Newsletter: Today: 38 Women Say This Director Sexually Harassed Them

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38 Women Say This Director Sexually Harassed Them

He would often begin with an opening line: “My name’s James Toback. I’m a movie director. Have you ever seen ‘Black and White’ or ‘Two Girls and a Guy’?” Then, meetings framed as interviews or auditions quickly turned sexual, according to 38 women, who in separate interviews told the Los Angeles Times of similar encounters they had with the writer-director in graphic detail. When contacted by The Times, Toback denied the allegations. Reaction to the story in Hollywood has been intense, and some harked back to a 1989 Spy magazine article about Toback’s attempts to pick up women.

Plus:

-- In interviews with The Times, nearly a dozen people with ties to the fashion industry say Harvey Weinstein used fashion as a pipeline to women.

-- Bill O’Reilly reportedly paid $32 million to settle a sexual harassment claim just before he signed his last contract with Fox News.

-- Everyone is outraged over sexual harassment, but will this moment bring real change?

Trump: It’s Time to Talk Turkey on Taxes

The Republicans’ overhaul of the tax code hasn’t been written yet, but President Trump is putting on the pressure to have a bill passed and on his desk by Thanksgiving — or else, he suggests, Congress should forgo taking a break for Turkey Day. But lawmakers have suggested even having something hammered out by the end of the year would be optimistic, given the lack of consensus in the GOP and the intricate nature of tax law.

The Confederate Monuments Rise Again

Since violence broke out in Charlottesville, Va., in August and Trump made his comments, we’ve seen officials across the Deep South remove Confederate monuments from public places. But, quietly, a generation of Confederate markers is going up on private land, cemeteries and old battlefields. Those funding the construction say they want their great-great-grandparents’ legacy to live on, but some also promote a revisionist history in which slavery was not a major cause of the Civil War.

The Calm Before the Catalan Storm

It was a quiet Sunday in Barcelona’s medieval Gothic Quarter, but that calm will surely be broken later this week, as the political fight between the regional Catalan government and the powers in Madrid comes to a head. Spain’s Senate is expected to vote Friday to approve the prime minister’s call to impose direct rule on Catalonia — taking control over Catalan police, public media and finances.

China Turns Its Propaganda Up to 11

As China’s Communist Party congress wraps up this week, there’s one question on everyone’s minds: Exactly how much more power will President Xi Jinping exert afterward? In his first five-year term, Xi has ramped up control on virtually every front. Even loudspeakers that broadcast Communist Party dictates have returned to some villages for the first time since the Mao Tse-tung era. For those not willing to toe the party line, the consequences can be dire.

OUR MUST-READS FROM THE WEEKEND

-- California’s deadliest wildfires were decades in the making. “We have forgotten what we need to do to prevent it,” says one historian.

-- The deadly attack on U.S. soldiers in Niger has demonstrated that clandestine jihadis are posing a growing danger to American forces in Africa.

-- They went to Syria to fight Islamic State. Now two Americans find themselves in limbo.

-- Columnist Steve Lopez visited an old standby, Tolliver’s barbershop, to get the lowdown on the flag, the military, police shootings, the NFL and Trump.

MUST-WATCH VIDEO

-- Our World Series preview with Times reporters Andy McCullough and Dylan Hernandez.

-- Stephen K. Bannon blasts Sen. John McCain and former President George W. Bush.

-- The script was written by a fifth-grader. The reading stars actors from “Veep” and “Insecure.” The title: “Small Hands, Orange Face.”

CALIFORNIA

-- After the deadly wildfires, Santa Rosa residents are trying to move forward.

-- The California Republican convention over the weekend showed a sharp divide in the party.

-- “It’s a superhighway above our heads”: Some South L.A. residents are being vexed by new LAX flight paths.

-- Bad news: An excessive heat watch will remain in effect in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties through Tuesday.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Miles Teller is portraying two real-life unsung heroes in his films “Only the Brave” and “Thank You for Your Service.”

-- Hulu’s “Too Funny to Fail” looks at the legacy of the doomed “Dana Carvey Show.”

-- A veteran mastering engineer wants to change the way you hear music.

-- Voices of the City: The YouTube diva Vidya Vox is busy in L.A. mixing Indian ragas, hip-hop and dance music.

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD

In the late 1960s, Michael Crichton was still in Harvard Medical School when he wrote his first bestseller: “The Andromeda Strain,” which was made into a movie in 1971. It was the high point of something he did in secret to help pay the bills. “Jurassic Park,” “Westworld” and much more would follow. Crichton, who was born on this date in 1942, died in 2008.

NATION-WORLD

-- With a landslide win, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could be ready to rewrite Japan’s pacifist Constitution.

-- Foraging for food, water and hope: Puerto Ricans are coping with the lingering devastation of Hurricane Maria.

-- To combat hunger, Venezuelans in the U.S. are shipping food to relatives.

-- Mandalay Bay hotel room No. 32135 will never see another guest. Here’s what has happened to other mass shooting sites.

BUSINESS

-- The Tesla Model 3 “production hell” is testing Elon Musk’s fix-as-you-go carmaking model.

-- Critics say UCLA’s effort to patent a costly prostate cancer drug in India is hurting the poor.

SPORTS

-- Columnist Dylan Hernandez checks in with Orel Hershiser, who plays down the superhuman nature of his magical postseason 29 years ago.

-- The Chargers and the Rams are finally giving L.A. fans some football they can get behind, writes columnist Sam Farmer.

OPINION

-- Trump wants to take on Iran but has no idea how to do that.

-- “My teacher, the predator.”

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Former President Carter has some thoughts on Trump and North Korea. (New York Times)

-- Shades of the Cold War: The U.S. Air Force is preparing to put nuclear-armed bombers back on 24-hour ready alert. (Defense One)

-- Remember the Gravitron, Robotron and Scantron? Where did all the -trons go? (Aeon)

ONLY IN L.A.

The mysterious letter from Española to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art begins: “You should know that I am well and living less than two (2) miles from LACMA.” Who is Española? It’s the nickname of a masterpiece of 18th century painting that’s been missing for more than 100 years. “I am not lost, I just do not wish to be found.”

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