Cate Blanchett has said that on the back of Harvey Weinstein’s conviction, the industry must move forward and ensure a new culture is established, particularly when it comes to parity.
“I think it’s about moving forward, and moving forward without repetition and with genuine progress,” Blanchett told Variety at the Berlinale Series Market on Wednesday, where she was discussing her new Australian series “Stateless” — one of eight series screening in the Berlin Film Festival’s TV sidebar.
“I don’t think anyone involved in the Weinstein case — and the myriad of cases not just in our industry but in every single industry, whether they are sexual or otherwise — no one is interested in vengeance, they’re interested in justice and genuine change.”
Blanchett said she had already seen tangible change in the film industry since the #MeToo movement was catapulted to the forefront of public discourse on inequality and female empowerment, two and a half years after widespread reports and accusations around Weinstein’s predatory behavior emerged in 2017.
“I think women in the film industry — and I use the film industry as an exemplar, not as an exception — have for far too long been separated from one another, and I’ve noticed a way in which some lines between women who are creating work have deepened — circling the wagons not in an exclusive sense but just being more open about roadblocks or difficulties or moments of failure.”
She added that the number of women working on film sets have risen dramatically from her early days in the business. She recalled being “one woman to 35 men. I’ve been doing this for 20 years — I’ve been the only woman in front of the camera or as a crewmember for 20 years.”
That has now changed, however. On more recent projects, such as the upcoming Hulu miniseries “Mrs. America” and ABC’s “Stateless,” there has been parity, she said.
“‘Stateless’ was kind of beyond parity,” added Tony Ayres, who created the series alongside Blanchett and Elisa McCredie.
Blanchett, who appeared in such Weinstein produced films as “The Aviator,” “Carol” and “The Shipping News,” previously confirmed to Variety that the disgraced producer had acted inappropriately with her. In the 2018 interview, Blanchett answered “Yes” when asked if Weinstein had ever sexually harassed her or was in any way inappropriate with her.
