Harvey Weinstein wanted Keira Knightley to be the face of his company.

The prolific Hollywood producer, who runs The Weinstein Company with his brother Bob, admits his notorious reputation often precedes him and so he was eager to have the fresh-faced actress be the face of TWC instead of him.

He explained: ''For whatever reason, somehow, we've done controversial movies and you end up being the face of your company. We desperate tried to get Keira Knightley to be the face of our company, but so did Chanel, and they paid better.''

The movie mogul also revealed he tried to lure actress Michelle Williams into a deal after she earned Oscar nominations for two TWC movies, 'My Week with Marilyn' and 'Blue Valentine'.

He added: ''Michelle Williams got two Oscar nominations in the last two movies I did with her, and she chose Louis Vuitton. We couldn't find anybody else so me and my brother do it. We work for cheaper - not for free, for cheaper.''

Weinstein's movies have collected 75 Oscars and he is known as the ultimate film producer when it comes to making award-winning films.

The acclaimed mogul says his secret to awards success is getting as many people to see his films as possible.

He told ShortList magazine: ''My best friends are in politics and I learned a long time ago that if you don't get people to vote, you can't win. And if they don't see your movie, they won't vote. You can have all the lavish advertising in the world, but that won't sway Oscar voters.''

And after three decades in Hollywood, Weinstein insists he doesn't tire of awards season.

He said: ''I don't get bored because, you know, Judi Dench has been nominated seven times and keeping her from the champagne and walking in a straight line is a full-time job. She wants to cut loose with Rihanna and I have to keep them separate. They call each other Ri-Ri and Ju-Ju.''