New York producer James Schamus says Harvey Weinstein ‘has no principles’
New York-based film producer James Schamus had dealings over the years with disgraced filmmaker Harvey Weinstein — and his latest movie couldn’t be more timely in light of Weinstein’s rape trial.
The ex-Focus Features CEO — who has worked on movies like “Brokeback Mountain,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “The Kids Are All Right” — was at the New York premiere of his latest film “The Assistant” on Tuesday night. The new movie, starring “Ozark” actress Julia Garner, concerns a young college graduate who lands a dream job as an assistant to a powerful entertainment mogul but grows increasingly aware of the abuse happening at her workplace.
Discussing Weinstein, Schamus, 60, told Page Six that, “we all knew he wasn’t a nice guy … but no idea of sexual assault and rape … it’s not what I heard.”
“But that says something, right?” he added. “Maybe the reason I didn’t hear it is because we’ve created an environment in which those stories aren’t meant to circulate. People felt powerless to circulate them.”
Schamus readily admits that Weinstein was a “d–k” to him.
“That you just took for granted. We all knew that!” he laughingly exclaimed. “I was no special in his world that way, and by the way aside from a couple of back and forth deals on domestic and international rights, the usual rough and tumble with someone you know has no principles, I never experienced the kind of full throttle.”
“The Assistant” which also stars “Succession” actor Matthew Macfadyen, comes out on Friday.
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