38 women have come forward to accuse director James Toback of sexual harassment
He prowled the streets of Manhattan looking for attractive young women, usually in their early 20s, sometimes college students, on occasion a high schooler. He approached them in Central Park, standing in line at a bank or drug store or at a copy center while they worked on their resumes.
His opening line had a few variations. One went: "My name's James Toback. I'm a movie director. Have you ever seen 'Black and White' or 'Two Girls and a Guy'?"
Probably not. So he'd start to drop names. He had an Oscar nomination for writing the Warren Beatty movie "Bugsy." He directed Robert Downey Jr., in three movies. The actor, Toback claimed, was a close friend; he had "invented him." If you didn't believe him, he would pull out a business card or an article that had been written about him to prove he had some juice in Hollywood. That he could make you a star.
But first, he'd need to get to know you. Intimately. Trust him, he'd say. It's all part of his process.
Then, in a hotel room, a movie trailer, a public park, 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 Toback.
During these meetings, many of the women said, Toback boasted of sexual conquests with the famous and then asked humiliating personal questions. How often do you masturbate? How much pubic hair do you have? He'd tell them, they said,
