Cate Blanchett is one of the best actors working in the film industry. Period. And part of what comes with that stature and clout in the industry is the way her opinion resonates with others. When she comes out for or against a particular person or issue, people take notice.
And in a recent interview with Variety, Blanchett is talking about several issues, but particularly focusing on the recent sexual misconduct controversies in Hollywood and female representation and equality, in general. As always, the actress is very open and honest, especially when it comes to Harvey Weinstein.
However, first, she talked about how she had to turn down a role, recently, when it was apparent that the pay would not be equal to her co-star and she’d be doing just as much work. “There was a project I passed on recently, and I said, ‘I’m really sorry, but I know what the poster is going to be.’ I knew from the get-go what the metaphorical poster image would be — me, shoulder to shoulder, font size to font size with my fellow actor, and consequently I knew what my worth was in the so-called creative equation. It would have been a fun film to make and a slog to publicize, but if I was being ‘sold’ as a commodity of equal value to my male counterpart and worked as hard as him, I couldn’t reconcile why I wasn’t being remunerated equally. They wouldn’t budge. So I did not do it,” admitted the actress.
Now, from that description, we can only imagine that the project would have been one of those horrible rom-coms, as the poster she describes is pretty much every ‘90s/early 2000s-era movie featuring actors like Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson.
After that, Blanchett moves on to talk about Harvey Weinstein, and to probably no one’s surprise, she recounts a time when she was a potential victim in Harvey’s eyes. When asked if she experienced anything inappropriate, she said, “With me, yes. I think he really primarily preyed, like most predators, on the vulnerable. I mean I got a bad feeling from him. … He would often say to me, ‘We’re not friends.’”
She was then asked to elaborate, and Blanchett said, “Well, I wouldn’t do what he was asking me to do…I’m interested in those people being prosecuted. We have to set a legal precedent.”
When asked if that “legal precedent” includes jail time for Weinstein, she said, “Well, I hope so. Statutory rape is a crime, the last time I looked.”
As you might imagine, the conversation then turned from Weinstein to another frequent name thrown into the sexual misconduct discussion – Woody Allen. Previously, we’ve reported that Blanchett has been vague about her future with Allen, while many actors have flat-out said they have no plans on working with him again. Blanchett had previously said that she supports Dylan Farrow, but wants it to play out in court.
In the interview, she falls back on that reasoning again but does talk about the potential of a film collaboration with the controversial director. “Would I work with Woody again? I had a very productive time working with Woody, and he has written some of the most extraordinary roles for women. But at the time I worked with him I knew absolutely nothing about what was going on, and it came out subsequently,” explains Blanchett.
Overall, Blanchett is happy with the recent #MeToo and Time’s Up movements and sees a bright future ahead for women in Hollywood.
“I do think that what has finally been uncovered and finally discussed — and the reason why the eruption needed to be as volcanic and broad and loud as it was — is that this conversation will not be at ground zero again in 10 years. We are not going back to ground zero. We are moving onward and forward from here,” concludes the actress.