Cate BLanchett
By Paul Hegeman
Cate Blanchett completed six movies in the past two years and gave birth to her first son. So what’s driving her? She tells Paul Hegeman
IT IS difficult to find any actress more enchanting, complex and original in cinema these days than Australian Cate Blanchett. In the five years since she rose to world fame as the leading lady of the costume drama Elizabeth, she has come to guarantee quality and variety.
Whether playing the Queen of England (Elizabeth), a vapid girl (The Man Who Cried), a bank robber (Bandits), a clairvoyant (The Gift) or a Scottish war heroine (Charlotte Gray), she is always well cast.
But as much as her appeal is subtle and mysterious, her work ethic is down to earth — she goes at her career hammer and tongs. In between shooting six movies in the past two years, including two brief appearances in The Lord of the Rings and Shipping News, she managed to find the time to give birth to her first son Dashiell. She politely rejects any wonderment about such a wide radius of activity. “I just love flying on planes,” she says, “and for each of these movies I had to pack myself off to a new continent.
“In the plane I not only can leave everything behind me, but also concentrate really well. I read my scripts and catch up on correspondence.
“Also, I don’t experience a real division between work and private life. They blend into one another and feed off each other. If things go well you do not choose your vocation. Your talent develops naturally into a daily pastime.
“I, for example, fell in love with acting and, thank God, the love is mutual. In any case, I find it hard to say `no’ when I am drawn to a project. The past 18 months have been a bountiful time for me, getting to choose all these magnificent parts.
“The problem for a lot of people is that they cling to the illusion that they can control it all. The terrible obsession for total happiness at all times really wreaks havoc with many people.
“I don’t mind that my life is often a terrific mess. I just ended up taking my son along with me to the set of my new movie Veronica Guerin.”
Besides her preference for variety, Blanchett relies on what she calls her “tingles in her belly” when choosing parts.
“You mustn’t think too much,” she says. “To me it is a game, and the trick is to not get too fearful or panicky, no matter what. There is only one real criterion: I want to work with people I admire.
“I agreed to do Galadriel, the elf in Lord of the Rings, solely because I wanted to meet the director, Peter Jackson. Until the shoot I had been unaware of the impact the saga was having worldwide and the attendant pressure on us actors.
“My collaboration with Billy Bob Thornton was for the same reason. Billy Bob and I are like brother and sister. It was fantastic to act with him in Bandits, and through him (Thornton also wrote the script) I also got the part in The Gift.”
Blanchett’s hair, which undergoes a transformation in each movie — the latest surprise was a bald head for her most recent movie Heaven — is now platinum blonde.
“Believe me, it is not really this blonde. Joel Schumacher asked me to dye it for my part as Irish crime reporter Veronica Guerin,” Blanchett says.
She laughs her contagious laugh, showing her gums, something that was seen as an obstacle to leading-lady status when her career began.
“And that told me right then,” she says, “how small-minded the movie world can be.”
She does agree that the choice of the right haircut can help her develop a character.
“Yes, a physical detail can be of immense value that way, like in The Man Who Cried, where I, as superficial as it may sound, used the lipstick as my starting point.
“A specific outward appearance can help, but the essence of a part comes from here,” she says, gesturing from her forehead to her stomach. “One shouldn’t emphasise the outward appearance too much in acting. I like it when things are not overstated, but touched upon lightly.
“That goes for content, too. I hate it when a movie really milks some father complex or an incestuous relationship. The characters should give up their mysteries bit by bit, not all at once, leaving them exposed throughout the rest of the movie.”
A large part of Blanchett’s mystery can be attributed to her chameleonlike qualities. It is impossible to predict what she will look like next.
According to the books, she has reddish blonde hair, a pale complexion, a large expressive mouth and prominent cheekbones. But she manages to look completely different in each movie.
As Anthony Minghella, who directed her in The Talented Mr Ripley and was executive producer for Heaven, says: “In Ripley, she looks like she has a weak, timid face, with no cheekbones.
“And then you see her in Heaven and wonder where that woman went. Her face suddenly shows an intensity and rigidity, as if every bone has a steel pin in it; like she has a new face — very impressive.” And Minghella has not even mentioned her voice. Blanchett is renowned for the ease with which she adopts various new accents, be it Oxford English, Russian or a Southern lilt.
“Through lots of practice and no smoking,” she says, “I am able to use my voice like an instrument. It not only matters from which country or region your character comes, the tone or sub-register is also important.
“Some actors use a personal trainer to keep up their physical condition; I do vocal stretches.”
All these linguistic gymnastics have made it impossible to guess where the actress is originally from.
“A lot of people think I am British. I don’t mind, because I love England and enjoy working there, but that doesn’t make me any less proud of the fact that I am Australian.”
CATHERINA Blanchett was born in 1969 in Melbourne, the daughter of an American father and Australian mother. Although her childhood was marred by the early death of her father, she has fond memories of all the girlish fantasies she enjoyed as a child.
“Once I read Shogun, I spent years fantasising that I was in Japan and I played detective games with a friend in the street,” Blanchett says.
“We were constantly solving mysteries. We would inspect peoples’ driveways, make notes and check if the dumped mattress was really taken away.”
Acting was not her greatest ambition, despite the fact her mother put her in acting classes and everyone told her she was a born actress.
“I was too introverted and not exactly brimming with self-confidence. And being rebellious as I was, I decided to study economics,” she says.
However she ended up enrolling at Sydney’s National Institute of Dramatic Art after a false start at university. She quickly made a name for herself in theatre and then ventured into movies.
The world discovered her in Paradise Road (1997) and director Shekhar Kapur decided, after seeing her in the reel of Oscar and Lucinda, directed by fellow Australian Gillian Armstrong, to entrust her with the title role in his movie Elizabeth.
Elizabeth highlighted her ability to ignite a fire in a character that keeps smouldering long after the movie has ended. She received a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for it.
After that, the road to Hollywood lay wide open to her. The young Australian decided differently though, in the same way as she does everything, to avoid the glitter and glamour of her profession, except for showing up in extravagant outfits at prestigious award ceremonies.
In The Gift she wears baggy woollen cardigans and faded grey leggings.
“In Charlotte Gray I also look terrible at times,” she says. “I am an actress, not a movie star.
“Nor is it intentional to show what a good actor I am. That would be even more narcissistic. I am just doing my job. But I am vain enough,” she smiles prettily, “after all the movies the critics loved, but nearly no one saw, I am now being recognised everywhere thanks to my 15 minutes as Galadriel in Lord of the Rings, and I quite enjoy it.
“I have nothing against entertainment, as long as it asks a pertinent question or two in passing.
“Pure popcorn cinema is not for me. I think I can put it this way: My ideal movie asks more questions that it answers.”
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Susan Lendroth from The Planetary Society writes: John Rhys-Davies, Gimli the dwarf, will make a one-time only appearance on stage in Pasadena, California on September 22 as the famous astronomer Galileo Galilei in “An Evening with Galileo and His Daughter.”
A benefit for the non-profit organization, The Planetary Society, the reading is based on Dava Sobel’s best-selling book, “Galileo’s Daughter,” and pays tribute to the Galileo spacecraft that will crash into the planet Jupiter on September 21, ending a 14-year mission to that planet and its moons.
Who: John Rhys-Davies – Galileo, Linda Purl – Galileo’s Daughter, Dava Sobel – Narrator
What: An Evening with Galileo and His Daughter
When: September 22, 2003
Where: Pasadena Playhouse. 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena, California
Time: 7:30 PM
Tickets: $60-75
Information: 626.793.5100 or planetary.org
Event Description:
On September 21, 2003 the Galileo spacecraft will plunge into Jupiter on a targeted trajectory of self-destruction, ending a 14-year mission that has been a remarkable voyage of discovery. The following day, The Planetary Society will pay tribute to the mission, the team that made it possible, and the astronomer for which it is named, with a special theatrical event.
“An Evening with Galileo and His Daughter” explores the dynamic relationships between science and religion, reason and faith, and father and child. Dava Sobel bases her story of Galileo’s scientific discoveries and subsequent battle with the Inquisition on letters written to him by his daughter, Suor Maria Celeste, a cloistered nun since the age of 13.
John Rhys-Davies will portray the brilliant astronomer, telling about his momentous discoveries in Galileo’s own words.
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Were you wondering if TORn was going to have their 2nd annual Baggings Birthday picnic, and were you beginning to despair? Well, we haven’t been hasty in announcing it, but the answer is “yes”! The picnic will take place from noon to 6pm on Sunday September 21st at the Hollywood Camrose park (where Bowlmoot was hosted last year as some of you may remember), one block south of the Hollywood Bowl.
As always, costuming is highly encouraged, and there will be contests and games and great prizes. Sadly, this event will also be a “Sarumann Going Away Party”. Yes, our very own Sarumann (Josh) has elected to sail into the East and return home to his own Shirefolk. So please come in great numbers to wish him a very fond farewell.
As this is a potluck event, please contact Arwen at arwen@theonering.net to let her know what items you will be contributing – and check the news page in the next few days for more details about the picnic (directions, hours, festivities). We hope to see you there!
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Ian McKellen at the Toronto Internation Film Fest
Soloman Lam writes: I should have written this a few days ago, but I’ve been busy with starting a new year of university. But here goes:
I met Ian McKellen! Here’s my story…
I go to school and live at Victoria College at the University of Toronto, and we own the beautiful Isabel Bader Theatre which is used during the Toronto International Film Festival. The theatre is practically on my front yard, and many of my friends have ushering jobs during the school year, and they also work during the festival. Last Saturday, I dropped by outside the lobby to say hi to a friend of mine who was working, and I asked him what movies were screening that night. He showed me his worksheet, and it said, “Emile.”
Now, I knew from TORn that this was Ian McKellen’s new movie, the one he did with a Canadian indie filmmaker in Vancouver right after “X2.” I also knew it was going to have its world premiere during the Toronto film festival….but I never would have through it would premiere at my front doorstep!
A sidenote here: Ian McKellen has always been my favourite actor. I absolutely love his work in Shakespeare (he is the greatest Macbeth, ever), and his powerhouse performances in films like “Gods and Monsters” and “Richard III” have blown me away. Actually, it was Ian McKellen who introduced me to Lord of the Rings; when I first heard he was cast as Gandalf, I got curious and read the books. Needless to say, I fell in love with the books and the movies and Peter Jackson….but it all began with my interest in Ian McKellen’s career.
Anyway, I lined up for rush tickets, got in, and Carl Bessai (the director), Ian McKellen (right before my eyes and ears!), and the rest of the cast introduced the movie. Then “Emile” made its world premiere. It was a very poignant film – it’s about a man who abandons his home in Saskatchewan to be a professor in England, only to come home 40 years later and face the guilt of leaving his family behind. It has that slow pace that distinguishes Canadian films, but the interesting and unconventional narrative style (Sir Ian plays his younger self in psychological flashbacks) builds to a graceful and poetic ending.
After the Q & A with the audience, I ran out to the stage door (since I’ve performed at the theatre before, I knew where the stage door was — other autograph seekers did not), and waited with two others for Sir Ian. Of course, I brought my ‘Fellowship’ EE DVD. He came out, signed some stuff for them, then came to me and signed my “Fellowship of the Ring” Extended Edition DVD! I thanked him for a beautiful performance (I should have said “beautiful performanceS,” from Gandalf and James Whale to Richard III and Edward II), and told him how proud I was that he was playing a Canadian! He laughed at my joke, smiled with those twinkling eyes, and boarded his limo. And that was that!
Of course, I’ve been on a constant high since! I just met Gandalf! And he signed my Fellowship Extended Edition DVD! On my front lawn! How exciting is that? =-)
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He’s American. But after living 11 years in Argentina in his childhood, the actor who plays Aragorn in “The Lord Of The Rings” trilogy can’t – nor wants to – get rid of the customs acquired on these lands. Poet, musician and painter, this incredible man will come to Buenos Aires in November with the third installment of the trilogy in his pocket.
His spanish seems of a porteño(1) who doesn’t want to lose his accent.
“I do everything in my power to avoid that”, he says like this is one of the biggest challenges he decided to pursue. Viggo Mortensen, the heroic Aragorn from “The Lord Of The Rings” trilogy, lived for 11 years in our country, scattered between Chaco and Buenos Aires.
“I’ve got very good memories of my stay there. In fact, when I came back there after 22 years, the first thing I did was to look for the house where I lived, in Palermo”, he confesses.
No doubt, this is one of the reasons this 44 years old actor emphasizes – in every interview – the points in common between the “Martin Fierro”(2) and the monumental work of J.R.R. Tolkien, and shows proudly his shirt of the local soccer team ‘San Lorenzo’ (signed by all the players) in every photo inauguration. Enigmatic, like Aragorn himself, Mortensen is not just an actor “and a pretty face”, like he likes to say to mock those who sell him as a sex symbol. He’s a painter (some of his works appear in the film “Dial M for Murder”), a musician (he’s edited several CDs of audio landscapes) and a poet, facet with which he let fly the smells of the fogón(3) and the taste of chimichurri(4) in the ineffable verses of his poem Parrillada.(5)
Among sugarless mates(6) and spoonfuls of dulce de leche(7) which he makes and with which he delights his shooting partners, Mortensen gets excited with the announcement that he is coming to Argentina in November, in the middle of the promotion of “The Return Of The King”. “I don’t want to miss anything”, says eagerly this porteño by adoption.
(1) Nickname given to the natives of Buenos Aires. Similar to New Yorkers for the citizens of New York.
(2) An Argentinian classic poem, from the XIX century.
(3) A local custom: people sit around a fire and sing or tell stories. Like in summer camp.
(4) A kind of seasoning for roast meat.
(5) Barbecue.
(6) A typical Argentinian hot drink.
(7) Toffee: a sugary, milky substance you can spread on toast or just eat from the jar with a spoon, YUMMY!!!!
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Irascian writes: Collectormania have apparently announced a “good news and bad news” update.
The good news … there will be a special extra “Hobbit Day” tacked on the end of the convention on Monday, October 6th which Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis and Dominic Monaghan will be attending and performing signings at. They will also be there on the already announced date of Sunday, October 5th.
The bad news is that they won’t be there at all for Friday, October 3rd or Saturday, October 4th other than to attend the screening panel (tickets already sold out) on the Saturday evening. Autographs etc will only be available on the Sunday and the newly-announced Monday!
Other cast members (eg Sala Baker) should be there for the whole event. [collectormania.com]
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