Thanks to my colleague Jeff Welles over at Hollywood-Elsewhere for this Variety interview with Cannes Film Festival jury president Cate Blanchett. They really wanted Blanchett to elaborate on the comments she made in a CNN interview with Christiane Amanpour on 3.21.18, in which she suggested Woody Allen is innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. I mean, she's not wrong, and in fact Allen has already been found not guilty of the allegations from former wife Mia Farrow that he abused their younger daughter Dylan back in 1992.
And so, Eller asked Blanchett, “Would you ever work again with Weinstein or Allen." Blanchett's response is cordial, informative and rather honest as to how she or, anybody really, should perceive a few of the #MeToo cases. It's elegantly stated and gets to the core of the issue.
I won't start listing the names of those I believe to be innocent, and I do feel like 95% of the sexual harassment stories we've heard since the movement started, have been unequivocally true, but how about the other 5%, those that have had their careers ruined (Aziz Ansari, Al Franken) and should be known as the "casualties" that stood for the betterment of advancing feminism.
I won't start listing the names of those I believe to be innocent, and I do feel like 95% of the sexual harassment stories we've heard since the movement started, have been unequivocally true, but how about the other 5%, those that have had their careers ruined (Aziz Ansari, Al Franken) and should be known as the "casualties" that stood for the betterment of advancing feminism.
Of note:
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.
Bardem's defense of the director comes after celebrities such as Cate Blanchett, Diane Keaton and Alec Baldwin refused to adhere to mob-fandom and condemn Allen, a director they've all worked with in past films. I assume they have read enough about the case to raise their own conspicuous doubts. If you are the kind of person that is open-minded and would rather inform his or herself rather than be lazy and just trust fake news, then, please, by all means, read Robert Weide's excellent dissections of Allen vs Farrow which were posted on 12.13.17, 5.30.16, and, most recently, 1.14.18.
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.
Bardem's defense of the director comes after celebrities such as Cate Blanchett, Diane Keaton and Alec Baldwin refused to adhere to mob-fandom and condemn Allen, a director they've all worked with in past films. I assume they have read enough about the case to raise their own conspicuous doubts. If you are the kind of person that is open-minded and would rather inform his or herself rather than be lazy and just trust fake news, then, please, by all means, read Robert Weide's excellent dissections of Allen vs Farrow which were posted on 12.13.17, 5.30.16, and, most recently, 1.14.18.