James Cameron admits he ‘almost hit’ Harvey Weinstein at the Oscars during public bust-up

The Titanic director nearly lunged at the disgraced producer with his statuette 
Altercation: James Cameron almost hit Harvey Weinstein
AFP/Getty Images
Jennifer Ruby27 November 2017
The Weekender

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James Cameron has told of how he “almost hit” disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein at the Oscars in 1998.

The Titanic director said that he nearly got into a physical fight with the super producer over the way he reportedly treated Guillermo Del Toro, but was persuaded to back down by onlookers.

"I remember almost getting in a fight with Harvey Weinstein and hitting him with my Oscar," he said in an interview with Vanity Fair.

"It was happening on the main floor at the (theatre) and the music had started to play to get back in our seats. The people around us were saying, 'Not here. Not here'.

Disgraced: Harvey Weinstein has been accused of sexual assault and rape 
Getty Images

“Like it was okay to fight in the parking lot, you know, but it was not okay there when the music was playing, and they were about to go live."

The argument was about Weinstein's treatment of Del Toro when they worked together 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," Cameron added.

Mexican director Del Toro said at the BFI London Film Festival last month that working with Harvey and Bob Weinstein on the 1997 sci-fi film nearly ended his Hollywood ambitions.

"I have got to tell you, two horrible things happened in the late nineties, my father was kidnapped and I worked with the Weinsteins," he said

Weinstein has been accused by numerous women of sexual assault and rape, but denies ever acting criminally and said he never engaged in any non-consensual sexual conduct.

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