Director accused of harassing more than 30 women

Toback, 72 - the director of films including The Pick-Up Artist (1987) and Two Girls and a Guy (1997) starring Robert Downey Jr, and the Oscar-nominated writer of Bugsy (1991) starring Warren Beatty - is accused of setting up private "auditions" in movie trailers and hotel rooms, where he would proposition women and expose himself.

In a piece published by the Los Angeles Times, 38 women - including 31 who officially went on the record - described Toback's alleged pattern of abuse, which included first approaching them on the streets of New York with promises of making them "a star".

"My name's James Toback. I'm a movie director. Have you ever seen Black and White or Two Girls and a Guy?" he'd ask, before organising a private meeting.

Alone, the director would then ask the women personal questions about their sex lives, before exposing and touching himself, the Times reports.

Actress Adrienne LaValley described a 2008 hotel room encounter which saw the director attempting to rub his crotch against her leg.

"The way he presented it, it was like, 'This is how things are done'... I felt like a prostitute, an utter disappointment to myself, my parents, my friends," she said, describing why she hadn't raised the allegations sooner.

In another instance, musician Louise Post, a guitarist in alt-rock band Veruca Salt, said Toback told her "he'd love nothing more than to masturbate while looking into my eyes".

"Going to his apartment has been a source of shame for the past 30 years, that I allowed myself to be so gullible," she said.

Another actress Chantal Cousineau described Toback masturbating off-set while she was auditioning for a role in his film Harvard Man in 2001.

"I felt so violated. And there was my abuser, inches away from me," she told the Times.

Toback has denied all the allegations, saying he never met any of the women, or if he did it was for "five minutes". He also claimed that it was "biologically impossible" for him to engage in such behaviour in recent decades due to his diabetes and a heart condition.

The accusations against Toback come in an atmosphere of increased focus on Hollywood predators, as the industry confronts the fallout of one-time Miramax mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Weinstein, shunted by his film production company and the Oscars Academy, is at the centre of criminal investigations following accusations of decades of sexual harassment and abuse, including rape.

Much like Weinstein, rumours about Toback's behaviour have filtered around Hollywood for decades.

In a Facebook post, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn said he'd been "warning people" about Toback for over 20 years.

"When I lived in New York in the '90s, this dude was everywhere. I have personally met at least fifteen women who say that he's accosted them in NYC," he wrote.

Actresses Rose McGowan and Asia Argento also added their voices to those naming and shaming Toback.

"So proud of my sisters for bringing down yet another pig," Argento tweeted.

Toback's most recent film, The Private Life of a Modern Woman, starring Sienna Miller and Alec Baldwin, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September.