New York (AFP)

Fallen ex-producer Harvey Weinstein says he was one of the pioneers of the advancement of women in Hollywood, in an interview with the New York Post published Sunday, less than a month before the start of his trial for sexual assault.

Man charged on five counts, of which he pleaded not guilty, for rape of one woman in 2013 and sexual assault on another in 2006. With dozens of others accusing him of sexual abuse, he tries to reach a financial agreement.

"I have the impression that I have been forgotten," he explained to the daily newspaper during an interview carried out on Friday, the day after a heavy back operation, following a road accident, in August.

"I have made more films directed by women and on women than any producer," said the former Hollywood tycoon, "and I'm talking about 30 years ago."

"I'm not talking about now, when it's fashionable," he continues. "I was the first! I was the pioneer!"

The world of cinema would have refused to do it justice, in full upheaval since the birth of #MeToo and Time's Up to fight against harassment and promote equality between men and women.

For him, "it was all wiped out because of what happened", namely the accusations of harassment or sexual assault from more than 80 women. "My work has been forgotten".

Dozens of testimonies present Harvey Weinstein as a manipulator, darling actresses with professional opportunities in exchange for sexual favors.

Several famous actresses, like Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek or Gwyneth Paltrow, claimed that the co-creator of the Miramax studios, then The Weinstein Company, had made advances to each of them, without success.

Many of the actresses who have refused his advances are those who claim that the former all-powerful studio boss then sought to derail their careers.

"In 2003, Gwyneth Paltrow received $ 10 million for the film + View from the Top +," said Harvey Weinstein, again portraying himself as a male-female rebalancer in Hollywood.

"She was the highest paid actress in all independent cinema (excluding major studios)," he said. "Better paid than all men".

Interviewed by the New York Post, the New Yorker refused to speak on the charges against him.

According to the New York Post, the 67-year-old ex-producer was released from hospital on Sunday.

On Wednesday, during a preliminary hearing at his trial, he assured, through his lawyers, that the intervention would not prevent his presence at the opening of his trial scheduled for New York on January 6.

© 2019 AFP