A new documentary will look at Harvey Weinstein and abuse in Hollywood

A new BBC documentary promises to be the “definitive” take on the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct scandal, which has rocked Hollywood and beyond.

The sexual harassment and assault allegations that have come out in recent months, starting with Harvey Weinstein, have been the biggest story lately and have sparked an entire cultural change in the way we look at women and sexual misconduct in the workplace. Now a new documentary will explore the full breadth of Weinstein’s actions.

The accusations against Weinstein span from everything from asking women for massages and to watch him showering to rape. And dozens of women including Rose McGowan, Salma Hayek, and Ashley Judd have come forward.

According to Deadline, the BBC is coming out with a “definitive” full-length documentary on Weinstein and the more than 80 women who have come out against him.

What’s so shocking about the Weinstein allegations is just how much power he had. Women felt Weinstein had a lot of control over their careers. He even had women who rejected him blacklisted, as Peter Jackson recently revealed. And many were aware of and complicit in Weinstein’s actions but didn’t speak out and let his behavior continue because he was so powerful.

And those actions were outrageous. As Deadline notes, the documentary will cover the various types of behavior Weinstein has been accused of including bullying, intimidation, sexual assault, and rape. Ursula MacFarlane will direct what is currently called Weinstein, which should last for 90 minutes.

The documentary will even feature interviews with some of Weinstein’s accusers along with journalists, producers, directors, agents, lawyers and others who felt like they couldn’t come forward against Weinstein until now. And that, of course, is a huge part of the problem. Many felt silenced or that they couldn’t come forward for a long time.

Right now, we’re still in the thick of this scandal and accusations are still coming out against powerful men. But it’s important to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. How did this happen for so long? Why did people let it happen? Why couldn’t anybody come forward? But Weinstein is just an example of the way systems keep men in power and allow them to get away with this terrible behavior in Hollywood and beyond.

For the BBC, Tom McDonald said that this will be “the definitive take on the Weinstein scandal.” It will tell Weinstein’s story as well as looking at abuses of power throughout Hollywood history. “This is a film which will ask difficult and challenging questions about complicity, the price of silence and the corrosive effects of power,” McDonald said.

Jonathan and Simon Chinn, who are producing via their company Lightbox, said the following:

"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?"

Next: Everything you need to know about the Harvey Weinstein story

Hopefully, the documentary won’t just rehash the accusations against Weinstein, but will also look at the history of abuse and institutionalized sexism in Hollywood and society as a whole, the systems in place to keep men in power and women silenced, the complicity of others, and how we got to this moment.