Washington Post: Scott Rudin “stepping back” from Broadway ventures

Washington Post

Updated On: 4/17/21 at 11:09 AM

DaveyG said: "Washington Post"

Partial statement from Rudin:

"Much has been written about my history of troubling interactions with colleagues, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain my behavior caused to individuals, directly and indirectly"

“After a period of reflection, I’ve made the decision to step back from active participation on our Broadway productions, effective immediately. My roles will be filled by others from the Broadway community and in a number of cases, from the roster of participants already in place on those shows.”

“My passionate hope and expectation is that Broadway will reopen successfully very soon, and that the many talented artists associated with it will once again begin to thrive and share their artistry with the world. I do not want any controversy associated with me to interrupt Broadway’s well deserved return, or specifically, the return of the 1500 people working on these shows.”

So, a little vague on how long he will be stepping back.

In the short term I imagine there won't be much impact on existing productions that he's financed, but I do wonder if this will have longer-term consequences and if he will produce fewer shows, perhaps focusing more on film.

My main concern here is that Broadway was already becoming corporatized and I feel pushing out (even if justifiably) one of the more interesting independent producers will just hasten its transition to an all-Disney medium. There are of course more independent producers that will surely backfill the openings but it's hard to deny his consistent contributions.

But also, it will be fine. It's always fine.

ctorres, I am on the same page as you with concerns about a corporatized commercial theatre in NY. I do have hope that independent creative producers in the Hal Prince mode (eg, Orin Wolf, a protege of Hal’s) will carry on, too. There’s enough of them out there.

In the case of Rudin, it’s the right move. I hope the next generation of theatre producers behave more like gentlemen and ladies, with kindness, enthusiasm, decorum, as well as grit, determination and drive. It’s possible to be creative and have a strong will and not throw potatoes at people...

HogansHero said: "musikman said: "Wow. WOW. I did not expect this, especially this quickly"

I did, and said so a few days ago, but there are, I think, a couple of major takeaways that have nothing to do with Rudin. First, people with power and influence rarely operate in the public eye. Those crickets occlude the cicadas you can't here. Second, this result should energize both solid journalism and the many people who have bravely stepped forward and demanded that injustice be confronted and that integrity become the lodestar."

I think we’ve been accustomed as of late - especially post MeToo - to see a wide range of people calling out for someone’s removal, or a swelling chorus of voices (pun slightly intended?) until it reaches a point where the accused has to acknowledge what happened and either weather the storm or resigns/quits. I honestly thought with all the silence that this would just blow over like it never happened.


I suppose we shall see how far exactly he is “stepping away.”

you’re also 100% correct regarding it energizing this kind of journalism

HogansHero said: "musikman said: "Wow. WOW. I did not expect this, especially this quickly"

I did, and said so a few days ago, but there are, I think, a couple of major takeaways that have nothing to do with Rudin. First, people with power and influence rarely operate in the public eye. Those crickets occlude the cicadas you can't here. Second, this result should energize both solid journalism and the many people who have bravely stepped forward and demanded that injustice be confronted and that integrity become the lodestar."

Firstly, your crickets v cicadas analogy is brilliant.

Secondly, I don't GARA about his apology. People in power only apologize when they're caught and called out. Genuine apologies require self awareness and if he WERE self aware, he'd have stopped years ago, ergo an apology wouldn't even be needed in the public eye. Of course I"d rather this happen than not at all, but fake/roundabout/'got caught' apologies are still a huge pet peeve of mine.

The only vagueness is about any financial stake he might retain in those shows. Which may vary from show to show but I imagine he will retain at least a limited stake in a few shows for putting them together.

It's hard and probably foolish to predict the implications of this decision, but I suspect it will be more significant than it might first seem. For one thing, other people are likely to find the courage to step forward about their own experiences and more big names are likely to demand Rudin do more than just temporarily step aside.

We're not really in a redemption era at the moment, at least in the world in which Rudin operates. We're not a "no second acts in American lives" era.

Rudin's impact on Broadway is quite outsized, and I do worry that future producers won't be quite as willing to put their clout behind riskier shows.

That Hollywood Reporter story was an impressive piece of journalism.

I wonder if he's simply going to retreat to Hollywood,

poisonivy2 said: "I wonder if he's simply going to retreat to Hollywood,"

His stature in Hollywood is much diminished compared to the 90s and 00s. He does mostly independent films now with A24 and IAC. Broadway "needed" him more than Hollywood. If he's viewed as unpopular to work for, stars may think twice if his name is attached to a film. Nobody wants to be playing damage control over a producer.

Updated On: 4/17/21 at 12:15 PM

HogansHero said: "I do not think it is vague at all that he will continue to participate in the profits of the shows he has produced."

Right –– which means that I don't think the protests will go away if he is brain cancer and his announcement is the equivalent of taking a Tylenol. Of course, whether or not he has an official stake in a show, his cronies could still continue to cut him in from their shares. I suspect there will be more news investigations as Broadway begins to reopen.

Safe to assume that SR also knows there are other skeletons in his closet, and this announcement is step 1 of trying to get ahead of the media cycle.

I know this is cynical, but he has industry backing and a PR machine at his disposal. Every move is calculated. It needs to be considered that his vague apology now is to 1) stave off more damaging stories once TMM is already in rehearsals and 2) preserve his relationships in the industry for a comeback later. By the latter I mean, he is better off nipping it in the bud and apologizing before there is the chance of more well-known people in the industry swearing off working with him in the future.

Just take a look at Karen’s story. Example shared of someone else doing similar things when abuse comes out, stepping back, but ultimately still having control and making profit off the work of those they abused.

As Karen’s story emphasized, the fight isn’t over just because he issue this vague statement.

Updated On: 4/17/21 at 12:51 PM