ABC/Heidi Gutman(NEW YORK) — As Harvey Weinstein’s sexual harassment scandal continues to reverberate in Hollywood, a tug-of-war has begun over the rights to the movie adaptation of In The Heights because of it.
Before Hamilton became a phenomenon, an up-and-comer named Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the New York City-set musical with Pulitzer Prize-winner Quiara Alegría Hudes. After Hamilton became a smash, The Weinstein Company snapped up the rights to bring In the Heights to the big screen. Now Hudes and Miranda want out.
“As a woman, I can no longer do business with The Weinstein Company,” Hudes said as part of a lengthy Twitter post. “To those women who suffered directly at Harvey’s hands, I extend my sincerest compassion and support…Unfortunately, In the Heights is tied up in the company…I hope the Weinstein company has enough grace, in the wake of these revelations, to respect my stand as a woman, and allow us to extricate In the Heights from them.”
She added, “Harvey Weinstein’s sexual predation is despicable enough, but combined with his staggering power it’s insidious, even devilish. Decades. He thrived on this. He built an empire on this.”
Hamilton creator Miranda, himself a Pulitzer winner, tweeted his support, posting Hudes’ note and adding: “As usual, Quiara does the prose the best. She speaks for us both.”
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