comment #1

Craig Kennedy says ...

(cue D.Z. comment about Harvey bungling the US release of some Asian film)

comment #2

ZayTonday says ...

Thanks to good ol' Harvey we'll never see Gangs of New York the way Scorsese wanted it to be (how he's against director's cuts and all that) and he's fucked up a few other good movies. Harvey used to be awesome, but now he's fucking up all the movies he picks up. Where the hell is that Wayne Kramer / Harrison Ford film?

comment #3

George Prager says ...

Well done cj. Now cue 22 more shitty and boring comments.

comment #4

JVD says ...

You beat me to the punch about "Gangs of New York." He deserves to do some time in movie purgatory for taking the pruning sheers to that film.

Plus, at the end of the day, a greedy loudmouth that cheats and bullies but loves movies is still a greedy loudmouth that cheats and bullies. Sure, the end can justify the means, but this guy has been setting himself up for a Kane-esque fall for about a decade now. It's the completion of his fat fucking character arc.

comment #5

Chapman Carruthers says ...

Harsh words for a guy who routinely brought great movies to mainstream theatres in the late 90's, early 00's.

comment #6

George Prager says ...

(cue boring comment listing the best Miramax films of the past 15 years)

comment #7

JVD says ...

I agree it's harsh and Harvey's contribution to the film world during that time -- either through production or acquisitions -- heralded a new kind of Hollywood. I'm grateful for the films he brought to the masses, but for as many pictures that saw the light of day because of Harvey, just as many were either butchered or buried because of his ego, temper or cost-cutting measures.

The guy has been accused on more than one occasion of cooking the books and screwing with people's royalties. Plus, there's the temperament and all that has wrought on those who worked with him.

Look, it's Hollywood and a creative industry...don't get into the kitchen if you don't want to get burned. Who gives a damn if he's a screamer? But c'mon. Some of this feels a bit like karma. You only get so many chips in life, and he chose to play them like a blustery mogul consumed with rage and an infinite hunger for profit. When you've been a professional jag bag for more than two decades, and the enemies list starts to outnumber the friends one, then you can't be surprised when the vultures start to circle at the slightest hint of fatigue.

Hollywood is filled with guys like Harvey. A lot of them play the same behavior under the radar. The difference with this guy is that he reveled in his machinations. Payback can be a bitch.

comment #8

corey3rd says ...

Harvey is no better no worse than Roger Corman and Sam Arkoff. He's a rude, mean man who somehow thinks he can be abusive because he "cares about film." He's outliving his usefulness.

comment #9

George Prager says ...

(cue hard-to-believe-take-it-with-a-grain-of-salt anecdote from fringe industry gadfly who worked on a mid90s indie flick that went nowhere about how much of a dick Harvey really is)

comment #10

The Winchester says ...

(cue the dead horse, with George Prager repeatedly beating it)

comment #11

George Prager says ...

(cue pithy Prager comeback)

comment #12

Chapman Carruthers says ...

Kudos. That last one was pretty funny.

comment #13

malibugigolo says ...

Most people only respond to fear and anger, it’s all they can hear. So you have to act that way to get their attention. They are mental dyslexics. Kind is weak. Good is boring; it isn't it just takes more effort as the person must to try to understand outside of their own way of looking at the world. Look at the comments: cue boring comments about the good films? What films have you produced?Getting people who can actually read above a 5th grade level is a large task in this town, let alone get a movie made. Only anger and snipe are interesting to these people. Really, really, sad.

comment #14

lawnorder says ...

There are hardly any filmmakers left that will work with Harvey. Life's too short. Ask Danny Boyle, Guillermo Del Toro, M. Night Shyamalan, Scorsese, James Gray, Billy Bob Thornton, etc. The list goes on.

comment #15

D.Z. says ...

"Without guys like Harvey in the film business would be all corporate guys and Hollywood would become like Gotham City in The Dark Knight..."

Of course, the irony of that comment is that Harvey could have made it harder for WB to choose Bale for the role of Batman, because he chose to send Equilibrium to home video. But then we can't let the guy who sold Lord of the Rings look like a one of those corporate guys; we have to continue to spread the "trailblazer" myth.

Zay: "Harvey used to be awesome,"

According to "Down and Dirty Pictures", he's always been a jerk.

chappie: "Harsh words for a guy who routinely brought great movies to mainstream theatres in the late 90's, early 00's."

'She's All That' and '54' aren't great movies. And most of those movies were already mainstream in the first place. The only one you could genuinely call artsy was 'The English Patient'. Try taking a chance on Todd Solondz or Paul Thomas Anderson back then, if you want to impress me.

corey: Roger Corman's got a sense of humour.

comment #16

janee says ...

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