It’s seems like a weird thing to say, but the whole Woody Allen thing – where actors who have worked on Woody’s past films are now coming out to slam him – has made me realize how few Woody Allen films I’ve actually seen. I saw Vicky Cristina Barcelona, I saw Match Point, I saw the Cate Blanchett one, I saw Midnight in Paris. But those are the only ones I’ve seen from his once-a-year releases from the past 15 years. There were so many that came and went and were promptly forgotten, like Cassandra’s Dream, starring Ewan McGregor, Colin Farrell and Hayley Atwell in what would be her first real film (she had only done TV work before then). I’ve never seen it, so I have no idea if there was anything memorable about it or the performances. Cassandra’s Dream happened in 2007, when Hayley was 25 years old. Hayley was asked about Time’s Up, Me Too and Woody Allen in a new interview with The Guardian:
The Guardian: What do the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements mean to you?
Atwell: For me, it’s about better representation and treatment across all industries. This past year, the conversation has been blasted open in quite an exciting way. It carries a lot of grief, rage, frustration and fear but could lead to deep cultural change. What’s brilliant is the solidarity of the women speaking out. It’s created a new vocabulary. I feel galvanised by it. I’ve always been outspoken but this movement has created a quiet confidence that we can call things out when they’re not OK – not just sexual harassment but any abuse of power.The Guardian: You worked with Woody Allen just over a decade ago. How was that experience?
Atwell: I haven’t spoken about this before. It was my first film and I didn’t feel directed by him at all. I didn’t have any kind of relationship with him. And that was fine but bizarre. It was a great opportunity, so I did the best I could and left. I didn’t know back then what I know now. Would I work with him now? No. And I stand in solidarity with his daughter and offer an apology to her if my contribution to his work has caused her suffering or made her feel dismissed in any way. It’s exciting that I can say this now and I’m not going to be blacklisted.
Later in the interview, she notes that she worked with Ewan McGregor in one of her films out this year, and she says, “Ewan was in the Woody Allen film too, so it was a bit of a reunion.” It’s just a reminder that Ewan probably won’t get any questions about working with Woody. While I want men and women to get asked the same questions about Woody, as this thing goes on and on, I’m actually wondering if an argument can be made that we just need to stop blaming the actors – or JUST the actresses – for what Woody Allen has done.
As for what she says… it feels like she’s saying that her work with Woody Allen barely counts because he barely even spoke to her or gave her any notes. Which is not a great argument? But this is fine: “Would I work with him now? No. And I stand in solidarity with his daughter and offer an apology to her if my contribution to his work has caused her suffering or made her feel dismissed in any way.” So many actresses are saying variations of that line, it makes me wonder if the same publicist has worked out the riddle of what actors need to say and the publicist sent out a memo.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
“As for what she says… it feels like she’s saying that her work with Woody Allen barely counts because he barely even spoke to her or gave her any notes. Which is not a great argument?”
I didn’t get the sense from reading that. Since she’s offering a full-on apology and admitting her work may have caused suffering to Dylan Farrow, I don’t think she’s discounting the fact that she is culpable for working with him.
I thought maybe she was simply indicating that she didn’t like him as a director much. There might be some actors who genuinely didn’t like working with him (she and Marion Cotillard?) even as they also admit their culpability for working with him in the first place. The actors who praise him the most as a director are usually the ones lobbying for nominations. Perhaps there are actors out there who like the general public think he’s overrated as a director. (Until recently I thought I had to pretend to like Woody Allen films because I never fully understood why his work was loved so much. I don’t think his films are the worst thing I’ve ever seen, but I also didn’t get why it was terrible to say you didn’t like his films THAT MUCH either.)
I didn’t take it that way either, I think she was just trying to give her experience and role in the film some context.
While I wish the media would stop trying to square off with actors who worked with Woody, instead with Woody himself, I’m fed up with the “I-didn’t-know” lines. He married Soon-Yi in 1997. The story was everywhere for years. That didn’t make you wonder about his character? Not in the slightest?
That’s been sticky for me for years, too. He was a FATHER-FIGURE to his WIFE. That’s twisted. I don’t care how it approach it; it’s icky.
Hayley Atwell was a teenager in 1997. It is unlikely that she paid attention to Allen’s personal life. The stories may have been out there for years but many people didn’t pay attention until recently.
I could be wrong , but I think when Atwell says ‘I didn’t know then what I know now’, I don’t interpret that to mean, about Allen’s relationship with Soon-Yi, or the child abuse allegations. I interpreted it to be about Atwell’s expectations of working with a film director. It was her first film, she didn’t feel ‘directed’ by him, but she was inexperienced and didn’t know what to expect, so she just did what she could. It implies that she has worked with better directors since, and now realises Allen is not all that. It’s subtle shade, but significant in being the polar opposite of someone like Kate Winslet’s so-over-the-top-it’s-unbelievable praise.
I haven’t read the full interview, but it seems like Hayley is not making any excuses for taking the job. She’s simply grateful she wouldn’t feeling pressured to make the same decision again, not only because she is more established, but because the tide is finally turning against Woody Allen.
Again, I could be wrong, but that’s how it read to me.
I know she’s been around for years before that, but I’ve loved her ever since I saw her as Agent Carter. She seems to really care about all gender-related issues. And I believe her when she says she didn’t know.
She was so good in an episode season 1 of Black mirror. One of my all time fave eps. And I’m bummed her legal show got cancelled!
It was the first episode of the season 2 and I agree, one of the best episodes!
I think the more interesting portion was “It’s exciting that I can say this now and I’m not going to be blacklisted.”
Very few people had enough clout to speak up, even if that is the way they felt.
Vocal and outspoken were not considered attractive qualities in a female star.
I love how clever she is, first subtly reminding people Mcgregor worked with Woody Allen too before, and no one is asking him (or most male actors who’ve worked with him) those questions. And the “It’s exciting that I can say this now and I’m not going to be blacklisted.” is why I think many people haven’t spoken up before.
P.S: I’m 23, I used to like some Woody allen movies (Love and Death, Take the money and run and Zelig), and I actually only found out about Soon-Yi and Dylan after the 2014 op-ed. Then I started to research what happened, but I truly had no idea before. So I don’t blame some of these younger people who’ve worked for him before Dylan’s letter came out.
Me too, I’m about a decade older, and I found out around the same time too.
It wasn’t talked about, really, at all, and I was focused on other things.
It was around then I found out about Polanski, about Weinstein rumours, and a few others.
Completely agree with both of you. I don’t really get the purpose of questioning an actress who worked Allen 7 years before the truth came out anyway, but she handled it perfectly.