Kevin Smith says he intends to donate all future residuals from his Miramax and The Weinstein Company-produced films to the organization Women in Film, following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct made against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
“My entire career is tied up with the man,” Smith said in the latest episode of his podcast, Hollywood Babble-On. “”It’s been a weird f–ing week. I just wanted to make some f–ing movies, that’s it. That’s why I came, that’s why I made Clerks. And no f–ing movie is worth all this. Like, my entire career, fuck it, take it. It’s wrapped up in something really f-ing horrible.”
Smith added, “I’m not looking for sympathy. I know it’s not my fault, but I didn’t f–ing help. Because I sat out there talking about this man like he was a hero, like he was my friend, like he was my father and shit like that, and he changed my f–ing life. And I showed other people, like, ‘You can dream, and you can make stuff, and this man will put it out.’ I was singing praises of somebody that I didn’t f–ing know. I didn’t know the man that they keep talking about in the press. Clearly he exists, but that man never showed himself to me. It all hurts, and it didn’t happen to me, but it all hurts.”
Kevin Smith has a long history of working with Weinstein, beginning with Miramax films “Clerks” and “Mallrats.” In a tweet, the filmmaker said he was “ashamed” of that partnership. “He financed the first 14 years of my career – and now I know while I was profiting, others were in terrible pain. It makes me feel ashamed,” he wrote.
“I had a dream and I made it, and I presented it to somebody, and they didn’t make me do something f–ing horrible,” continued Smith. “So I feel like there are so many people that we know of now, and maybe even more, that were made to do horrible things to make their dreams come true and maybe didn’t even get to touch the dreams; this f–ing dude chased them away.”
Smith vowed to give any future residual income garnered from his Weinstein-made titles to Women in Film. In the event The Weinstein Co. goes under, Smith said he will give $2,000 per month to the organization for the rest of his life.
“That feels like a start,” he concluded. “Hopefully that goes to people that get to make sh– without having to deal with some f–ing animal saying, ‘Here’s the price.’”
