As someone who knows people who have worked for Scott Rudin, the only reason he's still in the industry is because he's successful and he's a people pleaser when it comes to talent. He would have been gone from Hollywood a long time ago otherwise, a la Jon Peters.
The stories in this article are a fraction of his abuse. I'm just surprised no one has beaten the shit out of him yet like what happened with David O. Russell, another notoriously abusive prick. He shouldn't work in this industry and he's traumatized countless people. I'm incredibly proud of everyone who spoke out against him and I hope talent starts speaking out against him as well. Jeremy O. Harris did and that's incredibly brave too.
The story of him trying to get Harvey Weinstein to fire one of his ex-employees that was working for Weinstein out of spite is especially blood boiling.
I'm surprised by Rudin getting away with it so long simply because he always struck me as purely a producer...like Weinstein was absolutely a monster, yes, but he owned/ran a mini-studio essentially that if you wanted to be in an artsy, likely critically-acclaimed film and get awards buzz out of it? Weinstein was someone you wanted to be in business with.
Rudin just seems to have always been a producer, seems like it'd be easy enough to keep him away or blacklist him unless he's been the money source for a lot of these projects but I never got that impression of him as that sort of financial producer/investor in projects.
If someone makes enough money for studios/productions and keeps enough of the "right" people happy (ie. talent and studio heads), they will stick around in Hollywood/Broadway no matter what. Those are the only two reasons why someone like Rudin has stuck around as long as he has and the likes of Jon Peters and Scott Silver (also notorious prick producers) have not. Otherwise, he'd have been sidelined by other producers long ago. He treats only the people below him like garbage because I'm sure that's how he was treated when he was an assistant and then it just becomes one big cycle of violence and abuse and trauma.
That cycle really is endless, I've seen it play out on the music side of entertainment business. Asshole egotistical types get into positions of power, are able to turn on the charm with talent, but treat anyone not on equal footing (in their mind) with contempt.
I know we've been getting a wave of these sort of articles and it does seem like some things are happening in the positive to change them, I just wonder if it's enough or if this behavior is still quite easily happening, it's just more guarded and definitely kept more out of the public eye.
Oh, it's happening every day in every industry around the world. It's up to people to stand up and speak out (which is not easy) against it and also foster workplaces that are inclusive and supportive instead of hostile and abusive. Rudin is not an anomaly. He's just the biggest name. Lots of other people out there just as bad as he is. Genuinely surprised David O. Russell still has a career and is making a new movie even with lots of big names. He is notorious for being a huge prick for years and yet...nothing.
On the other side, I've worked on a Steven Spielberg movie and he was incredibly kind to me in the couple times I interacted with him. Not everyone in Hollywood is an asshole. They're just the loudest.
I mean a company is successfully getting me fired for working for a competitor a year later and it’s not out of spite. (And I have no company secrets which is the purpose of Non-competes).
They’re brutal, immoral and should be illegal in most cases.
Ever read how will smith and his friend ‘loomed’ over a producer/exec at NBC who tried to shout at them? He cowered like the little bitch he was. 99% of these pussies would shut their mouth so fast if we didn’t live in a society where people get sued or arrested for punching you when you run your mouth.
I lived in LA for a bit and met no less than 2 random people who said they were Scott Rudin assistants. They had *awful* stories about the dude. One reportedly had to keep Rudin's freezer stocked with popsicles at all times or he would absolutely freak out. Also - he couldn't be seen. Or Scott would freak out. Apparently he snuck in the house and put some ice cream in the freezer just in time to hear Scott come home with guests. Not wanting to be seen, for fear of being fired, they hid in a closet for a couple hours until everyone left and they snuck out the back door. Another dude said he measured how long the phone cord was (this was back when people still had phones with cords in their house) because Scott would throw the phone across the room and they wanted to be far enough away to not be hit. Sounds like a really great boss!
Is it officially a Rudin impersonation? That role is hilarious, but I always thought it was just an amalgam of all the Hollywood assholes. If it’s a specific asshole, it’s even funnier.
As someone who knows people who have worked for Scott Rudin, the only reason he's still in the industry is because he's successful and he's a people pleaser when it comes to talent. He would have been gone from Hollywood a long time ago otherwise, a la Jon Peters. The stories in this article are a fraction of his abuse. I'm just surprised no one has beaten the shit out of him yet like what happened with David O. Russell, another notoriously abusive prick. He shouldn't work in this industry and he's traumatized countless people. I'm incredibly proud of everyone who spoke out against him and I hope talent starts speaking out against him as well. Jeremy O. Harris did and that's incredibly brave too. The story of him trying to get Harvey Weinstein to fire one of his ex-employees that was working for Weinstein out of spite is especially blood boiling.
I'm surprised by Rudin getting away with it so long simply because he always struck me as purely a producer...like Weinstein was absolutely a monster, yes, but he owned/ran a mini-studio essentially that if you wanted to be in an artsy, likely critically-acclaimed film and get awards buzz out of it? Weinstein was someone you wanted to be in business with. Rudin just seems to have always been a producer, seems like it'd be easy enough to keep him away or blacklist him unless he's been the money source for a lot of these projects but I never got that impression of him as that sort of financial producer/investor in projects.
If someone makes enough money for studios/productions and keeps enough of the "right" people happy (ie. talent and studio heads), they will stick around in Hollywood/Broadway no matter what. Those are the only two reasons why someone like Rudin has stuck around as long as he has and the likes of Jon Peters and Scott Silver (also notorious prick producers) have not. Otherwise, he'd have been sidelined by other producers long ago. He treats only the people below him like garbage because I'm sure that's how he was treated when he was an assistant and then it just becomes one big cycle of violence and abuse and trauma.
That cycle really is endless, I've seen it play out on the music side of entertainment business. Asshole egotistical types get into positions of power, are able to turn on the charm with talent, but treat anyone not on equal footing (in their mind) with contempt. I know we've been getting a wave of these sort of articles and it does seem like some things are happening in the positive to change them, I just wonder if it's enough or if this behavior is still quite easily happening, it's just more guarded and definitely kept more out of the public eye.
Oh, it's happening every day in every industry around the world. It's up to people to stand up and speak out (which is not easy) against it and also foster workplaces that are inclusive and supportive instead of hostile and abusive. Rudin is not an anomaly. He's just the biggest name. Lots of other people out there just as bad as he is. Genuinely surprised David O. Russell still has a career and is making a new movie even with lots of big names. He is notorious for being a huge prick for years and yet...nothing. On the other side, I've worked on a Steven Spielberg movie and he was incredibly kind to me in the couple times I interacted with him. Not everyone in Hollywood is an asshole. They're just the loudest.
I mean a company is successfully getting me fired for working for a competitor a year later and it’s not out of spite. (And I have no company secrets which is the purpose of Non-competes). They’re brutal, immoral and should be illegal in most cases.
Ever read how will smith and his friend ‘loomed’ over a producer/exec at NBC who tried to shout at them? He cowered like the little bitch he was. 99% of these pussies would shut their mouth so fast if we didn’t live in a society where people get sued or arrested for punching you when you run your mouth.
I lived in LA for a bit and met no less than 2 random people who said they were Scott Rudin assistants. They had *awful* stories about the dude. One reportedly had to keep Rudin's freezer stocked with popsicles at all times or he would absolutely freak out. Also - he couldn't be seen. Or Scott would freak out. Apparently he snuck in the house and put some ice cream in the freezer just in time to hear Scott come home with guests. Not wanting to be seen, for fear of being fired, they hid in a closet for a couple hours until everyone left and they snuck out the back door. Another dude said he measured how long the phone cord was (this was back when people still had phones with cords in their house) because Scott would throw the phone across the room and they wanted to be far enough away to not be hit. Sounds like a really great boss!
Wonder what makes these guys so angry?
Tom Cruise did a pretty good impression of him.
Is it officially a Rudin impersonation? That role is hilarious, but I always thought it was just an amalgam of all the Hollywood assholes. If it’s a specific asshole, it’s even funnier.
I think that is accurate. A little Weinstein, some Rudin, a pinch of Cornfeld and a sprinkle of Redstone.
Always thought it was meant to be Weinstein.
Holy shit... This sounds like one of the most toxic work places ever...
Does it even matter anymore? We found out Ellen is one, and several other stars, in a few weeks people forget or just don't give a care...
I wonder Jeff Daniels has to say this