Without a doubt, Harvey Weinstein has earned his rank as one of the most successful men in Hollywood, but he didn’t get there without bumping a few heads along the way. Now, The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Weinstein has incurred the wrath of Grace of Monaco director Olivier Dahan, who doesn’t quite see eye-to-eye with the producer over the final edits of his film.
With Grace of Monaco originally set to open in November, it seemed likely that Nicole Kidman was set up for some guaranteed Oscar bait with her turn as Princess Grace. But The Weinstein Company pulled the film for a March release, telling THR that the film “just wasn’t ready.”
Not so fast, Dahan claims. The director told French newspaper Liberation that the film was definitely completed in time for the November release, but Weinstein was pushing for edits more to his own liking:
“It’s got hardly anything to do with the film. It’s only about the money, the release strategy, millions of dollars and stuff like that. It’s got nothing to do with cinema. I mean, of course it’s about cinema, but the business side. They want a commercial film smelling of daisies, taking out anything that exceeds that which is too abrupt, everything that makes it cinematic and breathe with life. A lot of things are missing.”
Clearly, this clash is heated, but it gets scandalous when Dahan continues to speak candidly – and hints at blackmail, though it’s still unclear what that means at this point.
“It’s right to struggle, but when you confront an American distributor like Weinstein, not to name names, there is not much you can do. Either you say ‘Go figure it out with your pile of shit’ or you brace yourself so the blackmail isn’t as violent … If I don’t sign, that’s where the out-and-out blackmail starts, but I could go that far. There are two versions of the film for now: mine and his … which I find catastrophic.”
What have they threatened you with, Dahan??
Grace of Monaco – the Weinstein version – is in theaters March 14, 2014.
