim was to partake in the act should be taken into consideration. And the maturity level of the victim. What's worse, boning an 18-year-old that, while not technically mentally impaired, seems to have the mentality of a twelve-year-old? Or boning a sexually mature fifteen-year-old who's been emancipated and living is on her own and working to support herself and she seems to have the mentality of a twenty-year-old?
People of the same age can vary vastly in maturity--both physically and mentally. So using age as the only metric seems narrow-sighted.
I think the current laws in the US are pretty fucked up. For example. When I was in my early twenties, I had a seventeen-year-old girlfriend who lived in Florida when I first met her. Where I live in Michigan, the age of consent is 16. So if we boned while she was visiting me in Michigan, it would be perfectly legal. But the age of consent in Florida is 18, so if we boned while I was visiting
her, then it would technically be rape.
I'm not saying I'm cool with what Salva or Polanski did. Just that it's a complex matter in which lots of factors need to be considered, but too many people are eager to make it black and white.
I don't know if you've read the latest news on Spacey, but I think it's safe to say that his career is pretty well fucked.
No, I hadn't known about the latest accusations. I don't tend to put much effort into keeping up with current events, especially pertaining to celebrities. But man does that suck for fans of
House of Cards (and its creators).
I think that it's damn near impossible to find someone that's 100% squeaky clean. Practically everyone out there has done something shady at some point or another.
Especially when it comes to the entertainment industry.
Anyways, are you a Bowie fan by any chance?
To me, David Bowie always been the guy from
Labyrinth first and foremost (and I'm definitely a fan of his performance in that). As for his music, I like his voice, and I enjoy some of the singles he released in the '80s, but that's the extent of my fandom.
On the other side of the coin, knowing that someone is a genuinely cool person probably makes it a tiny bit easier for me to be a fan of their work.
Anyone out there that you think is a genuinely cool person, besides Jessica?
Heh, well, that's tough to say. I assume you mean celebrities, since if I just name my friends, you'd have no idea who I'm talking about. Some celebrities that seem like genuinely cool people to me (based on my mega limited perception of them) would be Stephen King, Conan O'Brien, Kevin Pereira (he used to host
Attack of the Show; I've had some online exchanges with him), Paul Rudd, Tom Hanks, Bruce Campbell (he can be a snarky jerk, but that's part of his charm), Matthew Mercer (voice actor, host of
Critical Role), Elijah Wood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DiVito, Cassandra Peterson (Elvira), and I'll stop there before this post gets any more massive.
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