Cultural Lane

I haven’t stayed silent at all: Cate

Cate Blanchett has addressed the allegations aimed at Woody Allen, claiming she knew nothing of them when they worked together. The actor won a best actress Oscar for her part in the film-maker’s 2013 comedy drama Blue Jasmine and is the latest star to talk about the claims of sexual abuse leveled at him.

While appearing on CNN’s Amanpour, host Christiane Amanpour asked her how she could juxtapose being a #MeToo proponent with staying silent about working with Allen. “I don’t think I’ve stayed silent at all,” Blanchett said. “At the time that I worked with Woody Allen, I knew nothing of the allegations. At the time, I said it’s a very painful and complicated situation for the family, which I hope they have the ability to resolve.”

Allen’s daughter Dylan Farrow has accused him of molesting her when she was a child, something that Allen denies. Despite a state’s attorney saying he had “probable cause” to prosecute Allen was never put on trial, a move intended to spare Dylan Farrow the trauma of a court appearance.

Blanchett also talked about the importance of the justice system. “If these allegations need to be re-examined which, in my understanding, they’ve been through court, then I’m a big believer in the justice system and setting legal precedents,” she said. “If the case needs to be reopened, I am absolutely, wholeheartedly in support of that.” She also stressed that social media shouldn’t be seen as the “judge and jury” when it comes to these cases.

Teenagers’ most wanted game is...

A year ago, no one had heard of Fortnite, the online shooter game in which 100 players fight it out to be the last person standing. Now it is the biggest video game in the world, with an obsessive fanbase among schoolchildren and teenagers. Previously only available on consoles and PC, last week an iPhone version was given a limited release — and within hours it topped the iTunes chart in 13 countries. According to the market research firm Sensor Tower it made $1.5m (£1m) in revenue for Epic Games, its developer, in its first three days. This in spite of the fact that access is via email invite only; and the game is free to download. The revenue comes from cosmetic in-game purchases — people are paying for their character to wear different outfits.This comes as no surprise to anyone who has followed the meteoric rise of the game since Epic redesigned what was previously a cooperative survival adventure, and made it free to download. In February, the PC, PlayStation and Xbox versions made a combined $126m in revenue, according to the research company SuperData. At any one time, there are 3.4 million people playing online, putting it among hugely established titles such as Counter Strike, Dota 2 and the very similar PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, a game Epic was accused of copying.

What is gaining most attention, though, is how popular the game is with children. Parents are venting their concerns on Facebook and Twitter, with one mother stating: “[It’s the] only game my boys and their friends play. Fifa is forgotten all of a sudden as well as Call of Duty for the older ones.”  

Pay gap: The Crown producers sorry

Left Bank Pictures, the producers of The Crown, have apologised to Matt Smith and Claire Foy after it was revealed Smith was paid more than Foy for his part in the Netflix show. In a statement the company said “the actors are not aware of who gets what, and cannot be held personally responsible for the pay of their colleagues”. The statement was released after it emerged that Smith was paid more than Foy, even though he had a supporting role, and after a petition was started which called for Smith and Netflix to donate part of his salary from the show to Time’s Up legal fund. Left Bank Pictures added they are “keen to talk to Time’s Up UK” and are speaking with gender equality advocacy group ERA 50:50.

The petition, which was started on the Silicon Valley based petition site Care2, was introduced with the line: “You know gender pay gaps are a problem when even the Queen isn’t paid fairly.” It calls for Netflix and Smith to “make up for this sexist pay gap by donating the difference in their paycheques to the Time’s Up legal defence fund for sexual harassment and abuse victims.”