the harvey weinstein case

Bad Santa Director Says Harvey Weinstein Kept Rejecting Mira Sorvino’s Casting

Photo: Randy Shropshire/Getty Images

Earlier this week, director Peter Jackson went on record saying that during the preproduction process for Lord of the Rings — when the trilogy was initially being developed at Miramax — Harvey Weinstein began blacklisting Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino from all of the company’s film projects. “At the time, we had no reason to question what these guys were telling us,” Jackson said. “But in hindsight, I realize that this was very likely the Miramax smear campaign in full swing. I now suspect we were fed false information about both of these talented women and as a direct result their names were removed from our casting list.” Weinstein has denied the claims despite an additional rebuttal from Jackson, and now another director, Terry Zwigoff, is revealing that Weinstein allegedly prevented him from hiring Sorvino for Bad Santa.

“I was interested in casting Mira Sorvino in Bad Santa, but every time I mentioned her over the phone to the Weinsteins, I’d hear a CLICK,” Zwigodd wrote on Twitter. “What type of person just hangs up on you like that?! I guess we all know what type of person now. I’m really sorry Mira.”

Sorvino and Judd have been among the dozens of women to accuse Weinstein of repeated sexual assault and harassment since October. Additionally, when Jackson’s interview was released this week, both women took to Twitter to convey how they weren’t surprised by his story. “Just seeing this after I awoke, I burst out crying. There it is, confirmation that Harvey Weinstein derailed my career, something I suspected but was unsure,” Sorvino wrote. “Thank you Peter Jackson for being honest. I’m just heartsick.” Judd added: “I remember this well.”

Update, December 17: In a statement issued through his representatives, Weinstein has denied any smear campaign waged against Sorvino. “Mr. Weinstein did not blacklist Mira Sorvino, and was in fact working with her during the timeframe in question on Mimic, the Guillermo Del Toro film. Also during that time, she was dating Quentin Tarantino, who was the foundation and backbone of Miramax,” the statement read, per Deadline. “At the time in question, no one could have blacklisted or derailed the career of Ms. Sorvino, who had recently won both an Academy and a Golden Globe award and was being courted for leading roles by all seven studios and every major broadcast network.”

Harvey Weinstein Kept Rejecting Mira Sorvino for Bad Santa