Harvey Weinstein, eternal troublemaker in the cinema. Accused by five women of sexual assault and rape, he is currently serving a 23-year sentence in New York City. Even behind bars, he is not immune to new denunciations. Kevin Smith, the co-executive producer of
Good Will Hunting,
reveals that Weinstein wanted to withdraw the film from theaters in order to reduce the cachet of Robin Williams, interpreter of Doctor Sean Maguire. The 1997 production of
Good Will Hunting
is by Miramax, a company founded twenty years earlier by the Weinstein brothers.
Shakespeare In Love
,
Pulp Fiction
, as well as the
Kill Bill
s
were also distributed by the studio.
Read alsoFive years after the suicide of Robin Williams, his son recounts the last days of the comedian
Behind the notoriety of Miramax actually hides a greedy appetite. Without filter, Kevin Smith publicly reveals this deception on the occasion of the release of his book,
The secret hiding place of Kevin Smith
. In his perpetual quest for power, Harvey Weinstein learns of the existence of an agreement made by Robin Williams behind his back, when
Good Will Hunting was released
. It stipulated a profit split with Miramax, only if the film grossed more than $ 100 million, "
so every dollar the film made at the box office should be shared with Robin Williams,"
says Kevin Smith of an interview. granted to
Daily Beast
media
, October 25. Faced with the theatrical success of the film, Weinstein would have decided to withdraw it prematurely in order to keep the majority of the box office revenues for his company. The presence - among others of Robin Williams in the casting would have quickly paid off the 10 million dollars allocated for the realization of
Good Will Hunting
, the receipts amounting to nearly 225 million dollars.
Kevin Smith, who is also the director of
Dogma
and the
Clerks
trilogy
,
did not fail to support his amazement in an interview with the
Daily Beast
media
on October 25.
“I remember they pulled the film out of theaters when it was still profitable at the time. He was walking incredibly well. I remember the day
Good Will Hunting
left theaters and I felt weird. I thought to myself: "Wait, there is all this buzz around the Oscars [the film won a double Oscar in 1998, editor's note], so why take it out if it was just making money?" And they did because keeping it in theaters meant more of the
money would go to Robin ”
.
Robin Williams was awarded the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1998 for
Good Will Hunting
.
Unlike Weinstein, he was not deposed.