14 DAY TRIAL // Press junkets aren’t even half as fun as they appear to be; as Cate Blanchett said during a recent “Cinderella” junket, a good comparison would be to speed dating, only slower. That means that the actors taking part in them have to be on their toes at all times, always ready to be gracious even to those interviewers who cross the line.
Jonathan Hyla of Australia’s The Project seems to do just that in a video that has gone viral and which has been picked up by major media outlets under the headline “Cate Blanchett loses her cool with annoying reporter.”
You can see the video in question below. Let’s just start this by saying that it’s not what it seems to be.
Cate Blanchett, the queen of banter
From the moment Jonathan Hyla entered the room and introduced himself to the Oscar winner, she seemed ready for a good banter, which is exactly what she gave him.
The full interview, which you will find right under the video with the segment that has gone viral, shows that she and Jonathan had a hilarious exchange that focused on anything but the film. Even though Hyla says they never met, chances are they at least knew of each other, or else this would have really turned awkward.
The bottom line is that the segment that’s now viral, which seems to show Cate losing her cool and kicking out a reporter from the junket because he keeps asking her awful questions, is dependent on context.
And the context shows that she actually had a very good time, that she was up for the game and that she not once took offense with anything that was said. Considering how repetitive questions tend to become during junkets, this probably felt like a breath of fresh air.
Not everything is scandalous
This wouldn’t be the first time that an interview from a press junket goes viral because it seems as if the celebrity in it is losing their temper.
However, in most cases, the full video revealed that they were actually in on the joke, and were passing the time pleasantly having a laugh with a reporter that was looking to get more than a decent soundbite about the movie.
Perhaps the only exception to that was Jesse Eisenberg, who was very rude with a female reporter back in 2013 while promoting “Now You See Me,” when he realized how unprepared she’d come for the chat.
Cate, on the other hand, was amazing as always - and also living proof that not everything celebrities do or say is scandalous. Enjoy!
For those misrepresenting my #CateBlanchett interview, here it is uncut https://t.co/xNtObSNgSh #IStillNeedKnowHowTheyGotThatCatOnALeash
— hyla (@hyla) March 26, 2015
Thanks to my new favorite person Cate Blanchett for what might have been the best worst interview I've ever done. #WhyDoTheyLetMeInterviewOscarWinners #Vodka #Sex #HighFive #Cinderella @TheProjectTV. Full interview link in my bio. A video posted by hyla (@hyla) on Mar 25, 2015 at 1:42am PDT