#METOO PERSISTS: Hollywood's biggest studios are blatantly still working with men fighting #MeToo accusations

By Kathryn Krawczyk
Week
August 15, 2018

http://theweek.com/speedreads/790384/hollywoods-biggest-studios-are-blatantly-still-working-men-fighting-metoo-accusations

The #MeToo movement brought what's been widely called a "reckoning" against men accused of sexual misconduct. But some of Hollywood's most powerful still aren't facing any consequences.

Much of the entertainment elite slammed with allegations — Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Charlie Rose — can't find work, and some have even faced legal consequences. Yet for the likes of James Franco, Casey Affleck, and some other men ensnared in #MeToo allegations, not much has changed, The Hollywood Reporter says.

Franco faced five accusations of sexually exploitative behavior in a Jan. 11 Los Angeles Times story. Six months later, it was leaked that he was in talks to direct a Focus Features film about ESPN. And he's still onboard to star in a second season of HBO's The Deuce because "the fact of the matter is that James is in the show," HBO president Casey Bloys told The Hollywood Reporter. "It's business as usual. There is no effort to hide the fact that [Franco] is in the show," Bloys continued.

That's not sufficient for activist website Care2. It successfully petitioned director Matthew Newton, accused of domestic violence, off of the upcoming film Eve, and is hoping to do the same with Franco. "Crisis PR," like what HBO has said to justify Franco's continued employment, is growing even more common, Care2 senior director Rebecca Gerber tells The Hollywood Reporter. "In Hollywood, they make business calls about whether people can make a comeback."

Franco has already skipped out on media appearances for The Deuce, something Gerber says is typical of actors hoping to outlast sexual harassment allegations. They'll disappear for a while, "hoping that it all dies down," she tells The Hollywood Reporter.