The Women Reporters Who Broke The Weinstein Story Will Be The Subject Of A Movie
Jodi Kantor (l) and Megan Twohey. Image by Getty Images
Through his movie production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company, Harvey Weinstein told hundreds of stories. Today it was announced that Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B and Megan Ellison’s Anapurna Pictures have secured the rights to make a movie about New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey’s coverage of the Harvey Weinstein story. This time, the story won’t be by Weinstein or about him, but about the women who brought him down.
This announcement comes on the heels of Kantor (who is Jewish and has spoken about Judaism’s influence on her journalism) and Twohey winning a Pulitzer Prize for journalism, shared between them and Ronan Farrow, who covered Weinstein for The New Yorker. The two women, whose original bombshell article “Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades” appeared in the New York Times on October 5, 2017, are credited, along with Weinstein’s 80+ accusers, with helping to begin the social movement #MeToo. Kantor and Twohey spoke about their young daughters as inspiration behind the grueling journalism that brought the Weinstein story to light.
Women, I speak now directly to you.
We have watched women play minor characters on the sidelines of journalism in movies like “All The Presidents Men”:
We have enjoyed crumbs, watching women play supporting roles, like in “Spotlight,” when the sole female reporter Sacha Pfeiffer, played by Rachel McAdams, was almost entirely responsible for active listening and emotional glances, while her male colleagues were played as aggressive, hard-boiled reporters:
We got what we could out of “The Post,” in which a sole female reporter (Carrie Coon) was sidelined and a great female protagonist (Meryl Streep) was constantly pushed around by male colleagues and peers:
And now, we get
Kantor
and
Twohey
Two great protagonists. Two great women. A true story about the triumph of truth and justice over evil.
The two companies that will be producing the movie are responsible for such major films as “Moonlight” and “The Phantom Thread,” so we can reasonably expect that great things are in store.
But who should tell this story?
Our top choice to play Kantor is Sarah Silverman, a proud Jewish justice worker herself, who has proven that she can play dramatic roles. We could also go for Sandra Bullock or Hillary Swank, but we love a Jewish character being played by a Jewish actor when possible.
Jodi Kantor, Sarah Silverman Image by Getty/Forward Montage
For Twohey we’d love to see Carrie Brownstein, though we actually think Carrie Coon (who co-starred in “The Post) is a dead wringer for the journalist as well.
Megan Twohey and Carrie Brownstein Image by GETTY IMAGES/FORWARD MONTAGE
But the most satisfying possible casting would be if Weinstein accusers played the two journalists. Here are our two top picks:
Lena Headey as Jodi Kantor:
Jodi Kantor and Lena Headey Image by GETTY IMAGES/FORWARD MONTAGE
Asia Argento as Megan Twohey:
Megan Twohey and Asia Argento. Image by GETTY IMAGES/FORWARD MONTAGE
We just can’t wait to see this movie.
Jenny Singer is a writer for the Forward. You can reach her at Singer@forward.com or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny
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