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Hollywood culture in the midst of #MeToo: 'Unless someone’s father just died, no one is hugging anymore'
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As Hollywood reels in the wake of the long list of sexual harassment stories women have shared, apparently "nobody knows how to act now", whether it's with regards to green-lighting movies or just interacting with colleagues.
In a story in this week's The New Yorker (via Deadline), author Dana Goodyear cites a former studio head saying: "In staff meetings, in writers' rooms, in casting sessions, how you greet somebody in a restaurant, the language you use - every nuance has been impacted.
"Unless someone’s father just died or you are best friends, no one is hugging anymore."
Oscar-winning producer and president of the Women in Film advocacy group Cathy Schulman, meanwhile, said that when she walks into a man's office and begins to close the door, she is often asked not to.
"It’s happened at least ten times in the past two months," she said.
The article paints the picture of a Hollywood unsure of what to do and how to react as it faces its reckoning.
Another source, an anonymous television executive summarised: "All people want to know is, ‘Who’s next and what happens? How long do these people stay off the playing field, are they done for good, does this provide opportunities for women, is this permanent, temporary, what? Is this an overreaction? Should all doors literally be glass? Nobody knows how to act now. The rules have been so changed.'"
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