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 After moving swiftly to expel Oscar-winning film producer Harvey
Weinstein last October after multiple women accused him of
sexual misconduct, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences has still to take action against other people in its
ranks who have been accused of impropriety.
They include actor Kevin Spacey, director Roman Polanski and
comedian Bill Cosby.
Weinstein, who has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone,
was only the second person in the academy's 90-year history to
be thrown out.
His expulsion made the publicity-averse Academy, whose 8,000
members vote on the Oscars, the moral guardian in the #MeToo
scandal that has led to dozens of Hollywood figures stepping
down or being dropped from creative projects.
"The academy has always wanted to be the symbol of Hollywood,
the glamour and excitement and creativity. But now this awful
stuff is being told about Hollywood and it's like, you're going
to be the symbol of the downside too," said Tim Gray, awards
editor of Hollywood trade publication Variety.
"This is new territory for them. I think they haven't quite
figured it out," said Gray.
CHALLENGING, FAIR, METHODICAL
The job of policing accusations against filmmakers, agents and
actors among the academy's members has proved slow and
difficult.
The academy issued its first-ever code of conduct in December
and set up a task force to handle allegations on a wide range of
potential violations. Chief Executive Dawn Hudson told members
in a January email that it was "a challenging process that will
not be solved overnight."
Hudson's email said the Academy's goal was "not to be an
investigative body but rather ensure that when a grievance is
made, it will go through a fair and methodical process."
The academy is developing an online form for submitting claims
of misconduct that go beyond sexual behavior to include abuses
in matters of gender, sexual orientation, race, age, and
religion.
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According to the guidelines, claimants must supply evidence of
alleged behavior and an accused person has 10 days to respond before
the academy's membership committee reviews the matter. Only the
board of governors can make a decision whether to suspend or expel a
member.
"Traditionally it's up to the employer to monitor bad behavior - in
this case the studios, TV networks and the agencies," said Gray.
"It's a slippery slope to get into that. Where do you draw the
line?"The membership list of the invitation-only academy has never
been published but the academy said that Spacey, Polanski and Cosby
are still members.
Double Oscar-winner Spacey has been accused of sexual misconduct by
more than 30 men. He apologized to the first accuser and has
retreated from public life.
Polanski won an Oscar in 2003 despite being wanted in the United
States to serve time for his 1977 admission of the rape of a minor.
Cosby faces retrial in Pennsylvania in April on a charge of sexual
assault and has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 60
other women. He denies the allegations.
Director and actor Woody Allen, who won Oscars for "Annie Hall" and
"Midnight in Paris," has repeatedly denied a resurfaced 1992
accusation that he molested his stepdaughter when she was a child..
Allen has never been a member of the academy, it said.
Dave Karger, special correspondent for entertainment website
IMDB.com, says he doesn't expect any quick action.
"My sense with the academy is that they act judiciously, carefully
and deliberately. I can see them making moves to expel certain
members, but I see that happening as a multistep process," Karger
said.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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