Cate Blanchett Says ‘Carol’ Was ‘So Hard to Get Funded’ Because ‘No One Wanted to See’ a Film With ‘Two Women Falling in Love’
variety.comEthan Shanfeld Cate Blanchett touched down in Toronto for a wide-ranging talk about creative conflict on film sets, making big-budget films “risky,” and why her six-time Oscar-nominated film “Carol” struggled to find funding.
Blanchett, who is at TIFF supporting Alfonso Cuarón’s Apple TV+ show “Disclaimer” and Guy Maddin’s film “Rumours,” was welcomed at the Royal Alexandra Theatre with a standing ovation after fans lined up early to acquire rush tickets to the event.
Early in the conversation, Blanchett talked about her love for performing theater in front of a live audience, leading her to address the “streamers out there” that don’t release viewership data. “We want the numbers,” Blanchett said (though she didn’t specifically name-drop “Disclaimer” maker Apple, which, like most streamers, tends to shield its audience metrics). “Not so we know how much money is being made, but we want to know how many eyeballs have been on things that we have made.
That’s greatly important.” Blanchett recalled performing live theater and hearing people leave the room midway through a monologue — the pflump of auditorium chairs snapping shut. “You look at the seats and you go, ‘OK, that was 70 pflumps.’ The next night, there’s 20 pflumps.
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