Amazon Studios head Roy Price resigned from his position on Tuesday, days after he was accused of sexual harassment by a female producer and suspended from the company.
According to Isa Hackett, daughter of author Philip K. Dick and producer for Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle—a series based on Dick’s novel of the same name—Price propositioned her while they were in a cab together on July 10, 2015. “You will love my dick,” Price said, according to Hackett. She said she immediately reported the incident to Amazon executives but never knew what happened after her inquiry. The allegations were first reported in August, and Hackett gave a second account to The Hollywood Reporter last week. “It was shocking and surreal,” Hackett told THR.
Price had been with Amazon since 2004. After overseeing the company’s digital video store, he helped launch the company’s streaming service and foray into original programming. Under Price, Amazon Studios had sporadic highs—like the critical hit Transparent—but struggled to produce a bona fide hit while also developing a reputation for having tumultuous relationships with showrunners. Price was another client of women’s rights lawyer Lisa Bloom, who served in an advisory role to Harvey Weinstein before ultimately resigning. When The Ringer’s Kate Knibbs asked Bloom about representing Price, she declined to comment. “I don’t have any particular clients one way or another in the future,” she added. On Monday, Kim Masters, who reported on Hackett’s harassment accusations for THR, wrote in The Columbia Journal Review that Bloom tried to kill the story. “[Weinstein’s lawyer Charles] Harder and Bloom convinced every publication that considered my story that they weren’t just threatening legal action but would indeed sue,” Masters said. Masters also wrote that Bloom told multiple publications that Masters was pursuing the Price story because of a personal vendetta.
Price’s resignation comes days after Amazon Studios shelved an untitled David O. Russell project because it was being coproduced by the Weinstein Company. The series reportedly had a budget of $160 million for two planned seasons, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon had already produced half the series and spent $40 million on it. Amazon has completely severed ties with the Weinstein Company, though the other show it was developing with the Weinstein Company — Matthew Weiner’s $75 million project, The Romanoffs — is moving forward under Amazon’s sole oversight.
