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Time Magazine’s Unlikely Choice for Most Powerful Person in Hollywood — and Its List of the 100 Most Influential People in the World

Apr 18, 2012  •  Post A Comment

Time magazine today unveiled its list of the 100 most influential people in the world for 2012, singling out someone many observers would consider an unlikely choice as the most powerful person in Hollywood: Harvey Weinstein.

Weinstein, the only producer on the list, is described by Time as “a Hollywood titan in its truest sense. It’s hard to believe that the Hollywood establishment had recently counted him out as he warred with Disney over Miramax, eventually losing the company. What a difference a few years make.”

The piece notes that Weinstein recently helped guide Meryl Streep to her third Oscar win and oversaw “The Artist’s” near sweep of the Oscars as well as “The King’s Speech’s” recent Oscars success.

Time reports: “Weinstein has rebuilt his multi-media empire, bulldozing his way to his throne.”

Johnny Depp adds his own perspective to the Time report, writing that Weinstein “isn’t afraid of a duke-‘em-out,” and, “No one gets to the top without the occasional scrap.”

Time says of Weinstein, “The tantrum-throwing blowhard of a few years ago, known for careening around town in his chauffeur-driven black Escalade, his hefty midsection straining his shirt’s bottom buttons, has shown a softer side.

“This year he has used his perch to advocate for ‘Bully,’ a life-changing documentary about the abuse children inflict on other children. As Time’s Richard Corliss wrote, when the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the industry lobbying group in charge of movie ratings, slapped Bully with an ‘R’ rating, Weinstein agreed to remove three of the six F-words in question if it could keep the rest in the scene it considered essential. The result: a much needed PG-13 rating, allowing kids to see the film unattended by adults.”

Adds Depp: “He stops at nothing for what he believes in.”

Here are a few of the other names on the list:

Kristen Wiig
Chelsea Handler
Matt Lauer
Claire Danes
Stephen Colbert
Louis CK
Rihanna
Barack Obama
Anthony Kennedy
Warren Buffett
Xi Jinping
Mitt Romney
Walter Isaacson
Ron Paul
Benjamin Netanyahu
Tilda Swinton
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Pippa Middleton
Hillary Clinton
Adele
Jeremy Lin
Tim Tebow

Click here to see Time’s complete list.

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