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Meet the women bidding to take over The Weinstein Company

Rose McGowan has accused Weinstein of rape - Copyright (c) 2016 Rex Features. No use without permission.
Rose McGowan has accused Weinstein of rape - Copyright (c) 2016 Rex Features. No use without permission.

It is easy to forget that in the wake of the Weinstein revelations, a multi-million dollar company has been left trailing behind in ruins. Its reputation destroyed by its creator. Projects left half finished. Pitches waiting to be signed off. And staff (some of whom, as we now know, were allegedly aware of their boss's behaviour) left in limbo. 

It was behind some of the biggest movies of the past decade, but now its name conjures up a slideshow of the women who so bravely stuck their heads above the parapet and told their stories. 

Rumours abound about bankruptcy and plummeting share values. The Washington Street Journal reports that possible bidders include Lionsgate, A&E, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. And in mid-October, the private-equity firm Colony Capital was at one point reportedly in negotiations to acquire Weinstein Co. (and keep Bob Weinstein, who has now also faced sexual assault allegations, on board). 

All big companies, all lead by yet more white men. Wouldn't it be something if after all this, what was once one of the most important production companies in Hollywood was taken over by women? 

Harvey Weinstein with Ashley Judd, who alleges he harassed her - Credit:  Eric Charbonneau
Harvey Weinstein with Ashley Judd, who alleges he harassed her Credit: Eric Charbonneau

A small group is beginning to emerge. There is a quiet minority of women who have seen an opportunity to overhaul the power structures in Hollywood and are making a stab at it. 

Two women-fronted bids for the company have been launched, one of which is from a former adviser to president Barack Obama. 

Is this the moment - after weeks of despicable revelations about certain men in Hollywood, politics and the media - for women to grab the chance to climb to the top of these industries and change them for good?

Whoever takes over The Weinstein Company won't just be righting the wrongs done to so many women who have passed through its doors, they will also be making decisions about the stories we watch on screen, and who is telling them.

Meet the women who could be about to shake up Hollywood once and for all.

Maria Contreras-Sweet

Maria Contrearas-Sweet - Credit: Getty
Maria Contreras-Sweet Credit: Getty

Contreras-Sweet used to run the Small Business Administration under president Obama. 

It has been reported that she submitted a first bid to the Weinstein board and is working with a syndicate (the majority of which are female financial backers) who have offered $275m to buy the company out.

Her chief stipulation? That Weinstein's brother, Bob (who has also been accused of sexual harassment), would have to step down from the board. 

If her bid was successful, she would allegedly (and understandably) rename the company. 

She'd also establish a fund of around $30 million for Weinstein's alleged victims, and instigate a mediation process for handling legal claims. 

She also reportedly wants to retain most or all of the company’s 157 employees and fully intends to keep the movie and television studio producing projects.

Harvey Weinstein scandal: Hollywoods harassment hall of shame
Harvey Weinstein scandal: Hollywoods harassment hall of shame

In her letter to The Weinstein Company's board, Contreras-Sweet said she has been “profoundly affected by the recent revelations”.

She said: “Reorganising the Company as a woman-led venture will be an inspiration to the industry, and a new model for how an entertainment company can be both financially successful and treat all its employees with dignity and respect”.

Couldn't have said it better myself, Maria. Could there be anything more positive to come out of what is now acknowledged to have been one of the most profound and devastating cover ups in Hollywood history?

Project Level Forward

A coalition of filmmakers, activists, philanthropists and investors is exploring the possibility of buying assets from the film company and directing the profits to groups that serve survivors of assault, harassment and discrimination. 

BuzzFeed News reported that the coalition has been organised by a media company called Killer Content and has already attracted interest from influential people like philanthropist and filmmaker Abigail Disney (a granddaughter of Disney Studios co-founder Roy Disney) and high-profile Silicon Valley engineer Brogan BamBrogan. 

The New York Women's Foundation is said to be supporting the bid along with anti-harassment organisations like Hollaback! and A Call to Men. 

At a glance | Rose McGowans #RoseArmy
At a glance | Rose McGowans #RoseArmy

Killer Content is the parent company of indie producer Killer Films, which was founded in 1995 by Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler and has produced Academy Award winners Boys Don’t Cry and Still Alice, as well as the HBO series Mildred Pierce and the Amazon series Z: The Beginning of Everything, about Zelda Fitzgerald.

The company is largely owned and operated by women, and works with non-profit organizations.

The coalition reportedly see their bid as an opportunity to "change attitudes, behaviours, standards and practices around sexual harassment and the abuse of power".

BamBrogan, the Silicon Valley engineer, told BuzzFeed News he was honored to be a member of the coalition. “I think the messaging that the entertainment industry and the world gives on this kind of topic is important... and I think specifically using the assets from the Weinstein Company to do it is even better,” he said.