When James Cameron almost hit Harvey Weinstein with his trophy during Oscars 1998: 'It was not okay'

Hollywood filmmaker James Cameron said in an old interview that he almost hit film producer Harvey Weinstein during 1998 Academy Awards.

Hollywood filmmaker James Cameron revealed that he ‘almost hit Harvey Weinstein with his Oscar’ at the Academy Awards in 1998. James said that the two were talking about Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, and their take on him didn't match, which lead to a fight.

James Cameron recalled an Oscars 1998 incident with Harvey Weinstein in an interview.

Harvey, a Hollywood power broker who produced Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare in Love and Gangs of New York, became one of the most prominent targets of the Me Too and Times Up movements that alleged sexual abuse at the highest levels of corporate America, entertainment and the media. In February 2020, a Manhattan jury found him guilty of raping a former aspiring female and sexual assaulting a production assistant. A judge sentenced him to 23 years in prison.

In 2017, James had told Vanity Fair, “I remember almost getting in a fight with Harvey Weinstein and hitting him with my Oscar. It was happening on the main floor at the [theatre]."

Recalling the incident that lead to their fight, James said, "And the music had started to play to get back in our seats. The people around us were saying, ‘Not here! Not here!’ Like it was ok to fight in the parking lot, you know, but it was not ok there when the music was playing, and they were about to go live. It’s kind of a long story, but it has to do with Guillermo del Toro and how badly he was dealt with by Miramax on Mimic. Harvey came up glad-handing me, talking about how great they were for the artist, and I just read him chapter and verse about how great I thought he was for the artist based on my friend’s experience, and that led to an altercation.”

Earlier this month, James Cameron revealed several scenes from Avatar: The Way of Water from the second instalment of his epic sci-fi franchise. The film is a sequel to Award-winning 2009 epic adventure Avatar, which was released in theatres 13 years ago, the script comes from James and Josh Friedman. The film will hit theatre globally on December 16, 2022.

(With inputs from PTI)