[quote Caneloalvarez]**@PearPickingPorky* @froggygoneacourting* @youshallnotpass9 thank you for your replies. On the surface it's easy to look at it and say, why did it take so long for something to be done (and there are a lot of comments online to that effect). But I want to really understand how someone like Noel manages to get away with it for so long. To be honest it is f-ing terrifying how he (and others like him) have gotten away with it. It really sickens me. For the first time I realise how lucky I am that I've never come across this sort of thing in my line of work. How distressing and soul destroying it must be for the victims, to have to wait and wait and wait to be heard.
It also really worries me that others cover up the abhorrent behaviour, or turn a blind eye. They are truly part of the problem. It does make you look at his other male colleagues and wonder... What did they know?
As for all the posters saying they had a funny feeling about him... Well I had no idea, I didn't follow him too closely but thought he seemed pretty decent and humble, and loved the gritty London scenes he brought to life. Such a waste, such a disappointment.[/quote]
I was depressed reading your posts, and other comments here and elsewhere expressing the same questions and concerns. Depressed because it then falls on to others to do the emotional work of explaining things that, in some cases, should be obvious. I appreciate you mean well, but the simplistic and categoric statements that I've copied below demonstrate that you haven't really thought about it properly or looked into it. By reducing it to some simplistic concerns, you're doing a disservice to the women and witnesses who - I'm pretty damn certain - would HEARTILY WISH MORE THAN ANYTHING THAT IT REALLY WAS THAT SIMPLE AND SHOCKING. I've spent a fair bit of time explaining it to hopefully give you and others more insight.
But I want to really understand how someone like Noel manages to get away with it for so long.
Simple answer: Because he was in a position of power. Much of the work he made he wrote and/or produced and/or directed.
Think about it: He wasn't "just" the star. He wrote Kidulthood as well as acting in it. He was the vehicle that got that project off the ground. I suspect he wasn't at 'peak inappropriateness' at that point because he didn't have full power, but he had a helluva lot more than anyone he may have been predatory or inappropriate towards who (a) would have had a smaller part than him and (b) was far more expendable because they didn't write the damn thing. The script determines what goes into it. That alone gave him some power.
If anyone complained - and they may have done, how do we know they don't? - the production company would have had a dilemma. If the offence was fireable rather than something they could give a warning over, then they lose A LOT of money having to reshoot scenes. They may have only been sold the script on the proviso that NC starred in it, since he wrote it. So they may possibly end up not even being able to reshoot.
The next film in the series, he directed as well as wrote and starred in. You know what the director does, right? He tells people what to do. In film, the director is often king, i.e. has even more power than the writer.
The third film in the trilogy, he not only starred in, wrote and directed, he also produced it. You know what the producers do? They hire the crew and cast. The women's contracts would have been with Noel Clarke and the other producers. So if they wanted to complain to their employer, they'd be going to... Noel Clarke or one of his co-producers. They'd be complaining about the head honcho. The person who created and funded the project. In other professions or jobs, there's usually several layers of management between an employee and the person with ultimate control, or some other people in a position of oversight. eg you can complain about a Headteacher to the Board of Governors of a school. Not so in the case of production companies. You could go to the network, sure, but it's the production company that has the contractual relationship with the crew or cast member.
A lot of the work NC made other than those three films was through his production company.
It also really worries me that others cover up the abhorrent behaviour, or turn a blind eye. They are truly part of the problem. It does make you look at his other male colleagues and wonder... What did they know?
Simple answer: We don't know how many people did say something. And whether those people were in a position of power.
Think about it: NC's lawyers were reactive to the allegations put to them by the Guardian. They DID admit that at least one complaint was made to a person in power, even though NC was in charge, because they couldn't refute that. But they didn't and weren't going to dredge up things that the Guardian didn't know about.They weren't going to pro-actively admit to the Guardian "oh yeah actor Joe Bloggs told NC 'that's out of order mate' on X date", or that "Jane Doe in the crew spoke to NC's co-producer on Y date and they agreed to deal with it informally". Didn't mean those things didn't happen.
How much power do you really think that "lowly" crew and casts members had on a NC production? Do you seriously think they had more power by virtue of being male? Again, they were hired freelancers for a short term contact. Their rights under employment law would not be as comprehensive as those who are employed in permanent positions for years on end and have at least two years' service. They'd have to have been complaining about NC to NC or his right hand people (people who were complicit, absolutely). What if the woman concerned didn't want them to complain formally?
It's very easy to judge, but this is a complicated situation. And I'm betting that NC adjusted according to the situation. For example, I doubt he was actionably inappropriate to a female actress who had more star billing and fame than him in a production where he wasn't one of the creators, directors or producers. Because that type of creep knows how far they can get away with exploiting people.