ALISON BOSHOFF: Weinstein’s British ex-wife faces crisis as staff sue over unpaid wages

Dress designer to the stars Georgina Chapman was all smiles on the red carpet at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah last month; However, troubles are piling up for the fashion brand Marchesa, which is being sued by 16 of its employees for unpaid wages.

And the brand’s Manhattan offices were to be repossessed yesterday due to unpaid rent.

Chapman, 49, the British girlfriend of Oscar winner Adrien Brody, founded the company in 2004 while she was with film producer Harvey Weinstein, whom she later married.

Naturally, things took a hit in the wake of #MeToo; More than 80 women came forward to accuse Weinstein, and he was later convicted of sexual assault. But Chapman weathered the storm and managed to continue trading with the help of friends, including Vogue boss Anna Wintour.

But last year it was revealed that 12 separate organizations or individuals had sued the business, and things appear to have only gotten worse since then.

On January 15, 16 former employees requested a jury trial to recover wages they say they are owed.

In the documents, they allege that Marchesa, Georgina and her brother Edward (who runs the company) ‘engaged in a pattern and practice of delaying and failing to pay salaries in violation of New York labor laws.’

They say it started at the end of July last year, just four months after Chapman, wearing a Marchesa, ascended the red carpet at the Oscars with Brody on his arm and later took a piece of his used gum before giving his best actor acceptance speech.

From that point onwards, payments were “regularly delayed by days or weeks”, if at all, the claim claimed.

Employees include the brand’s PR representative, vice president of operations, production manager, a number of designers, global logistics manager, couture production manager, accounts receivable manager and a design intern who has been with the business since 2011.

Meanwhile, the firm’s landlord on 8th Avenue in Manhattan said it owed $1.4 million (about £1 million) in unpaid rent and bills, and as a result Marchesa had been given permission to sod the four-storey space it had been renting since 2019.

The petition was filed in September last year, and Marchesa did not oppose it or even appoint a lawyer to do so. He did not respond to the landlord’s eviction petition and so a possession order was granted yesterday allowing the landlord to take back the property.

Separately, a judge issued a notice of default in October last year in a lawsuit filed by finance company EN OD Capital, which claimed Marchesa had failed to repay a $220,000 (£163,000) loan.

Adding insult to injury, a judge also served a default notice on behalf of postal service DHL, claiming it owed $12,704 (about £9,500) in unpaid postage.

Chapman reportedly received $15 million in her divorce settlement from Weinstein; But that’s not enough to fund a fashion brand that produces gowns costing more than £5,000.

Writing in the online newsletter Puck, respected fashion journalist Lauren Sherman said last year: ‘How Marchesa was financed was always a bit of a mystery… Weinstein denied pouring money into the business, particularly towards the end.

Marchesa was asked for comment but did not respond.

Social climber Sydney

She was a boxer and a maid, but Sydney Sweeney now takes on a classic figure of world literature: Undine Spragg in Edith Wharton’s 1913 novel The Custom Of The Country.

Sweeney will portray Undine Spragg, one of the classic names of world literature.

In the film adapted by British theater and film director Josie Rourke, 28-year-old Sweeney will play a seductive but ruthless social climber who tries to conquer New York at the turn of the century. Rourke said: ‘While writing this adaptation, Sydney Sweeney lived in my head as this iconic character. It’s as if Wharton sat down and wrote the role for him a century ago.’

The film is produced by Mayfair-based businessman Charles Finch for his Rabbit’s Foot films and Monumental and StudioCanal’s Alison Owen (Lily Allen’s mother).

Work on the project will begin later this year.

Beloved Harry opts for a relaxed ‘seven city tour’

The last time Harry Styles released an album, he embarked on an epic 173-day tour that lasted nearly two years.

This time he’s thinking smaller, or possibly smarter, because it could be revealed that he’s planning to promote his new album, Kiss All The Time. Disco sometimes operates in only seven cities.

A total of 50 events will be held in Amsterdam, London, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, New York, Melbourne and Sydney between May and December. The residency format will include 30 shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden; and a six-night run at Wembley Stadium, where he will be supported by Shania Twain.

This will mean Harry and his entourage, including new girlfriend Zoe Kravitz, will be able to enjoy a more comfortable environment in rental homes around the world, rather than trudging from one hotel to another for months.

Harry Styles and Zoe Kravitz were on holiday in Italy last year

The last time he was on tour, he broke up with his then-partner, film director Olivia Wilde; and the pressures of pursuing a romance while on the road were among the reasons for the breakup. Styles dated American model Emily Ratajkowski for a short time. However, the daughter of rock star Lenny has been seeing Kravitz since August and things are said to be very serious already.

Before Christmas, they were spotted hanging out together in Rome, where Styles is currently based. (His house in Hampstead is being completely renovated.)

The first single from the new album, Aperture, was released today. The record, produced by his long-time collaborator Kid Harpoon, is released on March 6. Styles, 31, has sold more than 30 million albums throughout his career with One Direction and as a solo artist. Always Kiss. Disco, Sometimes will be his fourth solo work.

Will Melania become box office gold?

Donald at the inaugural ball with Melania

President Trump says ‘everyone’ is very excited to watch Melania, the new documentary about his wife.

It was sold to Amazon MGM movie studios for a record $40 million and will be released in theaters on January 30, followed by streaming on the streamer’s Prime Video service.

But ticket sales seem slow (bordering on extinction) so far. The Landmark theater in Washington DC sold only two seats on opening night; and the CMX theater in Palm Beach, Florida (where the First Couple frequented) sold 11 units. In the UK it’s an even worse story; Not a single seat was sold at Vue Fulham for screenings on 30 January, and just four seats were sold at nearby Cineworld.

The film follows Melania in the 20 days leading up to hubby Donald’s second inauguration and was produced by director Brett Ratner, who was out of work for a long time following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment, all of which were denied.

Some experts think the film will take in $1 million in its opening weekend, although that sounds optimistic at this point.

It’s probably worth impressing Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, who attended the opening ceremony.

Netflix knows you’re not paying attention

The existential angst for moviegoers grew louder this week as Matt Damon confirmed the sad truth: Netflix wants plenty of reminders of the plot in its movies because it suspects people watching movies at home are also looking at their cell phones.

In an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Damon said the broadcaster told the filmmakers to have a big action set piece early to keep viewers interested. And he advises that ‘it wouldn’t hurt to repeat the plot three or four times in the dialogue because people are talking on their phones while watching.’

That’s undoubtedly the case with Damon’s latest Netflix film, The Rip (which also stars Ben Affleck), which cost $100 million to make and became a huge hit for the streamer, but it treats the audience as if they had a five-second attention span.

Terry Jones died in 2020

Former Monty Python star Terry Jones, who died in 2020, is among the vocal talents for an upcoming animated film.

Jones is the voice of ‘Wish Watch’ in The Land Of Sometimes, which will be released in cinemas in March this year. A source says the dialogue was recorded nearly a decade ago and that it was Jones’ final film project.

The film, which also stars Helena Bonham Carter, Ewan McGregor and Mel Brooks, is based on the original children’s audiobook created by Francesca Longrigg.