Fresh from her oft-quoted Cinderella press tour (Reporters, remember: The two-time Academy Award winner is not
interested in discussing cats with you) Hollywood powerhouse Cate Blanchett tells Australian Vogue that the increasing success of older women in Hollywood comes not from the
studios, reports The Sydney Morning
Herald, but rather from the amount of women who, simply put, watch movies.
The Australian actress was
interviewed for the fashion magazine’s April issue by New York-based Australian author Anna Funder, who
queried: "Tina Fey wrote in Bossypants that any woman in
Hollywood who's no longer considered f---able is ignored. In the era of Judi
Dench and Meryl Streep and other actresses we love, can this really be true, or
are they exceptions?"
“Female audiences are driving
the change, I think,” the
openly outspoken Blanchett replied. "Women don't stop consuming cultural
product once they stop menstruating."
As for the
Hollywood gender pay gap famously revealed by leaked Sony emails,
Blanchett most certainly did not feel that revelation should have come as a shock to
anyone: "People
were surprised? There are countless industries around the world where women in
top positions are not equally remunerated for equal work."
Considering
the recent Institute
for Women's Policy Research study findings that American women won't see equal
pay until 2058,
Blanchett’s comments are intelligent and pragmatic. And coming from the woman
who used her short time on stage accepting the Best Actress statue at the
2014 Academy Awards to callout the fact that movies about women make money, audiences want to see them and more
of them should get made, this comes as no surprise.