"She Said" premiered at the New York Film Festival. Image Source: CNN
"She Said" premiered at the New York Film Festival.
The world premiere of "She Said" took place on Thursday at the New York Film Festival. Maria Schrader's film is based on the same-named book about the New York Times investigation into disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein's decades of alleged sexual misconduct.
Maria Schrader told The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the premiere that she and the Universal film team had hoped for the film to premiere in New York even though they were still working on it four weeks ago, adding that this is where the film belongs. Harvey Weinstein used to attend the prestigious fall festival where the film premiered. The world premiere coincided with the start of Harvey Weinstein's sexual misconduct trial in Los Angeles. He was found guilty of rape in a New York trial in early 2020.
But the focus of attention was not Harvey Weinstein but the successful and strong women who walked the red carpet and hosted not only the many female figures behind the film, including the Times journalists who worked on the 2017 exposé but also the women who accused Weinstein of misconduct. Ashley Judd, whose on-the-record account was a crucial element of the Times' exposé and who took part in a panel discussion after the film screened, was among the survivors in attendance.
Ashley Judd, who is still mourning the death of her mother, Naomi Judd, said after the screening that she just wants to recall that when she was telling her mother about the situation, she told her that she should go and get them in her sweet way. As Ashley later learned from friends, Naomi Judd was simply enthralled by her audacity. Ashley Judd plays herself in the film and stated during the post-screening panel that she kept recounting the tale of how things happened and what happened in 1996 at the Peninsula hotel with her and Harvey Weinstein.
Sarah Ann Masse, is another Harvey Weinstein alleged victim appears in the film as well. While the film does not depict Masse's firsthand story (she claims he sexually abused her when she was hired to look after the his children), she does appear as business reporter Emily Steel.
Sarah Ann Masse, expressed her hope that Universal would hire survivors for this film as the founder of the Hire Survivors Hollywood initiative. She stated before the premiere that she had spoken with a couple of people at the company, and they were open to it, but she didn't know what would happen. Sarah went on to say that several months later, a lot of them were notified that they had an audition for this film; she didn't expect an audition; she just wished they'd include a few survivors, so she was enthralled and auditioned for the part, which she got.
Before the premiere, screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz told THR that centering and recognizing the women who spoke out against Weinstein was critical in writing the script, while Maria Schrader felt a strong responsibility to get the details right, to do justice to the sensitivity of the subject. Rebecca stated that the most difficult challenge was honoring every person who was engaged in speaking out and in the investigation, adding that the challenge was accurately portraying the journalists and the fantastic journalism, as well as showing how completely courageous and self-reliant the survivors have been.
In the film, actor Andre Braugher plays former New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet who said that he was honored to be a part of the movie that showcased the misconduct that took place in the industry. Furthermore, Andre added that 'She Said' has the potential to tell a story that has not been told before
The actress further described that working in Hollywood makes one want to tell the story even more because one wants to work in an industry that doesn't tolerate that horrific behavior. Furthermore, Jennifer Ehle, who plays the character of Laura Madden, a former worker who asserted in a 2017 Times exposé that he prodded her for massages, expressed the hope that viewers would acknowledge the power of individuals willing to stand together and continue to support one another.
Jennifer said that she chooses to believe they must be aware, particularly now, that whatever they believe in, if they all stay together with other people who believe the same thing, it is possible to change practices and outcomes or, at the very least, set things into motion. She also stated that the film epitomizes the significance of trying to defend investigative journalism and free media.
Changes since the Times' Harvey Weinstein investigation, which urged other victims of sexual misconduct to show up forward, include more honest communication and a clearer picture of what is and isn't appropriate conduct, as according to Zoe Kazan, who plays Jodi Kantor in the film, Ashley Judd, and others. Zoe mentioned that there is still far more change to come, declaring that anyone reading the news headlines since, say, the start of May will know that they live in an oppressive system, referring to the leak of the Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
Nonetheless, Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, one of Harvey Weinstein's first accusers, told New York police in 2015 that Harvey Weinstein assaulted her and voiced a desire for a better future. She stated that she was the only woman who spoke out in 2015, and she did feel alone and disempowered, but she couldn't explain why she still believed that what she was doing was right and something would happen.
Ambra said she never imagined putting it in the media, speaking about it thoroughly, and also attempting to get equality through laws that are being put in place, since now they're trying to change what's wrong at the root, and with the #MeToo movement and how strong women are, there is more possibility to try and fix situations that happened in the past.
The movie will premiere on 18th November for the audience.
