Kate Winslet in an interview discussing her new romance “Ammonite” said that taking the part made her rethink some of her previous roles, and she now regrets working with two once-venerated directors, Woody Allen and Roman Polanski.
Winslet told Vanity Fair Friday that the #MeToo movement and working with director Francis Lee on “Ammonite” made her more aware of how women are portrayed in films and that she wishes she had spoken up on previous projects throughout her career.
“It’s like, what the f— was I doing working with Woody Allen and Roman Polanski? It’s unbelievable to me now how those men were held in such high regard, so widely in the film industry and for as long as they were. It’s f–ing disgraceful,” she told Vanity Fair. “And I have to take responsibility for the fact that I worked with them both. I can’t turn back the clock. I’m grappling with those regrets but what do we have if we aren’t able to just be fucking truthful about all of it?”
Winslet starred in Allen’s 2017 film “Wonder Wheel” and in Polanski’s 2011 adaptation of the stage play “Carnage.”
Allen’s standing has fallen in the wake of the #MeToo movement when his daughter Dylan Farrow resurfaced accusations that he molested her in the early 1990s when she was 7 (Allen has repeatedly denied the accusations and has never been charged with a crime). Polanski was arrested and charged with raping a 13-year-old girl in 1977. After being imprisoned for 42 days and pleading guilty in a deal for time served and probation, Polanski learned that a judge was planning to go back on the plea deal. The director then fled the country to his native France before the sentencing and he has remained a fugitive since then, with extradition efforts unsuccessful. And he was expelled from AMPAS in 2018.
Winslet though reconsidered many moments in her career in light of “Ammonite,” in which she has a same-sex relationship with her co-star Saoirse Ronan. Winslet said that dating back to early roles in “Heavenly Creatures” and “Holy Smoke!” where she shared intimate scenes with a woman, she’s always been shocked that she’s been asked more questions about what it was like to kiss a girl.
“I have never been asked the same level of questions when I’ve been in equivalent scenes with a man,” Winslet said. “Out of all the questions that I could have been asked, that one always came about. Why? So it brought up new stuff for me, this whole experience. It made me feel a little bit mad at myself that maybe I haven’t taken enough responsibility for how I might have allowed a character to be portrayed in heterosexual relationships onscreen in the past.”
On “Ammonite” however, Winslet helped to choreograph intimate scenes she performed with Ronan, and she added that she wishes she had contributed in the past.
“I would sometimes walk into the room and [go along with directions] even if it was a little thing, like the director saying, “We’d like to have you two over there in the corner by the window because the light’s good,” yet the [setup] made my character look more feminine or look more lusted after or something,” she said. “[It should have been] me walking into the room and saying, “Hang on. No, I don’t want to sit in the fucking window. That’s stupid, stereotypical, make-the-woman-look-good-by-the-fucking-nice-flattering-light shit. I don’t want to do that. Can we find an alternative?”
“Ammonite” makes its premiere at TIFF this week. Read Winslet’s full interview with Vanity Fair here.
10 Buzziest Movies for Sale in Toronto, From Idris Elba's 'Concrete Cowboy' to Mark Wahlberg's 'Good Joe Bell' (Photos)
What the Cannes virtual marketplace proved earlier this year is that even without the in-person meetings, the red carpet galas and all the press hype, there's still room for a lucrative sales market surrounding these virtual events. While that's true of this year's Toronto International Film Festival, the hybrid physical and virtual fest is operating on a slimmed-down lineup of movies. And with Oscar eligibility requirements pushed back to 2021, there isn't the same need for all of these movies to make a splash. That said, we are looking forward to quite a bit at this year's TIFF, and so are buyers.
Halle Berry takes a beating as a washed-up MMA fighter looking to make her redemption fight in "Bruised," which is also Berry's directorial debut. The film is set in New Jersey and explores her fight to get back into shape and win back her child. It also stars Adan Canto and Sheila Atim.
Romulus Entertainment/Thunder Road Pictures
"Concrete Cowboy"
Idris Elba and "Stranger Things'" Caleb McLaughlin play father and son in this family drama from Ricky Staub that draws on the history of Black cowboys in its adaptation of a novel by Greg Neri. McLaughlin is a troubled teen who is sent to live with his quiet, absentee father and is taught to work at his father's stables. Jharrel Jerome, Byron Bowers, Lorraine Toussaint and Clifford "Method Man" Smith also co-star.
Lee Daniels Entertainment/Tucker Tooley Entertainment
"Good Joe Bell"
Mark Wahlberg is getting early hype for his performance based on a true story of a father who takes a cross-country trip to honor his son and educate people about the dangers of bullying. The movie flashes back to show Wahlberg's conflicted and grudging relationship with his son's homosexuality and how he grows, even as it becomes too late. "Monsters and Men" director Reinaldo Marcus Green directs the film from the writers of "Brokeback Mountain."
Endeavor Content
"I Care a Lot"
Rosamund Pike, Eiza González, Dianne West and Peter Dinklage star in this thriller about two women who use loopholes in the legal system to defraud elderly retirees of their family fortunes, only for them to end up angering a crime lord with their latest mark. J Blakeson wrote and directed the film.
Black Bear Pictures
"MLK/FBI"
This documentary from Oscar nominee Sam Pollard is based on recently unclassified FBI documents and examines the surveillance and harassment the FBI used against Martin Luther King Jr. over years, including how J. Edgar Hoover hoped to discredit him and break his spirit. The film includes a discussion of how filmmaking and historians should use official materials from the FBI and other sources and how those sources color history.
Field of Vision
"New Order"
Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco's film first played Venice and is a drama set amid a violent protest in Mexico City. The film draws on sociopolitical themes and the class divide to show how the wealthy unwittingly empower an encroaching military rule in their attempt to keep power.
The Match Factory
"Penguin Bloom"
Naomi Watts is said to give a stellar performance in this true story based on the life of Sam Bloom, a woman who suffered a traumatic accident who finds an inspiring road to recovery after befriending a magpie bird as her companion. Glendyn Ivin directs the film that also stars Andrew Lincoln, Jacki Weaver and Rachel House.
Getty Images
"Pieces of a Woman"
Hungarian filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó directs Shia LaBeouf and Vanessa Kirby in this film inspired by '70s character dramas about a couple expecting a child who winds up grieving over a tragedy in two different ways. Kirby steals the show, but the film also includes a stand-out moment from Ellen Burstyn as Kirby's mother.
BRON Studios
"Shadow in the Cloud"
As part of the Midnight Madness section, Chloe Grace Moretz in "Shadow in the Cloud" is like "Alien" on a WWII bomber. Moretz is a fighter pilot on a mission to carry a piece of classified information and is sequestered from her sexist male counterparts but soon discovers a mysterious presence that threatens the safety of everyone aboard. Roseanne Liang directs the film.
Four Knights Films
"The Water Man"
Another actor making their directorial debut, David Oyelowo's "The Water Man" is a mythical family film with an homage to the family movies of the 1980s. It's the story of a man who looks for a mystical creature with the secret to everlasting life in an effort to rescue his ailing mother. Oprah Winfrey executive produces the film that stars Oyelowo alongside Rosario Dawson, Lonnie Chavis, Amiah Miller, Alfred Molina and Maria Bello.
Photo Credit Karen Ballard
There are still some other movies playing as part of the festival that already have homes, including Chloé Zhao's "Nomadland" at Searchlight, Regina King's "One Night in Miami" at Amazon, the Kate Winslet-Saoirse Ronan drama "Ammonite" (pictured) at Neon, and Dawn Porter's documentary "The Way I See It" at Focus Features. Amazon Studios also recently acquired director Matthew Heineman's "The Boy From Medellín" about musician J Balvin.
Neon
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TIFF 2020: “Pieces of a Woman,” “The Water Man,” “I Care A Lot” and more are getting attention from buyers
What the Cannes virtual marketplace proved earlier this year is that even without the in-person meetings, the red carpet galas and all the press hype, there's still room for a lucrative sales market surrounding these virtual events. While that's true of this year's Toronto International Film Festival, the hybrid physical and virtual fest is operating on a slimmed-down lineup of movies. And with Oscar eligibility requirements pushed back to 2021, there isn't the same need for all of these movies to make a splash. That said, we are looking forward to quite a bit at this year's TIFF, and so are buyers.
Romulus Entertainment/Thunder Road Pictures
