The former mogul — once the toast of Hollywood, whose films won scores of Oscars — smirked as he was escorted into a Manhattan courtroom in handcuffs to face the first criminal charges lodged against him.

Weinstein, a 66-year-old twice-married father of five, was charged with rape in the first and third degrees, stemming from an attack on a woman in 2013, and a criminal sex act against another woman in 2004. Neither victim was named.

“Today’s charges reflect significant progress in this active, ongoing investigation,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, thanking “brave survivors” for coming forward and urging others to call a sex crimes hotline.

Standing alongside his defense attorney, the former Tinseltown powerbroker looked glum during the brief arraignment, agreeing to post bail at $1 million cash, surrender his passport and be fitted with a GPS monitoring device.

Weinstein’s career went down in flames in October over sexual assault allegations following explosive articles in The New York Times and New Yorker, which sparked a sexual harassment reckoning across the United States, in multiple industries.

Nearly 100 women have now accused Weinstein of crimes ranging from sexual harassment to assault and rape going back decades.

New York authorities have been investigating the disgraced producer for months, under growing pressure from Hollywood actresses to bring him to justice, and their probes are ongoing.

Weinstein already faces a slew of civil lawsuits, is reportedly under federal investigation, and his former studio has filed for bankruptcy.

But these were the first criminal charges against Weinstein.

Defense attorney Ben Brafman told reporters that his client would plead not guilty and still denied any non-consensual sexual activity.

“We intend to move very quickly to dismiss these charges,” Brafman said.

“Bad behavior is not on trial,” he added. “Mr Weinstein did not invent the casting couch in Hollywood.”

His case was adjourned until July 30.

Handcuffs

The former studio boss surrendered to police shortly before 7:30 am (1130 GMT) wearing a white shirt, pale blue sweater and dark blazer, as dozens of television cameras and photographers mobbed the street outside.

He walked into the station clutching several books, apparently including the Rodgers and Hammerstein biography “Something Wonderful” and a volume on late director Elia Kazan.

He left handcuffed, without the books, after his mugshots and fingerprints were taken.

Police said he was “arrested, processed and charged with rape, criminal sex act, sex abuse and sexual misconduct.”

Out on bail, Weinstein’s travel will be restricted to New York and the neighboring state of Connecticut.

‘Inevitable descent to hell’

Former actress Lucia Evans, who said Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him in 2004, is thought to be one of the women whose cases triggered the New York charges.

New York police previously confirmed another credible rape allegation after “Boardwalk Empire” actress Paz de la Huerta accused the former producer of raping her twice at her New York apartment in late 2010.

Salma Hayek, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie are among more than two dozen actresses who say they were sexually harassed by the producer. A few, including Asia Argento and Rose McGowan, said they were raped.

“I have to admit I didn’t think I would see the day that he would have handcuffs on him,” McGowan told ABC television.

“Today Harvey Weinstein will take his first step on his inevitable descent to hell. We, the women, finally have real hope for justice,” tweeted Argento.

The Time’s Up anti-harassment movement — launched on January 1 — said the producer “shattered the lives of an untold number of women,” adding that it looked “forward to seeing justice prevail.”

The #MeToo movement has seen people around the world come forward with cases of sexual mistreatment, leading to the downfall of powerful men across industries, including Oscar winner Kevin Spacey.

Weinstein has reportedly spent months in treatment for sex addiction. His fashion designer wife, Georgina Chapman, has left him.

But for all the media circus, experts warn that any trial — let alone a criminal conviction — would still be a long way off.

Sexual assault cases, particularly those that allegedly happened years ago, are notoriously difficult to prosecute and often lack substantive forensic evidence.

Weinstein’s lawyer is one of America’s most celebrated criminal defense attorneys. His past clients include former IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who escaped criminal prosecution for alleged sexual assault in 2011.

In mythology, however, these aquatic beings are far from benign, and would prey on hapless seafarers by luring them with their hypnotic song.

It’s these vicious mermaids of ancient times that are wreaking havoc in the new American drama series “Siren”, which makes its debut on June 4 at 8.45pm on Blue Ant Entertainment available on TrueVisions Channel 337 and on AIS Play.

Legend has it that mermaids once lived on what is now Bristol Cove, a quiet coastal town on the Pacific Northwest. The town folklore would soon prove more than a fairytale with the sudden appearance of a young woman who calls herself Ryn (Belgian actress Eline Powell). The mysterious visitor catches the eye of local marine biologist Ben Pownall (Alex Roe), whose interest in the strange woman arouses suspicion from fellow marine biologist, Maddie Bishop (Fola Evans-Akingbola).

Others, like deepsea fisherman Xander McClure (Ian Verdun), are also on a quest to uncover the truth beneath the waves, while town eccentric Helen Hawkins (Rena Owen) seems to know more about the local legend than what Bristol Cove has been led to believe.

Tension rises between the denizens of land and sea as predatory mermaids seek to claim their birthright.

One of the most highly acclaimed movies in competition for the coveted Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival is the Russian film “Leto” (“Summer”) by Kirill Serebrennikov.

Serebrennikov came to Cannes in 2016 with “The Student”, which was selected for the Un Certain Regard category but this year, his first time in the main competition, was prevented from attending by his government. The director is currently under house arrest on charges of alleged corruption, though many believe the real reason is his criticism of Vladimir Putin’s government.

Filmed in black and white, “Leto” is set in the Soviet Union of the 1980s and tells the story of the early years of two Soviet rock stars – Viktor Tsoi of Kino band and Mike Naumenko of Zoopark band. Tsoi, the country’s first rock superstar, became a legend following his untimely death in 1990.

A Russian of Korean descent, Tsoi is portrayed in the film by Teo Yoo, a South Korean actor born and raised in Germany even though he doesn’t speak a word of Russian. Since graduating from the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York, Yoo has been appeared in a variety of foreign productions, among them the Vietnamese film “Bitcoin Heist” director Ham Tran.

In 2017, Teo Yoo was cast in the Thai film “The Moment” directed by Laddawan Rattanadilokchai. He played Kim, the head of the creative department at a Korean company who falls in love with Karn (Kan Kantathavorn), his colleague from Thailand.

“I got a call from a friend of a friend who knows Laddawan. They were looking for an English-speaking Korean actor willing to play a gay character. I made a tape of myself and sent it to them,” he says.

“The Moment” was followed by “Leto”.

“Again, it started with a call from a friend last May,” Yoo tells XP. “He told me that a famous Russian director wanted to cast Viktor Tsoi. He asked me ‘Do you know any Korean actors in their early 20’s or late teens who might be interested in the role?’ I’d lost some weight at the time, and have curly hair like Tsoi in real life, so I sent my photos and bio. A week later, they wanted to see photos of me playing a guitar, so I sent those too and I was then called to Moscow for an audition. Kirill had been in preproduction for six months and still hadn’t found anyone for the role so I knew I was in with a chance.

“I didn’t know a word of Russian. During the audition, they told me to work in English as I would need to be dubbed in the film anyway. I did that and sang two of Viktor Tsoi’s songs. When I got the role and returned to Moscow for the shoot, I found out I needed to do it in Russian because the lips had to match! I didn’t sign up for that, but as an actor, my philosophy is that I’m the instrument for the director to present his vision. So I started memorising the lines in Russian phonetically. I took the script and worked solidly in my hotel room for three weeks. I learnt Russian by osmosis and by default,” he laughs.

“My role model is Asano Tadanobu. I met him at the Busan International Film Festival and we became friends. Whenever I have to go to other countries to film, I ask him for advice. He’s worked in other countries without speaking their language or even English,” Yoo says of the Japanese actor who starred in Pen-Ek Ratanaruang’s “Last Life in the Universe” and “Invisible Waves”.

“As an actor, you play with fear in your head and you trust the production. In the end, it’s all about love – the language of cinema is the same everywhere. You fight time. You have a limited budget. Everybody gets a little bit hysterical. You get drunk. You cry. You laugh.”

Yoo looks at Tsoi as someone who created a culture. “Tsoi was a young kid who was inspired by American music and he added some Korean poetry and charisma. He put the cultures together and created something new, instead of ripping them apart. His music brought all the production together. I am really grateful for that.”

The 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which wrapped on Sunday, was another triumph for Asian cinema with veteran Japanese filmmaker Koreeda Hirokazu winning the Palme d’Or for “Shoplifters”, a touching tale of outsiders, and becoming the second Asian film this century to do so. The last, film fans will remember, was Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives”, which took home this prestigious award back in 2010.

Asian titles did well in other categories too, with the Lebanese film “Capernaum” directed by Nadine Labaki awarded the Jury Prize and the Iranian film “3 Faces” by Jafar Panahi recognised with Best Screenplay.

Veteran South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong was back in Cannes this year with his latest film “Burning”. The director’s sixth feature film, a mystery drama based on a short story by Haruki Murakami, did not win one of the official awards but received good reviews from critics and took home their prize – the Fipresci Award.

“There is no red carpet and no bright lights on this stage, but the red carpet and the lights always feel a unrealistic to me. My film ‘Burning’ is about the border between the unrealistic and the realistic. I’m really thankful to the audience for their appreciation of this film,” director Lee said in his acceptance speech last Saturday.

The protagonist of “Burning” is Jongsu (played by Korean star Yoo Ahin), a delivery boy who dreams of becoming a writer. Jongsu runs into his childhood friend Haemi (Jun Jongseo), who has undergone plastic surgery and now looks very different. Haemi sleeps with Jongsu and asks him to look after her cat – an animal Jongsu is not sure really exists – while she goes away. When Haemi returns from her trip to Kenya, she introduces Jongsu to Ben (Steven Yeun), a mysterious rich man who has a strange hobby of burning abandoned greenhouses.

Yoo Ahin is well known to audiences for his roles in such television series as “Sungkyunkwan Scandal” and “Jang Okjung, Living by Love”. He has also appeared in several films, among them “Antique”, “Punch” and “Veteran”. “Burning” is his first time working with Lee Chang-dong, and he tells XP that he saw it as an important opportunity.

“To work with director Lee is so special for me. It makes me realise who I really am and what it means to be an actor,” he says.

“I was first contacted by director Ryoo Seungwan with whom I worked on ‘Veteran’. He told me that director Lee wanted to meet me so we fixed a time and he told me almost immediately that he wanted me to work with him if I was okay with that. Lee likes to choose his actors by networking,” Yoo says with a smile.

“Burning”, he says, is very different from the usual mainstream films in which he has appeared in the past.

“It’s more arthouse than commercial. And what makes is really interesting is the different perception the audience has of the story. For me, the best part was the freedom I was given in how I portrayed the character. I understood immediately that it was very important to show how the character feels. Jongsu is like most young ordinary people in our society, but is also a kind of loser or outsider. I wanted to show how an ordinary young man can feel helpless and lonely,” the actor explains.

Ben, the mysterious young rich man, is played by Steven Yeun, a Korean-American actor who mainly works in the US and is best-known for his role in the hit series “The Walking Dead”. “Burning” is Yeun’s second Korean film after Boon JoonHo’s “Okja” in 2017.

“I was in London and at 3 in the morning director Bong Joonho texted me and asked me to call him right away. I did and he told me director Lee wanted to meet me about this film. We met and after talking with him and reading the script, I felt that I had to do it, not least because I really wanted to work with director Lee. He told me he knows when he has found his character, and that’s a wonderful gift a director can give to an actor, because it makes you feel brave,” says Yeun.

As an actor raised in America, Yeun might be very different from Ben but nonetheless felt connected to him for the word go.

“Ben is a Korean native, but he has travelled extensively in spirit if not in person. I am a Korean-American and I have been to and experienced different countries. With the stuff the Internet is force-feeding young people these days, you get to know other countries even without physically going there. And you quickly realise that each place has different rules, which means that there are no rules. We make them up and you see chaos, sorrow and happiness and fear, because there are no rules. As a Korean-American, you can feel that as you are living between the gap of America and Korea.”

With almost 10 years of acting in the US, Yeun found that working on a Korean production gave him more freedom. “I’m very spoilt to have worked in Korea with director Bong and director Lee. In some ways, I felt freer working on a Korean production than I do on American productions, because the directors gave us space. I had heard that Korean productions could difficult, but problems arise in American productions too and I certainly didn’t face any problems with either of these directors. I have been very lucky.”

One of the most important characters of the film is Haemi, the young girl to whom Jongsu is attracted. She’s played by 22-year-old rookie Jun Jongseo, who joined the auditions for the role and found herself working with an internationally acclaimed director.

“I was really nervous during the audition but when I came on to the set, director Lee left me free to act, which was really good for me,” says Jun Jongseo. “Haemi is like Jongsu in that she is also an outsider, but I feel that her character is also strangely free.”

And even though “Burning” didn’t win any of the festival’s prizes, simply being in Cannes and in the competition was a great moment for all the cast.

“‘Burning’ and experiencing Cannes have been really special. It’s a great honour to work with director Lee and I will remember this for the rest of my life,” says Yoo.