Carey Mulligan said meeting a New York Times reporter whose article brought down Harvey Weinstein “was a rock star obsession.”
Film ‘She Said’ showcases Meghan Toohey and Jodi Kantor’s 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism efforts, exposing Harvey Weinsteinone of the most powerful producers in Hollywood at the time, as a sexual predator.
Their work has brought about a global reckoning for sexual abuse of women #MeToo movement.
Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey win Pulitzer for helping expose Weinstein’s work
Mulligan – who plays Twohey in Zoe Kazan’s Kantor – told Sky News she was “very scared” to meet the writer.
“It’s the stuff of rock star obsessions… Zoe met in New York [them] I was still in the UK when we first met in person, so my first meeting was on Zoom, but I was terrified.
“It’s not that they’re scary,” laughs Mulligan, “They couldn’t be more adorable, but they’re just so impressive, I think we all want them to be happy!”
Shot in a real New York Times newsroom, the film unfolds like a thriller, telling the story of journalists trying to convince terrified sources to keep recording.
Kantor said she and Twohey were “surprised” to see their investigation being made into a film.
“We started by investigating Hollywood producers, so we’re still a little confused about how our likenesses ended up on the big screen, but listen, we’re really moved.
“One of the messages of this story, especially over time, is that so few people are really giving us releasable information about Harvey Weinstein. In the end, we’re talking about people who are like a boardroom and but look at See the impact they’re having around the world.”
Mulligan – the role widely expected to be nominated for an Oscar – said few people “could have predicted what the impact would be,” but when it came to the film industry, she said she saw “a lot of concrete changes.”
Harvey Weinstein is currently serving 23 years in prison
“The code of conduct, the workshops for the entire cast and crew, discussing expectations in terms of behavior—never existed before,” she explained.
Talking about how intimate coordinators are now considered “vital,” the actress said: “We’ve been doing this for so long before this became a reality, and it’s still a bit of a shock in retrospect to think there’s never been one before. Having something like this, it seems like such an obvious need on a movie set.”
Mulligan says the article sparked a movement that has even influenced how scripts are written today.
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“The way female characters are depicted in scripts now isn’t perfect, but there’s definitely been a big shift, you know, ‘beautiful girl in a bikini, beautiful, but she doesn’t know…’ You’re seeing significantly less or that , I think it’s very welcome.”
She said it opens in theaters Friday.