Harvey Weinstein has removed his name from Benedict Cumberbatch's The Current War – but is it too late for the Oscars?

Harvey Weinstein removed his name from a forthcoming Oscar hopeful starring Benedict Cumberbatch weeks before The New York Times printed allegations that the producer had been sexually assaulting actresses for more than three decades. 

Weinstein was originally listed as an executive producer alongside Steven Zaillian, his brother Bob Weinstein and others on The Current War, a film about the battle for electricity provision in the late 19th century. Cumberbatch plays Thomas Edison, opposite Michael Shannon as his rival George Westinghouse. Nicholas Hoult plays Nikola Tesla.

The film opened to a lukewarm reaction during Toronto Film Festival, in September. Weinstein was introduced as one of The Current War's producers on stage at The Current War's premiere, alongside director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and Cumberbatch, Shannon and Hoult. 

However, shortly after the festival, Weinstein's name was removed from the film, a spokeperson for The Current War confirmed with The Hollywood Reporter, which claims that Weinstein withdrew his association with the film to stop it from being such a target for those critics who were among the first to see it.

But, as the industry publication points out, Weinstein may have been aware of the impending negative press about his alleged misdemeanours, and thought it sage to remove any association with a film that was intended for awards success. 

Weinstein is no longer listed as a producer on the credit submissions for awards considerations, but we will have to wait and see if he remains acknowledged as one on the film itself when it is released on November 24.