BBC Two just ordered a a feature-length documentary that will trace the rise and fall of Harvey Weinstein within the entertainment industry.
The documentary will cover Weinstein’s early career, but it will be heavily based on interviews with some of the women who have come forward to disclose his harassment and assaults against them. From there, it will also take a look at the big picture, exploring “the complex mix of money, power, exploitation and abuse that developed with the emergence of the studio system in the 1930s,” according to people close to the project.
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The plan is for the movie to be about 90 minutes long, and premiere on BBC Two sometime in 2018, according to producers who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter.
“The breaking of silence over Harvey Weinstein is a watershed moment for the creative industries and for wider society,” said Patrick Holland, Controller of BBC Two. “Ursula [MacFarlane] is a brilliant filmmaker and is perfectly placed to make the definitive documentary, piecing together the story of just how he abused his power and position.”
Ursula MacFarlane, best known for the documentary Charlie Hebdo: Thee Days That Shook Paris, is directing the project. She’s working closely with Simon and Jonathan Chinn, the cousins who founded the Lightbox Production Company. The company confirmed that the documentary will be “the definitive story of Weinstein’s career, fall from grace and Hollywood’s culture of abuse.”
Lightbox went on to say they intend to offer “fresh insights and revelations to the epic story of Weinstein’s rise and fall,” and “the definitive account of one of the most far-reaching scandals in Hollywood’s history — one which is still developing.”
The Chinn cousins are each award-winning producers in their own right. Simon Chinn is best known for Man on a Wire, while Jonathan worked on LA 92. They gave a statement about this new undertaking and their role in it to reporters.
“Through telling the story of Weinstein’s extraordinary rise and fall, this film will really get to the heart of the big questions that lie at the center of the scandal: how did Weinstein get away with his behavior for so long, what does his story reveal about how powerful men have operated in Hollywood and beyond and will this be a watershed moment in terms of the way women are treated in the workplace?”
There are no details yet on which of Weinstein’s accusers will appear in the documentary.
