More stories are surfacing about Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s gross behavior and this time a director on one of Weinstein’s projects is calling him out for recasting a lead role because the actress wasn’t “f–kable.”
Filmmaker Michael Caton-Jones recently spoke to BuzzFeed News, revealing Weinstein allegedly recast 1997’s B. Monkey because Caton-Jones’ choice for the lead role, Sophie Okonedo, didn’t arouse him.
Caton-Jones says he was set to direct the film, which was produced by Miramax with the Weinstein brothers attached as co-executive producers, but still needed Weinstein’s approval for the film’s lead.
“The basics of the deal was we were going to find an unknown and we were going to cast her as the lead in the film,” he told BuzzFeed. “There was extensive casting. We saw many, many girls, maybe 100 or so. And I ended up — I thought Sophie Okonedo would have been great for the part.”
However, things took a turn during a meeting in Beverly Hills as Weinstein repeatedly asked Caton-Jones, “Do you think she is f–kable?”
Things got heated between the two and Caton-Jones was eventually booted from the project and B. Monkey‘s lead role went to Asia Argento, who recently accused Weinstein of rape. Okonedo hasn’t commented on the revelation.
Caton-Jones added that he’s surprised by anyone who has publicly stated they are shocked by the allegations against Weinstein.
“Anyone who didn’t know, didn’t want to know. It’s like Germany after the Second World War — I’ve never seen so many people not knowing anything,” he said. “I certainly knew what was going on at the time. And everyone around us pretty much all knew what the score was. You only had to spend five minutes with Harvey to get the nature of the man. He didn’t particularly hide who he was.”