Julia Stiles recalls ‘slimy’ memory of Harvey Weinstein who insisted on specific scene
The actor worked with Weinstein on a popular 2000s rom-com.
Julia Stiles has opened up about a ‘cheap’ and ‘slimy’ memory of working with disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein.
In February 2020, Weinstein, 72, was convicted of a criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree.
More than 100 people made allegations of sexual harassment or rape against the film producer, kickstarting the Me Too movement which shone a light on sexual violence not just in the film industry, but worldwide.
Speaking about working with Weinstein, The Bourne Identity star Stiles, 43, opened up on an uncomfortable scene she was forced to film while starring in 2000s comedy Down To You.
When asked about the worst film she had ever seen, she told Brett Goldstein on the Films to Be Buried With podcast that it was ‘one of her own’ films that she believed had been ‘executed poorly.’
‘It was a time when teen rom-coms were really popular, and the director [Kris Isacsson] wrote the script,’ she began.
She said she felt ‘cheap’ after being forced to dance in Down To You (Picture: Film Four Ltd)‘He was a first-time director and he was a very, very intelligent, capable guy. The script was very good, and then Harvey Weinstein got his hands on it.’
She explained that she was told after the success of Save The Last Dance seeing her famously dance on a pool table in 10 Things I Hate About You, he ‘needed to have her dance in the film.’
‘It was just dumb. “Let’s get her on a pool table and have her [dance].” It wasn’t even imaginative,’ she continued.
‘I felt so slimy doing it the whole time. I don’t know if it made it into the film but it was annoying. Because I was like, “Well, this is so cheap, and it’s not adding to the story.”‘
Through a spokesperson, Weinstein told People: ‘Julia Stiles is a talented and charismatic actress who naturally connects with audiences. Beyond her acting skills, she’s also a fantastic dancer, which was something fans really wanted at the time.
‘I included that scene in Down to You to enhance the film’s appeal, and her chemistry with Freddie Prinze Jr. made it work seamlessly.’
Weinstein was convicted of criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree in 2020 (Picture: Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool)Also starring Freddie Prinze Jr and Selma Blair, the rom-com follows college coeds Al (Prinze Jr) and Imogen (Stiles) who become smitten with each other after meeting at a bar, but their path to true love is far from smooth as outside forces threaten to pull them apart before their relationship gets off the ground.
Weinstein and his production company, Miramax, distributed the film, ordering extensive changes which made Down To You very different from its original screenplay.
The director, who was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer last year, is currently imprisoned in Rikers Island.
However, a retrial is scheduled to begin next month on the 23-year sentence from his 2020 New York rape conviction, which was overturned in 2024.
He remains in prison due to his 2022 conviction in Los Angeles on sex crimes, which gave him a 16-year sentence, which is now also under appeal.
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