The perfect comeback would have been, "No, we start at the crotch with the guys."

I think the article is way removed from reality.

Listening to the full interview is seems that Cate was simply playing with the cameraman and having a bit of fun with him.

In other words, she was doing what celebs do - something to stand out. Good for her!

Just imagine the disappointment most of the women stars would have if NO one asked them about their dresses. I also could not imagine a red carpet reporter asking; "So, George, who designed your tux?"

there is a difference BTW a full length shot to establish a dress... and a full length leer where the cameraman, in tight cropping, slides up her body... which is what was done.

The move from having established camera positions that allow the full shot and then the zoom to face, has been replaced by much more intrusive camera moves with smaller and smaller cameras, causing a claustrophobic effect... I can imagine it's not a favorite thing for people. Having them close also necessitates the use of wide angle lens lengths, that distort the view given.

Sexism? I dunno... do the guy celebs feel dejected that not one damn is given about what they wear? They are in this business to be seen too...

oh, wait... that wasn't the sexism they were talking about, was it?

Meh, as long as Cate can play with it... I think it's all good for her, I dunno that there is anything baked in about all this, other than the vaguries of having a bunch camera ops in a small space, and not being able to take the long shot. When in the Ops. ear they are saying, "make sure you get the whole dress..." that's what happened.

Those yelling on puffpost about this prolly don't think about the tens of thousands that go into a dress/stylist/hair so forth that is worn to these sorts of things, and how the publicists tweak things to get exposure.

NOT being seen on the red carpet, would be failure... and who is running that, Teh Patriarchy™ ? We ain't gonna buy those dresses, nor do we care about designers... nice legs, sure. Tempest in a teacup.

wtf do I know, but it seemed the camera "leer" was initiated by the interviewer with her downward hand gesture which was then reciprocated by Blanchett who also gestured down and looked down.

I think the natural inclination of the viewer and camera man is wondering what the fuck these two were looking at.

So the camera focuses in so we can see the details and scans up at which point Blanchett goes ballistic.

My guess is this was a routine, and rehearsed zoom and pan by the producers in order to show off the very expensive gowns.

I don't think Blanchett was "playing" with it. I think she was being an asshole and that her interviewer was then able to add a few joking remarks.

I am feeling grouchy and old and misogynistic today so I'll just say if you are standing on a red carpet in front of a glam cam wearing a very expensive designer gown and you let your interviewer call you a fashionista and you complain that a cameraman scans down to focus in on your dress and make it out as some horrible bit of sexism than you are either stupid or a hypocritical and likely best characterized as yet another idiot media whore.

Deer Ms. Blanchett

Perhaps you should try wearing one of these to your next red carpet shindig. You'll still get press, as you'd be one of the first to wear such fashion in such a location.

But it won't because you're letting your vajayjay hang out. Because if you do, we'll look. It's in our nature.

Cameramen are notorious for scoping out elves and ignoring dwarves and hobbits.

A-list actresses like her wear $30K pieces of floor-length couture with $2K shoes to these things. Million-dollar necklaces. Clutches encrusted with gems. They train and cleanse and get exfoliated with sand blasters and made up with air brushes so they are perfect from every angle. It is massive PR for them and every designer they wear. Blanchett is a notorious participant who seeks out avant garde designers.

This is why there's "mani cam" and the "360 fashion view" pedestal. (The latter is for both sexes.)

I personally found the camera swoop to be reasonable. Maybe it feels worse in the moment when it's happening to you. Maybe she felt it was pointed straight at her crotch, which could trigger uncomfortable feelings.

I don't see how evolution is an argument for OR against what happened here. There are plenty of predilections we have as the result of evolution, but many of them are considered socially offensive to display. If the camera was shoved down actresses' cleavage it would be consistent with universal male desires, but we would all agree it had crossed the line. Explanation and justification are not the same thing.

Again, I think Blanchett probably overreacted, but the evolution point seems like a stretch. She's there as a staggeringly expensive work of art, wearing a staggeringly expensive work of art. For that reason, and because she's a veteran on the scene, she should expect the camera to rove.

I'm getting pretty tired of women benefiting from "subtle sexism" (or blatant sexism) and then complaining about it.

While Cate is not known for "taking her kit off" like Helen Mirren or Kate Winslet, and isn't really considered a sex-pot, her reproductive fitness underlies her beauty.

Cate could certainly have a plastic surgeon make her plain, or even ugly, and give back all the money she's made being an object. But she won't. So, shut up, Cate Winslet?

Ms. Blanchett can rest assured that this particular male will not trouble himself to look at a photo or video of her ever again. Problem solved.

Err....Cate Blanchett. Whatever.

Alanna Vagianos is barely out of school, has little or no actual reporting experience. Another example of HuffPo hiring people who have no idea what they're supposed to do. Blanchett is teasing the cameraman, whom she might recognize from other red carpet coverage.

I don't think I've seen a movie she's been in yet. I'll probably see her when I eventually watch the Hobbit.

Anymore I usually don't care about anyone I see on screen of any kind. It just isn't worth my time to invest in the waste of humanity that makes up most of Hollywood.

This has gotten steadily worse over the years and the hypocrisy shown by the Demand a Plan video pretty much solidified it.

So Hollywood and the PC movement can pretty much go fuck themselves.

Jim P. Cate was pretty damn good in this movie, all the actors were.

JimP:

Having met a number of actors at DragonCon, I cannot be as contemptuous of them as you appear. Like most Americans with time-consuming jobs, they are as likely to have an incomplete picture of American civic duties as does anyone else, but I find them to be generally hard-working, sincere individuals.

They have undue influence due to the American public hunger for celebrity and the fora in which they work. You're wasting your time. You may as well hate the mechanic for getting better deals on car parts, or bankers for knowing what to do with money.

You're wasting your time. You may as well hate the mechanic for getting better deals on car parts, or bankers for knowing what to do with money. -- Radwaste at January 25, 2014 8:12 AM

Well considering the latest fun of Weinstein and Streep are proposing as total fucking hypocrites.

Then add in the Friends of Abe investigation the the rest of Hollywood has not said a word about.

Considering that I look more and more at the entertainment people as the Sixth leg in the progressive propaganda machine.

I don't actively hate them. I just don't really want hear a single word out of them on politics because they are so disconnected from reality. Same for taking health care advice from Jenny McCarthy.