Entertainment

Rachel Weisz says The Favourite is not about the Time’s Up movement

The star said the period drama-comedy was not about contemporary issues.
The star said the period drama-comedy was not about contemporary issues. The star said the period drama-comedy was not about contemporary issues.

Rachel Weisz has reminded audiences that The Favourite is not a film about the Time’s Up or Me Too movements.

The star claimed a Bafta for best supporting actress for her role as the lover of Queen Anne, in a cast which is female-led.

Weisz said that the success of The Favourite at time when the Me Too movement and Time’s Up campaign are prominent is just a “coincidence”, following the push to end harassment and inequality for women and minorities in the entertainment industry.

She added that The Favourite was in fact about women in power, and largely harassing each other.

EE British Academy Film Awards 2019 – Arrivals – London
EE British Academy Film Awards 2019 – Arrivals – London Rachel Weisz ahead of the ceremony ((Jonathan Brady/PA)

Speaking backstage at the film awards at the Royal Albert Hall, Weisz said: “I think it’s just a lovely coincidence.

“We have Time’s Up – women getting together. They don’t want to be harassed.

“This is a story about women that happened hundreds of years ago, in power, sometimes abusing each other. ”

Weisz paid tribute to her co-stars Emma Stone and Olivia Colman, saying they “definitely made my performance better”.

She added that it was easy to perform intimate scenes with her leading lady Olivia: “There no preparation for kissing someone, I don’t think. 

“No preparation, she’s just gorgeous.”