Much of the stories about Harvey Weinstein's abuse surrounded the countless sexual assault and harassment allegations from actresses and women who worked for him, but British producer David Parfitt describes being physically assaulted and threatened by the disgraced studio head, according to Vulture.
In a new documentary Working With Weinstein, set to debut on British network Channel 4 tomorrow night, the producer shared his experiences working on the 2011 film My Week With Marilyn. After disagreeing on certain parts of the film's first version, Weinstein was allegedly furious when it received positive feedback in test screenings, assaulting Parfitt after one of them.
"When we actually got through the main shoot and into the test, he decided it wasn’t enough Marilyn’s film and that he wanted more Marilyn,” Parfitt explained. “The scores came in at the end of the test and they were very good, and I think he’d expected it to be not good. In his fury about it doing so well when he thought it wouldn’t, he physically assaulted me. We were talking at the back of the theater after the audience had left, but the Miramax crowd were around, and he pinned me up against a Coke machine and threatened all sorts of stuff." A spokesperson for Weinstein has denied claims that an assault took places, but acknowledges there were disagreements between the two men.
Mr. Weinstein categorically denies Mr. Parfitt’s claims as provably untrue and outrageous fiction. Mr. Parfitt and Mr. Weinstein had creative differences and any conflict between them was solely over their different visions for the film,” they said. “While they had a series of spirited arguments where Mr. Weinstein made a lot of stupid remarks that he wishes he could take back, nothing physical happened.”
Shifting attention from the most imperative part of the claim, the statement also focuses on the parts of the movie that Weinstein felt like were missing from it, including a musical number that was not showing in that original screening but ended up in its final version. “Michelle Williams won the Golden Globe for her performance in the best musical comedy category and everyone that was associated with the movie, who saw it with the musical numbers, liked it better,” the statement read.
According to Deadline, the documentary focuses on Weinstein's 30-year presence in the British film industry, interviewing those who have worked with him including former Miramax and Weinstein Company employees who have accused him of sexual harassment and assault, and "investigates how we kept his accusers quiet for decades.”
Working With Weinstein premieres on Channel 4 on February 21.
