Last week, Amazon Studios president Roy Price was suspended from the company following allegations of sexual harassment from “The Man In the High Castle” producer, Isa Hackett. Yesterday, Price resigned from the company altogether, and it’s hard not to imagine that he might’ve known more allegations were going to come to light.
In an extensive report, THR details more occasions where Price crossed the line, and displayed a general, queasy air of misogyny. Indeed, not long after the incident involving Hackett, Price went for drinks with TriStar TV executive Suzanne Patmore Gibbs, Amazon development executive Carolyn Newman and head of hourlong programming, Morgan Wandell to discuss “Good Girls Revolt” (the latter two executives are no longer with Amazon). Talk went from business to an “awkward and uncomfortable” conversation guided by Price about the sexual history and drug use of those at the table.
Meanwhile, Price’s behavior and business decisions seemed to run side by side. Before HBO picked up “Big Little Lies,” it was a highly sought after show around town, with many networks making straight-to-series offers. Amazon, however, would only offered a development, with Price reportedly openly musing to staff, whether or not Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon (who recently went public about her experiences with harassment and assault in the industry) would “show their tits.”
And then there’s a show Price had in development called “Shanghai Snow,” which is described thusly:
[It] follows a young woman named Cindy who is sold into sex slavery. Under the control of a “psychotic imperial Thai dwarf” named Mr. Goodtimes, Cindy is drugged, beaten with a machete and told she will be “fucked like a dead fish.”
The outline was put together by Yale Hannon, with Evan Spiliotopoulos and Raven Metzner putting together their own versions. Metzner was reportedly so appalled by the treatment of women in Hannon’s outline, he would only work on the show if he could tone that down (he did a rewrite, and Amazon hired a female writer to join the staff, but it’s doubtful it’ll move forward).
The good news is that Price is gone and Amazon can hopefully have a healthier environment going forward. It’s unfortunate, however, that there’s a good possibility that Amazon knew this kind of behavior was happening, and tolerated it.