Hollywood director Brian De Palma says he is writing the script for a horror film inspired by Harvey Weinstein, the movie mogul who unleashed the #MeToo movement after scores of women accused him of rape or sexual assault.

“My character won’t be named Harvey Weinstein, but it will be a horror film, with a sexual aggressor, and it will take place in the film industry,” the director whose classics include Scarface, Carrie, Carlito’s Way and Mission: Impossible, told Le Parisien newspaper.

The 77-year-old said he was in contact with a French producer to see if he could get the project off the ground, but did not elaborate on how soon he thought the movie might get made.

"I have been following it (the Weinstein affair) very closely because I know a lot of the people involved," Mr De Palma, whose other films include Dressed to Kill, The Untouchables, and Blow Out, told AFP news agency.

"As a director you have to get actors' confidence and their love in order to be able to use their instrument in your movie. And to violate it on any level is just to me the worst thing you can do, just because of your gluttony or your lust," he said.