Hollywood Ending: Harvey Weinstein and the Culture of Complicity
- Downloads：5861
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-07-19 18:21:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ken Auletta
- ISBN：B09LJVF8TZ
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
19 hours， 41 minutes
A vivid biography of Harvey Weinstein—how he rose to become a dominant figure in the film world， how he used that position to feed his monstrous sexual appetites， and how it all came crashing down， from the author who has covered the Hollywood and media power game for The New Yorker for three decades
Twenty years ago， Ken Auletta wrote an iconic New Yorker profile of the Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein， who was then at the height of his powers。 The profile made waves for exposing how volatile， even violent， Weinstein was to his employees and collaborators。 But there was a much darker story that was just out of reach: rumors had long swirled that Weinstein was a sexual predator。 Auletta confronted Weinstein， who denied the claims。 Since no one was willing to go on the record， Auletta and the magazine concluded they couldn’t close the case。 Years later， he was able to share his reporting notes and knowledge with Ronan Farrow; he cheered as Farrow， and Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey， finally revealed the truth。
Still， the story continued to nag him。 The trail of assaults and cover-ups had been exposed， but the larger questions remained: What was at the root of Weinstein’s monstrousness？ How， and why， was it never checked？ Why the silence？ How does a man run the day-to-day operations of a company with hundreds of employees and revenues in the hundreds of millions of dollars， and at the same time live a shadow life of sexual predation without ever being caught？ How much is this a story about Harvey Weinstein， and how much is this a story about Hollywood and power？
In pursuit of the answers， Auletta digs into Weinstein’s life， searching for the mysteries beneath a film career unparalleled for its extraordinary talent and creative success， which combined with a personal brutality and viciousness to leave a trail of ruined lives in its wake。 Hollywood Ending is more than a prosecutor’s litany; it is an unflinching examination of Weinstein's life and career， embedding his crimes in the context of the movie business， in his failures and the successes that led to enormous power。 Film stars， Miramax employees and board members， old friends and family， and even the person who knew him best—Harvey’s brother， Bob—all talked to Auletta at length。 Weinstein himself also responded to Auletta’s questions from prison。 The result is not simply the portrait of a predator but of the power that allowed Weinstein to operate with such impunity for so many years， the spiderweb in which his victims found themselves trapped。
A vivid biography of Harvey Weinstein—how he rose to become a dominant figure in the film world， how he used that position to feed his monstrous sexual appetites， and how it all came crashing down， from the author who has covered the Hollywood and media power game for The New Yorker for three decades
Twenty years ago， Ken Auletta wrote an iconic New Yorker profile of the Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein， who was then at the height of his powers。 The profile made waves for exposing how volatile， even violent， Weinstein was to his employees and collaborators。 But there was a much darker story that was just out of reach: rumors had long swirled that Weinstein was a sexual predator。 Auletta confronted Weinstein， who denied the claims。 Since no one was willing to go on the record， Auletta and the magazine concluded they couldn’t close the case。 Years later， he was able to share his reporting notes and knowledge with Ronan Farrow; he cheered as Farrow， and Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey， finally revealed the truth。
Still， the story continued to nag him。 The trail of assaults and cover-ups had been exposed， but the larger questions remained: What was at the root of Weinstein’s monstrousness？ How， and why， was it never checked？ Why the silence？ How does a man run the day-to-day operations of a company with hundreds of employees and revenues in the hundreds of millions of dollars， and at the same time live a shadow life of sexual predation without ever being caught？ How much is this a story about Harvey Weinstein， and how much is this a story about Hollywood and power？
In pursuit of the answers， Auletta digs into Weinstein’s life， searching for the mysteries beneath a film career unparalleled for its extraordinary talent and creative success， which combined with a personal brutality and viciousness to leave a trail of ruined lives in its wake。 Hollywood Ending is more than a prosecutor’s litany; it is an unflinching examination of Weinstein's life and career， embedding his crimes in the context of the movie business， in his failures and the successes that led to enormous power。 Film stars， Miramax employees and board members， old friends and family， and even the person who knew him best—Harvey’s brother， Bob—all talked to Auletta at length。 Weinstein himself also responded to Auletta’s questions from prison。 The result is not simply the portrait of a predator but of the power that allowed Weinstein to operate with such impunity for so many years， the spiderweb in which his victims found themselves trapped。
Reviews
John Schorg
，
An exhaustive。。。and， it must be said， exhausting。。。account of the scandal that brought down Harvey Weinstein。 The tale is told meticulously from start to finish， but it is the horror of that story that drives the narrative， because the writing is just too dry and clinical。 You are left with the courage of a few women who decided that they had enough of a serial abuser。
Robert
，
I thought that I knew everything about Weinstein， but I was wrong。 Ken’s book was excellent as are all his books。 I read it in two days cause I couldn’t put it down
Mike DuBois
，
Ken Auletta wasn't able to break the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault story in the early aughts， try as he did; here， though， he is able to tell a comprehensive tale of the producer's rise and fall， just a few years after Weinstein was first brought to justice in New York City。 Still， with the imprisoned Weinstein now facing a second set of charges in Los Angeles， we're left with big， unanswered questions: What， truly， lies in the deep， dark psyche and soul of Harvey Weinstein？ What was it that a Ken Auletta wasn't able to break the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault story in the early aughts， try as he did; here， though， he is able to tell a comprehensive tale of the producer's rise and fall， just a few years after Weinstein was first brought to justice in New York City。 Still， with the imprisoned Weinstein now facing a second set of charges in Los Angeles， we're left with big， unanswered questions: What， truly， lies in the deep， dark psyche and soul of Harvey Weinstein？ What was it that animated him to do the things he did， for as long as he did？ And does he now - or will he ever - feel remourse for his actions？ 。。。more
Carmen
，
Don't know if I will be able to stomach this one。 I can barely make it through articles about Weinstein without vomiting。 Remember exactly where I was and who I was with when this story broke。 Don't know if I will be able to stomach this one。 I can barely make it through articles about Weinstein without vomiting。 Remember exactly where I was and who I was with when this story broke。 。。。more
David Weigel
，
Ploddingly written， but worth it for the details， and affecting for a reader like me， a 90s kid who discovered “art” movies because “Pulp Fiction” was such a sensation。 Most of the original material from Weinstein himself comes from extensive interviews that Auletta did in 2012; the author admits that he simply didn’t have the goods on this “sexual beast” until the #MeToo movement spilled them out。 （Could be worse， he could be the guy who published a Bill Cosby hagiography 10 minutes before the Ploddingly written， but worth it for the details， and affecting for a reader like me， a 90s kid who discovered “art” movies because “Pulp Fiction” was such a sensation。 Most of the original material from Weinstein himself comes from extensive interviews that Auletta did in 2012; the author admits that he simply didn’t have the goods on this “sexual beast” until the #MeToo movement spilled them out。 （Could be worse， he could be the guy who published a Bill Cosby hagiography 10 minutes before the indecent assault charges。） Auletta turns the leftovers into two parallel narratives， focusing on Weinstein’s criminal behavior in one graf and his conquest of the movie industry in the next。That worked best in the final chapters， especially in a granular account of Weinstein’s failure to kill the original Kantor and Twohey story。 Gets plodding in the “rise” chapters， frustrating because the material is so rich。 。。。more
Margarita Di Monte
，
Personally， I feel this is a classic case of a male's limited scope when it comes to the nonsense we have to put up with as women。 Meaning: This isn't a representation of Hollywood， because news flash - women are taken advantage of in every industry， and by men who leverage their power to get what they want。 This isn't just a defect of Hollywood， this is a defect of men abusing women。 Harvey is just famous enough to make a flashy headline， and a scandal the world can follow。 However， believe me Personally， I feel this is a classic case of a male's limited scope when it comes to the nonsense we have to put up with as women。 Meaning: This isn't a representation of Hollywood， because news flash - women are taken advantage of in every industry， and by men who leverage their power to get what they want。 This isn't just a defect of Hollywood， this is a defect of men abusing women。 Harvey is just famous enough to make a flashy headline， and a scandal the world can follow。 However， believe me there's just as "monstrous" a man doing the same things elsewhere。 The only difference is that man wasn't privileged enough to see their name in lights。 。。。more
Mardi
，
[Review of uncorrected page proofs from NetGalley]The 4 stars are not truly reflective of how I feel having read this book。 I did not "really like it。" It deserves 4， possibly even 5 stars for being well-written and researched as well as imminently readable despite the horrific subject matter。 Harvey Weinstein is a massive commuter train wreck with bodies strewn hither and yon across multiple tracks in every direction with a bullet train bearing down on it with no indication of slowing down。 For [Review of uncorrected page proofs from NetGalley]The 4 stars are not truly reflective of how I feel having read this book。 I did not "really like it。" It deserves 4， possibly even 5 stars for being well-written and researched as well as imminently readable despite the horrific subject matter。 Harvey Weinstein is a massive commuter train wreck with bodies strewn hither and yon across multiple tracks in every direction with a bullet train bearing down on it with no indication of slowing down。 For each Miramax film that I love and adore it seems there is a hellish tale of hostile work environments and sexual assault or harassment that will forever haunt me。 But this is the price we pay because bullies don't change their behavior--bullies have to be confronted and stopped--and no one with the power to stop Weinstein wanted to get off that train。 Readers' note: I could not read this book for very long without stepping a way from it。 I don't think I know any women who have been harassed and I know several who've been assaulted and it was very triggering。 。。。more
Stephanie
，
First off， let’s get clear on one thing: I feel like I need a shower， or something， after reading Ken Auletta’s book about Harvey Weinstein。 Interestingly titled Hollywood Ending， I received a copy of it from Penguin Group/Penguin Press and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review。 Mr。 Auletta wrote an article for New Yorker Magazine about twenty years ago， back when Harvey was pretty much at the top of his power。 Back then， the big revelations were about hw angry and volatile， occasionally First off， let’s get clear on one thing: I feel like I need a shower， or something， after reading Ken Auletta’s book about Harvey Weinstein。 Interestingly titled Hollywood Ending， I received a copy of it from Penguin Group/Penguin Press and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review。 Mr。 Auletta wrote an article for New Yorker Magazine about twenty years ago， back when Harvey was pretty much at the top of his power。 Back then， the big revelations were about hw angry and volatile， occasionally violent， Harvey was to many people， including voth his employees and people with whom he was collaborating on projects。 Back then， when asked about the rumors/stories about him， Harvey denied everything。 Since no one was willing to speak on the record about him， it wasn’t until much later when Mr。 Auletta shared his notes with Ronan Farrow， that Farrow’s account （along with work by Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor） broke the story wide open。 Today， Harvey is in jail （finally）） For anyone who might think this is all rumor and innuendo， the last TWENTY percent is notes and documentation。 TBH I was relieved， because after reading that far， I was sick of the whole sordid story。 And it isn’t like these revelations really changed things。 Auletta himself concludes that “Perhaps “believe women” faces a steep uphill climb。”Some people think Harvey truly believed that he never raped or sexually abused the 100 or so women who spoke out to say he did just that。 Some people think that he was “…a sociopath， unable to comprehend the suffering of others， or to distinguish right from wrong。” For those who think it’s all just gossip， evidence for this story being true is reinforced by one “… of Harvery’s closest childhood friends， Alan Brewer， believes Harvey’s “assaulting of women has less to do with sex than with control， dominance。” And for anyone who might think the activities between him and women were not solely his doing， her is how one of his attorneys describes him: “ “Harvey is a sociopath。 He is not someone who thinks he did anything wrong and is burdened by a heavy conscience。 He believes that if a woman wants something from him， even if he pins her down and rapes her， he thinks it is a consensual act。” He is making a trade: what he wants in return for what she wants。””So。 He is in jail。 Some of us are relieved。 Some think “It’s about f&%$ing time。 And Ken Auletta is a good storyteller and writer。 Four stars。 。。。more
Oliver Audrey
，