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She Said (film)

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She Said
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMaria Schrader
Screenplay byRebecca Lenkiewicz
Based on
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyNatasha Braier
Edited byHansjörg Weißbrich
Music byNicholas Britell
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
  • October 13, 2022 (2022-10-13) (NYFF)[1]
  • November 18, 2022 (2022-11-18) (United States)
Running time
129 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$32 million[3]
Box office$2.8 million[4][5]

She Said is a 2022 American biographical drama film directed by Maria Schrader and written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, based on the 2019 book by reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. It follows the New York Times investigation that exposed Harvey Weinstein's history of abuse and sexual misconduct against women. The film stars Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as Twohey and Kantor, respectively, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle, and Samantha Morton co-star, with Ashley Judd appearing as herself.

The book was optioned in 2018, and the film was announced in 2021 as a co-production between Annapurna Pictures and Plan B Entertainment. Filming took place in New York with cinematographer Natasha Braier. During post-production, editing was completed by Hansjörg Weißbrich and the score was composed by Nicholas Britell.

She Said had its world premiere at the 60th New York Film Festival on October 13, 2022, and was released in the United States on November 18, 2022, by Universal Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the screenplay & the performances of Kazan and Mulligan.

Plot

In 2017, New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor receive a tip that actress Rose McGowan was sexually assaulted by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. McGowan initially declines to comment, but later calls Kantor back and describes an encounter in which Weinstein raped her when she was 23. Kantor also speaks with actresses Ashley Judd and Gwyneth Paltrow, who describe their own sexual encounters with Weinstein, but both ask not to be named in the article for fear of career blowback. Frustrated by a lack of progress in her ensuing investigation, Kantor recruits Megan Twohey to help with the piece.

Twohey tracks down a woman who worked as an assistant to Weinstein at Miramax decades ago and disappeared; the woman fearfully declines to speak on the matter due to a signed NDA. Kantor confronts the former CFO of Miramax about former payouts by Weinstein against his accusers, but he is hesitant to divulge any information about it. Twohey is similarly rejected by the EEOC after requesting more information about these payouts. Twohey speaks to a former member of the district attorney's office about why criminal complaints against Weinstein were dropped so quickly; she learns that Weinstein had social connections with the DA office.

Kantor receives a tip about three former Weinstein assistants who may have been abused: Rowena Chiu, Zelda Perkins, and Laura Madden. Kantor flies out to confront each of them individually; she is unable to meet with Chiu, but Perkins recounts an incident in which Chiu had a breakdown due to a sexual encounter with Weinstein. Madden initially declines to speak with Kantor, but changes her mind after a representative of Weinstein reaches out to discourage her from speaking to reporters about her experience.

Weinstein learns of the investigation and sends a lawyer to attempt to appease reporters, but declines to go on the record and denies all wrongdoing. The lawyer acknowledges a number of past financial settlements, but declines to say how many. Kantor receives an anonymous tip to speak with Irwin Reiter, one of Weinstein's former accountants; he shows her an internal memo that circulated at Miramax in 2015 detailing abuse allegations from a former employee.

The Times notifies the board at Miramax of the impending article and asks for a statement. Weinstein denies the allegations and pressures the reporters to name their sources, threatening to talk to other publications to discredit the story. Weinstein eventually releases a statement acknowledging that he's caused pain to others in the past and that he is taking a leave of absence from Miramax. Kantor and Twohey attempt to convince their sources to go on the record; all initially decline, but Judd and Madden later agree to be named in the article, believing it is the right thing to do.

The Times publishes the story on October 5, 2017. After the article's publication, 82 women come forward with their own allegations against Weinstein, leading to workplace and legal reforms. Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault in New York, with additional charges pending elsewhere.

Cast

Production

Jodi Kantor at the 2018 Pulitzer Prizes in New York City, New York.
Megan Twohey at the 2018 Pulitzer Prizes in New York City, New York.
The film depicts the investigative work of Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists Jodi Kantor (left) and Megan Twohey.[6]

On October 5, 2017, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey from The New York Times revealed substantial allegations of sexual misconduct by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, accusing him of three decades of sexually harassing actresses, female production assistants, temps and other employees at Miramax and The Weinstein Company.[7] The allegations served as a catalyst for the burgeoning #MeToo movement and eventually resulted in Weinstein being sentenced to 23 years of imprisonment.[8]

In 2019, Kantor and Twohey published She Said, a book detailing the different processes they employed to investigate and uncover Weinstein's sexual misconduct. The rights to the book were optioned in 2018 by Annapurna Pictures and Plan B Entertainment. In June 2021, Universal Pictures announced they were developing an adaptation with Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan in negotiations to star as Kantor and Twohey. It was also reported Maria Schrader was attached to direct from a screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, with Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner set to produce.[9]

In July 2021, filming began in New York City with cinematographer Natasha Braier.[10][11] By August, Patricia Clarkson,[12] Andre Braugher,[13] Samantha Morton,[14] and Tom Pelphrey were announced as part of the cast.[15] Adam Shapiro was confirmed to star in October 2021.[16]

In July 2022, Pitt's involvement was reported on as he was made aware of Weinstein's behavior in 1996 by his then-girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow and later by his then-partner Angelina Jolie but continued to work with Weinstein after the fact.[17]

In August 2022, Weinstein and his attorneys tried to delay his trial from its October 10, 2022 start date by claiming that the film's marketing and publicity would prejudice any Los Angeles jury against him; Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench denied the request.[18]

Release

The film was theatrically released in the United States on November 18, 2022, coinciding with the then on-going Weinstein trial in Los Angeles.[19] It premiered at the 60th New York Film Festival on October 13, 2022,[1] and at the BFI London Film Festival on October 14, 2022.[20] It also screened at the TCL Chinese Theatre during the 2022 AFI Fest on November 4, 2022.[21]

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, She Said was released alongside The Menu, and was projected to gross $3–5 million from 2,022 theaters in its opening weekend.[22][3] The film made $830,000 on its first day, including $160,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $2.2 million, finishing sixth.[23] Deadline Hollywood called the opening total "a flop" and cited the "emotional exhaustion" of audiences, the perception of the film's "anticlimactic existence" since the Weinstein trials were still ongoing, and journalists "[not being] as interesting as they think they are" to the average person. They also noted that competition and overlapping demographics from holdover Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and The Menu may have also played a role in the underperformance.[24]

Critical response

Zoe Kazan in 2014
Carey Mulligan in 2018.
Zoe Kazan (left) and Carey Mulligan received praise for their performances as Kantor and Twohey.[25]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 152 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Although She Said struggles to add cinematic flair to its fact-based story, it remains a worthy, well-acted tribute to journalistic integrity."[26] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[27] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, and those at PostTrak gave the film an 89% overall positive score.[23]

References

  1. ^ a b Hipes, Patrick (August 16, 2022). "Harvey Weinstein-NYT Movie She Said To World Premiere At New York Film Festival". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  2. ^ "She Said (2022)". Irish Film Classification Office. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Rubin, Rebecca (November 16, 2022). "Wakanda Forever to Dominate Box Office Again With $72 Million-Plus as Weinstein Drama She Said and The Menu Eye Slow Starts". Variety. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  4. ^ "She Said (2022)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  5. ^ "She Said (2022) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  6. ^ Erbland, Kate (October 13, 2022). "She Said Review: A Reckoning Gets the Incendiary and Artful Film It Requires". IndieWire. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  7. ^ Kantor, Jodi; Twohey, Megan (October 5, 2017). "Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 24, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  8. ^ Ransom, Jan (March 11, 2020). "Harvey Weinstein's Stunning Downfall: 23 Years in Prison". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 24, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  9. ^ Kroll, Justin (June 7, 2021). "Carey Mulligan And Zoe Kazan To Portray The New York Times Reporters Who Broke The Harvey Weinstein Sex Scandal Story In Plan B & Annapurna Drama For Universal". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  10. ^ "Natasha Braier Begins on She Said". Lux Artists. July 10, 2021. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  11. ^ "Stars On Set". ET Canada. August 3, 2021. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  12. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 3, 2021). "'She Said': Patricia Clarkson Joins Movie About NY Times' Harvey Weinstein Investigation". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  13. ^ Donnelly, Matt (August 11, 2021). "Andre Braugher Cast as New York Times Editor Dean Baquet in Weinstein Investigation Film 'She Said' (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  14. ^ Kit, Borys (August 23, 2021). "Samantha Morton Joins Universal's Harvey Weinstein Movie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  15. ^ Kroll, Justin (August 25, 2021). "'Ozark's Tom Pelphrey Joins Carey Mulligan And Zoe Kazan In Weinstein Investigation Pic 'She Said'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  16. ^ Gardner, Chris (October 8, 2021). "Adam Shapiro Joins Cast of 'She Said' for Maria Schrader-Directed Universal Film". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  17. ^ Peters, Fletcher (July 14, 2022). "She Said Follows the Harvey Weinstein Bombshell. But Is an Alleged Abuser Lurking in the Credits?". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  18. ^ Patten, Dominic; D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 29, 2022). "Harvey Weinstein's L.A. Rape Trial Still On Track For October Despite She Said Movie Debut". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  19. ^ Pedersen, Erik (July 15, 2021). "'She Said' Gets Release Date; Pic Based On Book About Harvey Weinstein Case Stars Carey Mulligan & Zoe Kazan". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  20. ^ Ntim, Zac (September 1, 2022). "BFI London Film Festival Full Lineup: My Policeman European Debut, She Said International Premiere & Hits From Cannes, Venice". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  21. ^ Hipes, Patrick (September 20, 2022). "AFI Fest Adds Bardo, The Son, She Said, Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio, More To Red Carpet Lineup". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  22. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 16, 2022). "Wakanda Forever Clears $204M+, Eyes $70M+ 2nd Weekend As Counterprogramming Tries To Find Life – Box Office Preview". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  23. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 20, 2022). "Wakanda Forever Posts $67M Second Weekend; The Menu Rises Over Chosen; No Noise For She Said – Sunday Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  24. ^ Cieply, Michael (November 20, 2022). "Looking For Lessons In The She Said Box-Office Beatdown". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  25. ^ Montgomery, Daniel (October 14, 2022). "She Said reviews at New York Film Festival praise 'satisfying' and 'incendiary' film about Weinstein investigation". Gold Derby. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  26. ^ "She Said". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 20, 2022. Edit this at Wikidata
  27. ^ "She Said". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved November 18, 2022.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=She_Said_(film)&oldid=1123158770"