The day before Woody Allen’s Café Society premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year, Ronan Farrow published a lengthy op-ed in the Hollywood Reporter. Farrow mostly took the press to task for ignoring the many controversies around Woody Allen, much like Bill Cosby’s serial rape and sexual abuse was swept under the rug for decades. Ronan’s op-ed had the desired effect: it gave reporters at Cannes an opening to question Woody and the actors of Café Society about Dylan Farrow’s allegations of abuse and molestation. Since Woody isn’t used to being asked direct questions about it, he came across poorly, let’s just say that. It was also difficult for the actors of Café Society to be questioned so directly about why they chose to work with Woody. It felt like a watershed moment in how the media handles Woody and the people who choose to work with Woody. It felt like actors were no longer going to get a pass for signing on to his films. So what do you make of this?
Woody Allen’s latest film, “Cafe Society,” hasn’t hit theaters yet, but the filmmaker is already moving on to his next project. Sources tell Variety that Kate Winslet is in final negotiations to star in Allen’s next movie, which will shoot this fall. Allen is writing, directing and producing the untitled pic, and like all his recent films, plot details are being heavily guarded.
As usual, Letty Aronson and Edward Walson will produce. The film hasn’t found a distributor yet, although Amazon seems to be a likely destination, given Allen’s recent relationship with the studio. Though Winslet’s career has spanned more than two decades, the actress has never worked with the auteur prior to this pic.
As I’ve documented before, I used to really adore Kate Winslet. She’s a spectacular actress, or she was spectacular at one time. But I’m really over her at this point. She didn’t deserve the Oscar nomination for Steve Jobs this year (she was the worst part of the film), she’s constantly saying stupid and offensive sh-t, and oh right, she worked with Roman Polanski several years ago and defended working with him too. So it seems pretty obvious that Winslet would want to work with Woody Allen. And you know that press tour is going to be messy as hell too.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
What a doofus she has become. Used to be my all time fav. This is just gross.
hey, no need for calling her that! *says the OFFICIAL doofus around here*
I kid, I kid…
but yeah, another actor/actress I can cross off my list.
Oops! Sorry – no offence meant. I couldn’t find the mot juste to describe her, so I fell back on this schoolyard gem.
Agreed. Such a self-centered and heartless thing to do. It would have been so great if she had come out with a public refusal to work with him.
I used to really, really love her too (Sense and Sensibility is my favorite movie), but over the last few years she’s become one of my least favorite actresses. Honestly, she’s one big eye roll at this point. I was just saying to someone that Emily Blunt has filled the space in my heart that Kate Winslet once held.
It’s my favourite movie, too!
I’ll have to give Emily a try; currently, the space in my heart for a kickass moviestar to love is a gaping hole.
Emily Blunt is awesome.
The best Emily Blunt primer begins with Devil Wears Prada followed by Edge of Tomorrow–two films that show Emily’s versatile talent as a comedic actress and a (FANTASTIC) action star.
Love “Sense and Sensibility” though I wanted to smack Marianne throughout the movie for her poor choice in a man. Yeah, I’m kind of over Kate Winslet.
Another USED to here. Just messy and her last few performances have been meh at best.
I feel like she’s too old to be in a Woody Allen film.
No judgement on her, but he does have a standard choice for younger women, and aren’t all of his movies very much in line with that pervy vibe?
She will probably play the “aging shrew” that the noble hero has to leave because he falls in love with an intelligent, deep 19 year old who despite the 40 year age gap just gets him.
Zapp nailed it.
BOO, Kate. Is Susan Sarandon really the only actress with the ovaries to call out this disgusting troll?
It’s funny because I used to associate him with Mia Farrow and Judy Davis, who were both well into their 30s and 40s when they worked with him (when he was younger as well), but he does seem to favor younger actresses these days.
She’s also been on stage with Roman Polanski, hugging and kissing him for the cameras, so I’m not exactly shocked that she would want to work with Woody Allen. Kate Winslet has no soul.
Another one crossed off the list.
Yeah she’s not all that. The more I read about her the less I like her. And then she went and married a guy named Rocknroll.
Who changed his name to Rocknroll – as we say in my country – wanker.
Me too. I’ve always felt she was disingenuous and she also comes across as incredibly self-absorbed.
I really think she wants another Oscar. Woody seems to be the path she is taking
I’m not a Kate fan.. so won’t be watching regardless of whom she works with
Kate has said she wants to be in the ranks of the EGOTs.
Heck if Allen, or satan, could direct her to a Grammy, she’ll be there.
Apparently, there are many actresses who would sell their souls to work with Woody Allen, always with an eye on a potential Oscar. So Kate is another sell-out. Congratulations on this wonderful opportunity to work with a pedophile, Kate. Just don’t take your daughter to the set!
Shame on you. They just don’t care, the woman has work with Polanski AND Allen.
Booooooooooo. I’m losing patience with these stars who join his films. Especially the one who in no way, shape or form need to.
^ This.
Exactly. She’s a top tier actress who surely still has her choice of roles. She doesn’t need him or Polanski.
I think she’s a very talented actress and I’ve like so much of her work, but I’m very disappointed with the choices she’s made in working with both of those terrible men.
I’m also REALLY disappointed with Amazon for giving Allen such a platform.
+ 1 Bye bye, Sense & Sensibility.
Always found her overrated and disingenuous. It doesn’t surprise me one bit she would want to work with Woody Allen. My question is, why is that old bat still making movies? How many more years do we have to endure his disgusting, sociopath views on the world around him, which is still him? Why can’t he be stopped at the source? Who is financing him? Didn’t most of his project tank?
Unfortunately, until his movies lose money at the box office, there will be Woody Allen movies. I mean, I’d love to see his disgusting ass retire, but I don’t know if that is going to happen anytime soon.
I second what most everyone else is saying. I used to love KW, but after the last few years, no more. This news just makes me sad.
Well she worked with Polanski after the allegations so not surprised at all.
Mia Farrow has supported Roman Polanski for years.
https://ronanfarrowletter.wordpress.com/2016/05/30/hard-questions-for-ronan-farrow-an-open-letter/
What has Mia Farrow got to do with this?
Weide is a Woody Allen apologist who seems to have made his life’s works calling into question the memories of a rape victim, so…
@corny they were not allegations. He was proven guilty and fled his punishment. He raped and sodomised and drugged a child.
What I make of this?
Never give someone for theory what they cannot do in practice.
Some celebs take their time to study up and wax poetic about whatever charity or social issue they can throw their image behind to appear compassionate or intelligent. Of course it’s easy to support something when it’s miles away and will never demand more exertion from you than a check or a spokesperson role.
This? This is when we see who puts their money where their mouth is a hen the issue is right at their feet. Funny how many of them have failed and are surprised we judge them for their hupocrisy.
Argh, edit button why do you fail me. Forgive the typos all.
It’s alright. I knew what you meant because of the context.
Thanks Dangles!
Love your comment!
Thanks Almond! Love all of yours!
These people just have no moral compass when it comes to their careers. I used to think Cate Blanchette was really special until she turned a blind eye to Allen’s predatory behaviour for the sake of a possible Oscar. I’ve never been that much of a Kate fan but this puts her in the dustbin with Blanchette for me. These people don’t seem to understand the reason the Allen’s the Polanski’s get away with it is because they ignore inconvenient truth’s out of self interest. It’s sickening in light of what these bastwards have done to young girls.
Remember the late 90s when the two K/Cates were the reigning queens of awesomeness? How far we have fallen.
They’ve gone down the plughole…
Note to self: don’t get old.
Cate Blanchett is the worst. She defended and worked with Allen, named her son after Polanski and the husband of her agent was convicted of child sex offenses.
Blimey, I didn’t know about her agent. Come on C/Kate…
Wow.
She did not. I don’t know why people got that Kimmel interview out of context. She was giving examples of the name
Also: Will never understand the guilty by association concept. She is not responsible for others actions. Regarding her agent husband case, foremost Robyn G. Is only her agent in OZ and represents a myriad of famous artists, not just her so why the hell should she be held accountable on it? Truly sometimes people’s lack of discernment baffles me.
I’ve been feeling like Cate and Kate just don’t care about other women, especially not young women, which is really sad because I totally looked up to them growing up.
Just zero empathy for what happened to Dylan Farrow in this case. And Dylan is 30, which means she probably grew up loving Marianne Dashwood and Rose.
WTF, Kate?!!
“I’ve been feeling like Cate and Kate just don’t care about other women”
They care about “appearing” to care. But the truth has a way of coming out.
Yep, Cate and Kate are both disappointments to me.
Ditto to the above. Woody Allen seems to get more acceptable to Hollywood as he ages out. Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett, Scarlet Johansen, Diane Keaton and others. I won’t see the Allen movie and am seriously disinclined to see any others they are in.
Oh.
A relative of mine has become rather friendly with her recently because they take their toddlers to the same group and got chatting. I took my relative’s little girl to play several times while she was there and found her completely lovely tbh. She was so sweet to all the kids and interested in what I was up to. Unlike many others, I also genuinely believe she’s not messed with her face much if at all- up close she’s got more lines than many 40-something’s I know.
Literally all this is now irrelevant because I find this choice so icky. Her career is surely still healthy enough that she doesn’t have to work with anyone. The parts can’t have dried up that quickly. Do agents/publicists never say ‘this is a terrible idea!’? Does nobody in Hollywood have any morals? Don’t answer that last part.
Not sure how I can bring this issue up if I ever run into her again. Apologies for the ramble, I just (stupidly) feel so disappointed because I’ve come to like her a lot in person.
She let the fame and her role as a critics’ darling get to her head. Much like Blake Lively (I can’t believe I’m writing this) she never struggled. She was successful very early on and her career never really hit a rough patch. There’s no reason for her to question herself or her decisions, they’ve all led her down a very successful path. She’s good at what she does and I enjoy her on screen but let’s just slap a #askherless sticker on her arm and move on.
Wow. How disappointing.
I’m disgusted.
Well she already worked with Roman Polanski, so what’s another sexual predator credit on her imdb page?
I’m guess she going to work with Bill Cosby and have a photo shoot with Uncle Terry next.
Yes, this is disappointing. First Polanski and now Allen. Let’s hope she doesn’t bring HER 15 year-old daughter, Mia, on set.
So gross. Crossing her off the list.
Is there anyone, anyone at all, who we know has been asked to work with him and refused? I need someone to restore my faith. I just found a recent interview with Isabelle Huppert (who I saw being spectacular in Phaedra last week and have adored forever) saying she’d love to work with him too so everyone is letting me down today.
Even if they have, they probably can’t/ain’t going to talk about it out of respect for the fellow actors/actresses who have taken on the parts they rejected. Isn’t that standard unwritten code?
ffs I’m extremely disappointed right now. Is an Oscar worth supporting filth like Woody Allen and Polanski?
Greaaaat, another round of interviews defending him, and knowing Kate, interviews that will somehow end in her talking about the size of her arse.
My cynicism has never allowed me to idolise any celebrity, so I’m not disappointed (or even surprised, really) in her morally-questionable choices, because when she took that job with Polanski, she was immediately struck off my Christmas card list. The same with Cate Blanchett, who as a local girl, is highly admired. And neither is ever, ever getting on my list again.
I hope Ronan Farrow and others like him never stop skewering Allen and his ilk.
Fight on, Ronan. Never go quiet. Never stop. Some things need to remain in the light of day.
Out of all of the actors and actresses that work with Allen. who, if any, allow their own children to be around him?
I would love it if journalists started asking that question!
Sigh. So gross and disappointing.
Besides the obvious gross factor, I don’t get why anyone would want to work with him. I don’t get why anyone is watching. It seems like he’s been remaking the same pedo justification fantasy with slight variations for the last 30 years.
Hear, hear.
I don’t understand it either. Perhaps because I never liked his films. Even the one or two I had seen I found them very meh. He’s grossly overhyped. I don’t understand why people would think working with him equals awards. Since when was the last time he won?
Yes so much this he makes the same movies over and over again he even said do himself. Then these movies get nominated for Oscar, he must have an in with the voters.
That’s my thing–his films always follow the same formulas. I watched a few and then read the wiki entries for the rest of them–the majority of his films follow the same formula……….older woman=nagging shrew, that nubile hero must get away from (whether or not he’s actually attractive or not), to someone else i.e. a younger woman. Even when there aren’t huge age disparities…….in Midnight in Paris, that was the extent of Rachel McAdams character. Nagging, cheating shrew.
After one or two films, yea, it’s okay……but that is basically his films in a nutshell. Even Vicky Christina Barcelona………
The only film of his I’ve ever truly loved is Midnight in Paris. But after all this resurfaced, and I learned way more about him and his actions than I knew before, I’ve refused to ever watch another film of his.
His record for getting actresses Oscar noms and wins is outstanding.
I can see why actresses, especially actresses looking for their first nomination, would want to work with him. It’s a career boost, even if they’re in one of his crappier films.
His male roles are rubbish though, and rarely result in any kind of critical praise. I don’t get why Cate, Scarlett, Blake etc. are raked over the coals for working with him, but no one says anything about Colin Firth, Steve Carrell, Corey Stoll, Jesse Eisenberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Louie C.K, Bobby Cannavale, Owen Wilson, Tom Hiddleston, Michael Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Hugh Jackman, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Colin Farrell etc. At worst there’s some grumbling about age appropriate-ness, but no one says they’re going to avoid their other movies or questions their morals. Steve Carrell was at Cannes too, with a much bigger role than Blake, but did he get asked about Allen being a pedophile? No.
I actually do have a bit of a problem with this. The men of his films NEVER seem to be called into question over this issue and they all should be really. I didn’t even realise Steve Carrell was at Cannes because nobody asked him for his view- unless he refused all interviews but I can’t find mention of that either.
@ PEPPER- Steve Carell has been in TWO Woody Allen movies-
“Melinda and Melinda” and of course “Cafe Society”.
So heartbroken that he’s in CS and refuse to see it. He’s certainly old enough to remember the original accusations; unlike M&M his career is great, he’s been nominated for an Oscar, and dammit, he had a CHOICE. WTF?!?
He has a pre-teen daughter whom he seems to love very much…again, Steve, WTF?!?!?!
As for Cannes, was he even there? I looked but didn’t see him in any pictures. His mother died on Mother’s Day, so he may have not been there. I would have LOVED to see him asked awkward questions…
Well, score another point for the pedophile child molester.
Gross.
I clicked on the article about her loving Roman Polanski and now no longer like John C. Reilly and Christoph Waltz. They worshipped Polanski apparently. Ugh.
I feel that all the actresses get called out and the actors not so much. Yes, Scarlett worked with him but so did Hugh Jackman (which kills me because I love him).
And so did Colin Farrell, Chiwetel Ejiofor,Ewan Mc Gregor, years after the split with Farrow, the well documented Soon Yi scandal and the drama surrounding Dylan’s custody.
Mc Gregor again, also worked with Polanski. Same for Pierce Brosnan. For some reason, all these men remain absolutely unscathed, any post about them and it’s only swooning and drooling comments.
What is the justification- from the actors’ view- for working with him then?
Is it a matter of they think he is surely innocent or else charges would have been brought forth?
No don’t tell me that Manta! Chiwetal?? 🙁
So… does she WANT to kill her career prematurely?
Because the way I see it, Ronan Farrow and his siblings are getting stronger and bolder in the way they are pushing for the media to be critical of Woody Allen. So when Kate Winslet’s movie with him comes out, you can be sure there will be more questions aimed at her than at Cate Blanchett or Kristen Stewart.
1. She’s older so she’s assumed to know better than Kristen.
2. Cate was lucky enough that Woody’s pedo past came back into the media spotlight as she was campaigning for her Oscar. So people let her off the hook for choosing to work with him in the first place.
Kate Winslet won’t be able to skirt any questions. It’s been in the media too long, and people are too fed up.
She just came off a trilogy. She has enough money and connections (Richard Branson? Hello?!) at this point to fund her own projects. The hell is she doing working with Woody Allen?
And just like that, another icon of my adolescence is relegated to ‘hate forever’. How glorious was she in Heavenly Creatures? I hate watching these people sell their souls so visibly.
Sigh, Heavenly Creatures was the BIG captivating film for me when I was younger. Sad to see how she’s turned up.
Of course she is. I used to really like her, but the last couple of years I just can’t stand her anymore.
would she let Woody babysit her little girl?
I still wait for the day that a brave journalist ask this to an actress working with woody, in a press conference
I dont even know what so good about woody allen movie. I cant stand his movie. I cant finish any of his movie even the critical acclaimed ones. I think something missing, monotone, boring, I dont know.. maybe I am just minority here
I remember the first woody Allen movie I saw: Celebrity, in college for film class. I’d never been a big film person until then but of course had always heard about Allen’s “genius” etc., so I was curious and excited to watch….then I watched the movie! It was TERRIBLE.
I was absolutely floored by how this asshole old man viewed himself, women, and the world around him. And I couldn’t imagine how anyone would identify with the mealy-mouthed creeper midlife crisis piece of shit who was the main character-which also ruined my crush on Kenneth Branagh. I actually asked my professor if I could opt out of writing a paper on it bc I was so disgusted. Sadly she didn’t let me…
Done. Finished. I don’t care what she does in the future I have no time for anyone who works and continues to support that scum bag.
Worked with Roman Polanski too. She really knows how to pick them, huh?
I wonder if she does a background check on the people she employees to watch her kids while she at work. Since she doesn’t seem to care about the company she keeps.
I think she was a very insecure person with a huge talent and little maturity, and she became hugely famous far too young and it’s pretty well ruined her. Her face just looks so hard and smug now. She just seems vain and self-important when interviewed. And it makes me really sad for her, and her family. Because I think she was that great, unaffected person originally, but hasn’t been for a long while. And you do wonder if she might have been happier, and saner, if she’d had to wait for serious levels of success until she was 30 or so.
In terms of relationships, though – I’m pretty sure her first ever was with a man in his late 20s when they met… when she was herself just 14 or 15 – and they started dating pretty much at once. She said they “kept it legal” which meant the relationship couldn’t include actual sex until 16 in this country – a fairly horrifying thing to need to say, with that sort of age gap in the equation. And he died of cancer when she was barely in her 20s. I suspect that may mean her radar on this stuff is out of kilter, because it would mean rethinking a huge part of her own early life, and someone who died when they were still very close and she was herself barely in her 20s. I agree it’s not a free pass, but the cognitive dissonence she must have around it all could well mess up her understanding of what abuse is.
That’s a really interesting point, K2. That could definitely warp her willingness to understand.
She has always been very overrated, except with her perfect Aussie accent.
Hmm, it’s amazing actors still think it’s worth it to work for this pervert just to put it on their resume or get an Oscar nomination. He’s pretty much past his prime, so it’s very unlikely they’ll be making Annie Hall again – so really the cost-benefit analysis doesn’t seem to work in their favor.