Godreche, Judith

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    The Offense That Harvey Weinstein Can Never Be Convicted Of

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    The movie producer won his appeal in New York on Thursday. But his story, at its core, is about work, and it can’t be measured by a criminal court.For the first time in years, there is a chance that Harvey Weinstein could walk free.His New York conviction for sex crimes was overturned on Thursday. Manhattan’s district attorney says he wants to retry Mr. Weinstein, but that seems, at most, a maybe. The former film producer still has a long sentence to serve in Los Angeles, though next month he is expected to appeal that conviction on grounds similar to those that were successful in New York. His lawyer is the same one who got Bill Cosby’s conviction tossed out.Many of Mr. Weinstein’s accusers say they are horrified. Even some of the seven judges who participated in the decision were outraged. The majority — ruling that his trial was unfair because it introduced witnesses separate from the central charges — prevailed by a single vote, 4 to 3. The dissenting judges described that decision as “oblivious,” “naïve” and “endangering decades of progress.” They have joined a roiling debate about what the standard of evidence in sex crimes trials should be.But criminal convictions have never seemed like the ultimate measure of Mr. Weinstein’s behavior. Whether he remains a felon or not, he can never be tried for the most overarching offense he is accused of.That is because, at its core, the Weinstein story — along with its greatest impact — is all about work.“A lot of these stories are about what’s been lost career-wise, and there’s no criminal remedy that is going to get at that,” Deborah Tuerkheimer, a law professor at Northwestern, said in an interview.Back when Mr. Weinstein was at the height of his power, he had many gifts as a producer. But where he stood above others was in his ability to make careers. He hired and molded Matt Damon, Michelle Williams, Jennifer Lawrence, Quentin Tarantino and some of the most successful producers working today. He invented the Oscar campaign as we know it. At those awards, he was thanked more often than God.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      #MeToo Stalled in France. Judith Godrèche Might Be Changing That.

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      Judith Godrèche did not set out to relaunch the #MeToo movement in France’s movie industry.She came back to Paris from Los Angeles in 2022 to work on “Icon of French Cinema,” a TV series she wrote, directed and starred in — a satirical poke at her acting career that also recounts how, at the age of 14, she entered into an abusive relationship with a film director 25 years older than her.Then, a week after the show aired, in late December, a viewers’ message alerted her to a 2011 documentary that she says made her throw up and start shaking as if she were “naked in the snow.”There was the same film director, admitting that their relationship had been a “transgression” but arguing that “making films is a kind of cover” for forms of “illicit traffic.”She went to the police unit specialized in crimes against children — its waiting room was filled with toys and a giant teddy bear, she recalls — to file a report for rape of a minor.“There I was,” said Ms. Godrèche, now 52, “at the right place, where I’ve been waiting to be since I was 14.”Since then, Ms. Godrèche has been on a campaign to expose the abuse of children and women that she believes is stitched into the fabric of French cinema. Barely a week has gone by without her appearance on television and radio, in magazines and newspapers, and even before the French Parliament, where she demanded an inquiry into sexual violence in the industry and protective measures for children.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More