Harvey Weinstein Wants to Produce the Oscars With Steven Spielberg

Producer Harvey Weinstein speaks onstage at The Weinstein Company’s Pre-Oscar Dinner in partnership with Bvlgari and Grey Goose at Montage Beverly Hills on February 25, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. (Rich Polk/Getty Images for The Weinstein Company)

The Oscars have had a rocky couple of years. With the 2016 #oscarssowhite controversy and this past February’s best picture mixup, the telecast clearly needs some sort of overhaul.

Indie movie king Harvey Weinstein thinks he has the solution.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Weinstein bemoaned the viewership numbers of the Oscars and told the industry trade that he and Steven Spielberg had once mulled producing the iconic awards show.

“If we could survive each other, we’d do a great job,” said Weinstein. His main critiques are that the Oscars isn’t “using technology properly” and that it “feels like a variety show.” He says he’d also get Billy Crystal back on hosting duties.

What do people get wrong about Weinstein? “People underestimate the fact that I read three books a week, that I read 10 scripts a week, that I’m passionate about the theater,” he told THR.

He’s also, apparently, passionate about fixing the Academy Awards.

Read the full article from The Hollywood Reporter here.

Below, watch a candid interview with Weinstein on CNN.