Peter Jackson: Weinstein cost Mira Sorvino ‘Lord of the Rings’ role

Actress Mira Sorvino says she “burst out crying” after director Peter Jackson revealed that Harvey Weinstein blacklisted her and Ashley Judd from Hollywood — and it cost her a role in “The Lord of the Rings.”
“There it is, confirmation that Harvey Weinstein derailed my career, something I suspected but was unsure. Thank you Peter Jackson for being honest. I’m just heartsick,” Sorvino tweeted Friday.

Jackson recently told New Zealand’s Stuff that Weinstein and his brother Bob are a pair of “second-rate Mafia bullies” who talked him out of casting the two actresses — who’ve both accused Harvey of sexual harassment — in the fantasy film series in the late 1990s.
“I recall Miramax telling us they were a nightmare to work with and we should avoid them at all costs. This was probably in 1998,” he said.

“At the time, we had no reason to question what these guys were telling us — but in hindsight, I realize that this was very likely the Miramax smear campaign in full swing.”
Judd responded on Twitter: “I remember this well.”
Sorvino has previously said she suspected the movie mogul smeared her good name after she rejected his sexual advances in 1995 — “chasing her around” a hotel room in 1995 then inviting himself to her apartment a few weeks later.
“There may have been other factors, but I definitely felt iced out and that my rejection of Harvey had something to do with it,” she told the New Yorker.
A year or two later, Ashley Judd says she too spurned the sleazebag’s requests for massages and to watch him take a shower — eventually promising to have sex with him if she ever won an Oscar just to escape his hotel room.

He then approached her again in 1999 and tried to cash in, she claims.
“Remember that little agreement we made? Think I’ve got that script for you,” she recalled he told her, in an interview with ABC News. “And he looked at me, across the table … and he said, ‘You know, Ashley, I’m going to let you out of that little agreement we made.’”
As for Jackson, he says he was unaware of the sexual assault allegations against Harvey during “The Lord of the Rings” but cut ties with Miramax anyway just because he was a massive jerk.
“My experience, when Miramax controlled the Lord of the Rings [before New Line took over production of the film], was of Weinstein and his brother behaving like second-rate Mafia bullies. They weren’t the type of guys I wanted to work with — so I haven’t,” he told Stuff.
“Movie making is much more fun when you work with nice people.”
On Friday, a rep for Weinstein released a statement on his behalf.
“Mr. Weinstein has nothing but the utmost respect for Peter Jackson. However, as Mr. Jackson will probably remember, because Disney would not finance the “Lord of the Rings”, Miramax lost the project and all casting was done by New Line.

“While Bob and Harvey Weinstein were executive producers of the film they had no input into the casting whatsoever,” the statement continued.
The spokesperson also addressed both Judd and Sorvino.

“Secondly, until Ashley Judd wrote a piece for Variety two years ago, no one at the Company knew that she had a complaint and she was cast in two other films by Mr. Weinstein [“Frida” and “Crossing Over”] and Mira Sorvino was always considered for other films as well.

“There was no indication that Mira Sorvino had any issues until Mr. Weinstein read about the complaints in the news.

“As recently as this year, Mira Sorvino called Mr. Weinstein and asked if her husband could be part of the SEAL television series [Six] he was producing and Mr. Weinstein cast him; when Christopher Backus received a better offer, Mr. Weinstein allowed him to amicably break his contact to pursue the opportunity.”