“She Said” is a new film based on The New York Times article that exposed the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the film.
- She Said is a 2022 American biographical drama film
- It is directed by Maria Schrader
- From a screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz
- It is based on the New York Times investigation that exposed Harvey Weinstein’s history of abuse and sexual misconduct against women
- The article was written by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey, and Rebecca Corbett
- The movie is also based on the 2019 book of the same name chronicling the investigation by Kantor and Twohe
- The film stars Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as Twohey and Kantor, respectively
- Alongside Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle, and Samantha Morton in supporting roles, and Ashley Judd appearing as herself.
- The book was optioned in 2018
- The film was announced in 2021 as a co-production between Annapurna Pictures and Plan B Entertainment
- Filming took place in New York with cinematographer Natasha Braier
- During post-production, editing was completed by Hansjörg Weißbrich
- The score was composed by Nicholas Britell
- She Said had its world premiere at the 60th New York Film Festival on October 13, 2022
- The film was released theatrically in the United States on November 18, by Universal Picture
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics
- Critics praised the screenplay, and the performances of Kazan and Mulligan
- On October 5, 2017, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey from The New York Times revealed substantial allegations of sexual misconduct by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein
- Accusing him of three decades of sexually harassing actresses, female production assistants, temps and other employees at Miramax and The Weinstein Company
- The allegations served as a catalyst for the burgeoning #MeToo movement and eventually resulted in Weinstein being sentenced to 23 years of imprisonment
- In 2019, Kantor and Twohey published She Said, a book detailing the different processes they employed to investigate and uncover Weinstein’s sexual misconduct
- The rights to the book were optioned in 2018 by Annapurna Pictures and Plan B Entertainment
- In June 2021, Universal Pictures announced they were developing an adaptation with Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan in negotiations to star as Kantor and Twohey
- It was also reported Maria Schrader was attached to direct from a screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, with Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner set to produce
- In July 2021, filming began in New York City with cinematographer Natasha Braier
- By August, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Samantha Morton, and Tom Pelphrey were announced as part of the cast
- Adam Shapiro was confirmed to star in October 2021
- In July 2022, Pitt’s involvement was reported on as he was made aware of Weinstein’s behavior in 1996 by his then-girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow and later by his then-partner Angelina Jolie but continued to work with Weinstein after the fact
- In August 2022, Weinstein and his attorneys tried to delay his trial from its October 10, 2022 start date by claiming that the film’s marketing and publicity would prejudice any Los Angeles jury against him
- Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench denied the request
- In the United States and Canada, She Said was released alongside The Menu
- The film is projected to gross $3 – 5 million from 2,022 theaters in its opening weekend
- The film made $830,000 on its first day, including $160,000 from Thursday night previews
- On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 87% rating
- Based 136 critics’ reviews
- With an average rating of 7.5/10
- The website’s consensus reads, “Although She Said struggles to add cinematic flair to its fact-based story, it remains a worthy, well-acted tribute to journalistic integrity”
- Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100
- Based on 40 critics
- Indicating “generally favorable reviews”
- Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “A” on an A+ to F scale
- And those at PostTrak gave the film an 89% overall positive score
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