We've been covering the Woody Allen saga left and right ever since Dylan Farrow's sexual abuse allegations against her 82-year-old father were reignited courtesy of the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements late last year. Mia Farrow and her kids Ronan and Dylan have vehemently stayed true to their convictions, even as Alec Baldwin was condemning them as basically liars earlier this month, and that has no doubt raised a spark akin to a domino effect in the industry with Ellen Page, Greta Gerwig, Rebecca Hall, and Timothée Chalamet all expressing remorse in having worked with the director in the past. Allen's reputation has taken a major hit that will no doubt have Amazon wondering what their next move should be in regards to that nice, big contract Allen signed with them a few years back. Will they change their tune on the director? Who knows.
Stéphane Célérier, who is the head of Mars Films, which is France’s longtime distributor for Woody Allen’s movies, vehemently defended the director in an editorial for the French weekly news magazine Le Point.
“I have been shocked by the wave of hate provoked by the Woody Allen affair, particularly in the United States and on the social networks, and by the lack of rigor by certain media outlets and the pack which condemns without looking into the full facts,”Célérier wrote.“That is the approach I have decided to take. Simply to get to the bottom of the truth, to understand whether I’ve been working closely with a pedophile all these years.”
“This affair makes me think of the case of the Witches of Salem which Arthur Miller used so expertly in his play [‘The Crucible‘] as an allegory for McCarthyism,” wrote Célérier.
“It seems clear to me that Woody Allen should not be classified in the same category as the sexual predators recently denounced by Hollywood and end his days as a pariah whose work should be burned.”
I posted a rant on Facebook a few months ago now:
"Disgusting, bullshit...McCarthyism...people crumbling and turning out of fear...mass public shaming....this is a disgraceful moment. Will Woody get hounded out of moviemaking? I don't know. I hope not. That would honestly crush my heart. I mean, I feel there are European financiers that would fund him. People know that Mia is a brainwasher who abused her kids. But they CAN'T SAY THAT Because that would be BLAMING THE VICTIM. I think we are fucked. The more times Trump does something like "shithole"...all white males pay. You can protest Trump 24 hours a day...you will still pay."
It's complicated today, impossible even, to stand-up for Woody Allen’s innocence. Now Cate Blanchett has had to chime in as she was a guest on CNN’s “Amanpour,” where the host, Christiane Amanpour asked her about Woody.
“How do you juxtapose being a #MeToo proponent, a Time’s Up proponent, and staying silent or having worked with Woody Allen?” Amanpour asked.
“I don’t think I’ve stayed silent at all. At the time that I worked with Woody Allen, I knew nothing of the allegations,” Blanchett responded. “At the time, I said it’s a very painful and complicated situation for the family, which I hope they have the ability to resolve.”
“If these allegations need to be reexamined which, in my understanding, they’ve been through court, then I’m a big believer in the justice system and setting legal precedents. If the case needs to be reopened, I am absolutely, wholeheartedly in support of that.”
“Social media is fantastic about raising the awareness of issues, but it’s not the judge and jury,” said the actress. “I feel that these things need to go into court, so if these abuses have happened, the person is prosecuted and so someone who is not in the shiny industry that I am can use that legal precedent to protect themselves. Always, in my industry or any other industry, they’re preyed upon because they’re vulnerable.”
Something tells me this is a a defense of Woody. The politically correct way to defend him. I'm sure Blanchett would like to say a few more things, but given the Robespierre mobs on social media, she can't.
From HE:
The Vulture guys ran a real Robespierre headline a couple of hours ago, to wit:
“Blanchett Says She Didn’t Know About Allegations Against Woody Allen Before Blue Jasmine.” That is not the gist of what she said to Amanpour, assholes. That is a fragment of what she said. This is one of most full-of-shit, deliberately misleading headlines I’ve read in a long while. The author of the Vulture story is Hunter Harris.
