【Ghost Over Flowers (2014) Uncut】

Director Peter Jackson,Ghost Over Flowers (2014) Uncut who worked with Harvey Weinstein decades ago, said he now suspects Weinstein and his brother were deliberately badmouthing Hollywood actresses because they refused sexual advances behind closed doors.

"I recall Miramax telling us they were a nightmare to work with and we should avoid them at all costs. This was probably in 1998," Jackson told Stuff.

Actresses Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino both came forward about Weinstein's alleged sexual misconduct in October, and from what Jackson says, both careers (as well as many we don't know about) may have taken huge hits.

Judd was among the first women to speak out against Weinstein and against the pattern of sexual misconduct in Hollywood.

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Jackson worked with Weinstein and Miramax while producing the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the late '90s and early 2000s.

"At the time, we had no reason to question what these guys were telling us," Jackson said of the negative comments about actresses like Judd and Sorvino. "But in hindsight, I realize that this was very likely the Miramax smear campaign in full swing."

"I now suspect we were fed false information about both of these talented women – and as a direct result their names were removed from our casting list," he added.

Weinstein's publicity team responded to Jackson's interview with a statement on Friday:

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The statement says Judd and Sorvino were either cast in or considered for Weinstein films over the years and that Sorvino has stayed in touch with Weinstein about other roles. It's almostas if he was a major player in the movie business and they didn't want bad blood for fear that he'd sabotage their careers. Sorvino tried to distance herself by telling Quentin Tarantino, another powerful director, but the status quo was already in place.

Jackson said Weinstein and his brother, Bob, were both particularly difficult to work with, and after LotRhe resolved never to work with them again.

"My experience, when Miramax controlled the Lord of the Rings[before New Line took over production of the film], was of Weinstein and his brother behaving like second-rate Mafia bullies," Jackson said. "They weren't the type of guys I wanted to work with – so I haven't."

Jackson noted that the Lord of the Ringstrilogy bears Weinstein and Miramax's stamp, but that "he was not involved in the movies we ended up making." He has barely seen or spoken to Weinstein in 20 years.

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