Image by Getty Images

Is Harvey Weinstein planning to spend the rest of his career making romantic comedies?

The legendary movie mogul behind “some of the most violent movies ever made” is apparently feeling contrite after the Colorado massacre of filmgoers attending a midnight screening of the latest “Batman” installment, the New York Daily News reports.

“I think as filmmakers we should sit down — the Marty Scorseses, the Quentin Tarantinos and hopefully all of us who deal in violence in movies — and discuss our role in that,” Weinstein told the Huffington Post.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Hollywood can’t “shirk our responsibility” for potentially inspiring the rampage in Aurora, Colo., that killed 12 people and wounded 58 others.

“It’s a question that I wrestle with all the time,” said Weinstein, who produced blood-drenched hits like “Kill Bill Vols. 1 & 2,” “Inglourious Basterds” and “Reservoir Dogs.”

Industry response to Weinstein’s chest-beating has been, to put it mildly, somewhat skeptical. “If he wants to show some especially brutal movie clips to kick off such a summit, he could start with his very own slate,” wrote the Los Angeles Times. “Over the next few months, Weinstein Co. will release several movies that either have — or are very likely to contain — some extraordinarily violent scenes, including ‘Killing Them Softly’ with Brad Pitt and ‘Lawless’ with Tom Hardy, both of which screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May and are coming soon to U.S. theaters.”

Weinstein, who is set co-host a fundraiser for President Obama in Greenwich, Conn., on August 6, declined to criticize the president directly for shying away from a fight over gun control, the Huffington Post said. “I don’t think he’s timid,” Weinstein commented. “I think he’s got deep personal beliefs. I don’t have to agree with everything a candidate does to support him.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re in the middle of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 22.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount