Illustration: by Fede Yankelevich Like Harvey Weinstein before him, Scott Rudin has been called an “open secret” throughout the entertainment industry. For decades, the megaproducer — one of only 16 people to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony — has held a reputation as one of the worst bosses ever to work in Hollywood.
Since the publication of THR’s report, Rudin stated he was “stepping back from active participation” in the upcoming production of The Music Man, as well as films with A24, and would be seeking anger-management classes. Many insiders view the move as Rudin’s attempt to hedge his bets that he can, once again, weather the controversy. The reporting below, however, paints the aggregate image of Scott Rudin Productions as not merely a toxic workplace but one of psychological trauma.
“They made it sound kind of nice. It was a $55,000 salary, which for assistants is actually good. You get this prestigious name, and it’ll look great on your résumé.” —Eileen Klomhaus, phones assistant, 2019 1. “The first thing you’re told when you walk in the door: ‘Don’t look him in the eye.’ Because if he’s in a bad mood and he’s looking for somebody to yell at, he might pick you.”3. “If you were in the kitchen/storage-space area, whether you were photocopying a script, washing the dishes, or restocking the fridge — if Scott came in, you were to try to exit immediately.”
5. He did not like emailing or texting on the iPhone keyboard. There was a closet full of later-model BlackBerrys, the ones with the external keyboard. Because he would so often smash them. The piece of paper. Photo: Justin Verbiest “One day, Scott barges in and is like, ‘I want food. Give me the hummus salad from Sweetgreen with no greens.’ I thought he said ‘no grains.’ So I confirm: ‘No grains?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, go get it.’ Ten minutes later, I’m getting calls from the assistants, and they’re like, ‘Where are you? Scott’s hungry.’ ‘Listen, the line is out the door. I’m going as fast as I can,’ I said. Five more minutes go by.
“There was an assistant who Scott gave a very expensive pashmina to for her birthday. I was like, Oh, he must really like her. Then — I don’t know how long after this was — I came across her absolutely sobbing in the breakroom, being comforted by the office manager, another assistant. She was completely devastated by whatever he had said to her. And this was somebody he had bought a several-thousand-dollar pashmina for.
Jesus Christ.
I'm surprised no assistant beat the crap out of him.