In what’s sure to be one of many films that probe the depths of the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal, Barry Avrich’s new documentary “The Reckoning: Hollywood’s Worst Kept Secret” gets the stories of some of his accusers and the journalists who followed what led to the #MeToo movement.
Among those featured in this first trailer for the film are #MeToo-era accusers Lauren Sivan, Katherine Kendall, Melissa Sagemiller, Starr Rinaldi, Rebecca Corry and journalists Kim Masters and Margaret Wente. They share their personal stories about dealing with Weinstein and how he impacted their respective careers.
“It was allowed to go on because he had so much power,” Sivan says in the film. “If he was some schmuck in the mail room, he’d be in jail.”
The film further explores the sexual misconduct accusations that continued to rock Hollywood in the wake of multiple accusations against Weinstein. The chilling trailer for the film opens with a cavalcade of stars thanking Weinstein in awards acceptance speeches, only to show how the #MeToo movement grew out of it.
“Gwyneth Paltrow did it. Renee Zellweger did it. Charlize did it. He’s like, it’s very simple,” Sagemiller says in the trailer, speaking to what she says Weinstein told her about how she has to advance in the movie business.
“The Reckoning,” from Vertical Entertainment, will hit VOD on Nov. 6.
Watch the trailer for the film above.