Will Cate Blanchett fulfill the awards prophecy of winning an Oscar every nine years? The two-time Oscar winner for ‘The Aviator’ (2004) and ‘Blue Jasmine’ (2013) is one of the favorites to possibly win her third for Todd Field’s psychological drama ‘Tár’, in which she plays a lesbian bandleader who begins to lose her grip on power and reality.
In this week’s episode of Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, we sit down with Blanchett to discuss her stunning transformation into Lydia Tár. Plus, she talks about working with co-star Nina Hoss and more. Listen below:
From Focus Features, ‘Tár’ is set to a rhythmic beat of classic orchestration, marking writer and director Todd Field’s return to the director’s chair, 16 years after ‘Little Children’ (2006) and 21 years after his debut. “In the Bedroom” (2001).
The drama landed six Academy Award nominations – Best Picture, Director, Actress, Original Screenplay, Cinematography and Film Editing. “Tár” is one of four feature films that have won the critical trifecta (New York, Los Angeles and National Society of Film Critics Awards), plus London. He joined “Schindler’s List” (1993), “LA Confidential” (1997) and “The Social Network” (2010). Two of them, “Schindler’s List” and “Hurt Locker”, won Best Picture at the Oscars.
TAR, Cate Blanchett, 2022. ph: Florian Hoffmeister / © Focus Features / courtesy Everett Collection
©Focus Features/courtesy Everett Collection
From the royalty of Elizabeth I to the betrayal of Hela, Blanchett is one of the most revered performers of her generation. She is considered an actress who likes to praise the work of her colleagues such as Tang Wei and two of her fellow nominees this year – Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”) and Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) .
“I think it’s wonderful when the creative risks you take are recognized or rewarded,” Blanchett said. Variety. “Not all films find their audience right away. That’s what these online libraries are for, to later discover films that haven’t necessarily come to the surface.
Even Blanchett, who has eight career Oscar nominations, has her fair share of films that found admirers later in life — like “Bandits” (2001) and “Little Fish” (2005), which she and her husband have produced through their production. company, Dirty Films.
Reflecting on her stellar career, we also asked for an update on whether her son Dash (b. 2001) and Martin Scorsese’s daughter Francesca (b. 1999) will ever wed, as she proclaimed. during her Oscars speech in 2005. Blanchett joked, “I’m working on it.”
Blanchett’s eldest son and Scorsese’s youngest are now getting into the film industry. Blanchett added, “We’ll just have to find a way for them to work together.”
As Variety Exclusively revealed, Blanchett can now add “world-class dancer” to her talent roster, as evidenced by her appearance in Sparks’ new music video for “The Girl is Crying in Her Latte.”
“I love Russell and Ron,” Blanchett says. “We were together at the César Awards in France and we got along very well… and we just stayed in touch. And then Russell asked: Would I record on my cell phone just me mugging myself on their latest single? I said sure… It was one of those crazy nights and at 3am I did something,” dancing alone on her smartphone. “But then I said, ‘You know, I’m going to be in LA,’ and they said, ‘Come on. … It was really fast. It was so much fun.”
Also in this episode, Best Actor nominee Brendan Fraser talks about his work in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale” and his subsequent role in Hollywood. The video podcast episode also features Fraser playing the game “Who’s Babe Is It Anyway?” — where he guesses which of his former co-stars said a line from one of his iconic films such as “Blast from the Past” and “The Mummy.”
Finally, the Awards Circuit Roundtable breaks down the SAG and PGA winners and what to expect with final Oscar voting now open.
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, produced by Michael Schneider, who also co-hosts with Clayton Davis, is your one-stop-shop for lively conversations about the best in film and TV. Each week, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives; discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines; and much more. Subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you download podcasts. New episodes released every week.