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13-3-2000ON THE SET WITH CATE & KATIE
ATE NEWS reader Katie lives in Georgia some six hours or so from Savannah where “The Gift” is being shot. Through her own industriousness, and the help of a friend, she was able to visit the set this past week and files this report for us:
C Two days ago, Thursday March 9, 2000, my friend and I drove to Savannah, GA to see if we could get onto the set of Cate's new film, "The Gift." I left my house in Mobile, AL around 10:00am on Thursday to pick up my friend in Auburn, AL.
Around 4:00pm we left for Savannah, and got there around 10:00pm. So, I called my friend on the set and he told us to go to the production office downtown and pick up a map to the set. The set was really far out on someone’s private property.
So we got it and he told us what to do when we got on the property. They were filming from 6:00pm to 6:00am Friday
morning. Anyway, at midnight we all went to "lunch." Cate, Greg Kinnear and Giovanni Ribisi were the only actors there that night of filming.
We saw them coming up from the set to eat and ate with them. Then around 12:45ish we all went back down to the filming area. My friend Sarah and I stood back a bit because we didn’t want to be in the way. At about 1:30 Sam Raimi, the director, came over to us and said, "Welcome to the set, ladies." That was great.
About 5 minutes later someone said Mr. Raimi had invited us to come sit with him closer to the actors so we could see them, the monitors he watches, and listen to the dialogue through the headsets. So, when he would yell "cut" Greg would wander around, and Cate stood on the little dock like thing they were filming on.
She does this cool thing with her face right before the director says "action." During breaks Cate always came and sat next to us. She sat either right next to me or behind me most of the time. She stayed in character most of the time.
During a longer break Mr. Raimi, Cate, Giovanni and Greg all came and sat next to each other next to us. They were talking about movies and stuff. Just laughing and having a good time. They seemed to really like each other a lot. So they continued to film until about 6:45am.
After it was over I was walking back up to the tents, trailers, cars, etc. and I heard Cate, Greg, and another woman right behind me. So I just turned around and said "thank you so much for letting us stay and watch that." Greg said "It’s my pleasure." Cate smiled and they both said they hope I liked it and I said it was the greatest thing I’ve ever done. They smiled and walked towards their trailers, and Sarah and me towards our car.
It was really sad having to leave them, even though I was just there watching. I learned so much and it was the greatest night
of my entire life. I've been to cool things that some people never get to go to: SNL, Letterman, tons of Broadway shows, etc. but NOTHING has ever compared to that night, and nothing ever will. I just wish I could thank them all for completely changing my life.
Oh and Cate looks BEAUTIFUL on screen, but off-screen she is BREATHTAKING. We talked about how she is, seriously, the most beautiful woman we had ever seen. When she was on screen some people around the monitors kinda gasped because her face is some breathtaking. She is gorgeous.:)
Greg is really, really hot, and a great guy and actor for those of you who like him also. Katie
We really have to thank Katie for that heartfelt report. There’s nothing quite like visiting a film set for the first time, especially when it involves someone you truly admire. There can be such a fantasy element to it, that one feels as if it is necessary to pinch oneself to see if it might not be a dream after all. And, what can you say about the food. It’s like being on a picnic where they serve filet, lobster and salmon. Thanks Katie, for letting us all live vicariously through your adventure.
CATE PROJECTS
ccording to the Hollywood Reporter, Cate Blanchett is currently in negotiations to star in the new Tony Scott action-thriller “Taking Lives”.
A
Based on a book by British Author Michael Pye, “Lives” tells the story of a female FBI profiler tracking down a serial killer who assumes the lives of his victims (a la Ripley).To be produced by Mark Canton, the screenplay was written by Jon Bokenkamp. Cate previously passed on the chance to play another FBI agent, Clarice Starling, in the upcoming “Silence of the Lambs” sequel, “Hannibal”, so this seems like an odd consideration at best.
Making the possibility all the more bizarre, director Tony Scott (True Romance/Enemy of the State) will helm the action-thriller for Village Roadshow Pictures, while Tony’s brother Ridley is filming “Hannibal”.
PHANTOM KAPUR
arious Hollywood trades are reporting that Shekhar is “consulting” on the film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera”. This project, and the reporting of it have been in a bit of a muddle of late. There is a massive fan based PR campaign going on right now “against” Warner Bros., in an effort to have Michael Crawford “restored” to his rightful place as Phantom of all Phantoms.
V The fan group has been running full page ads in the trades listing, a la David Letterman, “the ten best reasons why Michael Crawford IS The Phantom of the Opera, complete with cartoon strips making the execs at WB look like complete fools, if not tools.
I’m not sure why Shekhar would want any part of this mess, other than a minor consulting gig especially when pre-production of his own forthcoming “Four Feathers” remake HAS to be a rather daunting task. And now, there is this business which has surfaced at Mr. Showbiz amongst other places. Frankly, I
don’t buy it, but, please look it over just the same:
“Shekhar Kapur, who directed Cate Blanchett to an Oscar nomination in the epic Elizabeth, is bringing The Phantom of the Opera to the screen. Who will play the character, immortalized in the 1925 silent film by Lon Chaney Sr. and in the stage musical by Michael Crawford?
How about Antonio Banderas, who already knows from masks thanks to 1998's Mask of Zorro? The Spanish heartthrob has been tentatively picked to play the title role in the new screen version, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber said Tuesday. Lloyd Webber added that he is looking for a "stunning girl" for the role of love interest Christina.
The Phantom of the Opera has been hailed as the most successful theater show of the century after worldwide box office sales topped $3 billion. Banderas has some rock opera experience under his belt already, having starred in the 1996 film version of Lloyd Webber's Evita, directed by Alan Parker.”
I think this story got turned on its head by Mr. Showbiz after they read this story in The Hollywood Reporter after a visit to the opium den:
“Andrew Lloyd Webber has announced plans to collaborate with Indian film director Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth) and Indian composer A.R. Rehman for his next musical, “Bombay Dreams”. Webber, who has been working with Kapur on a film version of his The Phantom of the Opera, told the BBC Wednesday that the new stage show will concern a young man making his way to Bombay with dreams of becoming a star in the Indian film industry.
He said that he had asked Rehman to write the score for the show after seeing a number of his "Bollywood" musicals, including one in which a song and dance number is performed on the roof of a speeding train. "This is the first time I have invited another composer to write a musical for the stage," he said.”
So, I guess that’s how one story can morph into another scenario.
A CATE OF THE FUTURE
"Past Predictions: Cameron Diaz,
Will Smith, Cate, Gwyn"
ajor stories this week in two publications about…a story in another publication! Yes, it’s that time again, time for the “Young Hollywood” issue of Vanity Fair, where its esteemed editors picked out the fresh faces of today that will be household names in a couple of years, or so the thinking goes.
M Blanchetteers will remember Cate being amongst the chosen a couple of years back. For each of the past six years Vanity Fair has boldly put its predictions on the front cover.
From the Class of '95 came Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock; a year later they picked out a certain Leonardo DiCaprio and Will Smith. Since then their tips for the top have included Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, our Cate, and Christina Ricci. Last year's selection included Anna Friel and Thandie Newton.
The Class of 2000 includes two stars from Oscar favourite “American Beauty” - Mena Suvari, who played the high school temptress, and Wes Bentley, the next-door neighbor boy. Also included are Marley Shelton, whom we mentioned here a while back (Tobey Maguire’s cheerleader girlfriend from “Pleasantville” who wants to work with Cate in real life), and Chris Klein and Selma Blair.
One rather odd pick is that of Spanish model turned actress Penelope Cruz, who played a nun who dies of Aids after having sex with a transsexual prostitute in Pedro Almodovar's “All About My Mother”. This stunning actress arrived a long time ago…picking her at this point is like picking the Allies to win World War II.
Sarah Wynter is the only Australian on the list, Wynter, 26, came to New York 10 years ago in search of her big break and appeared in fringe plays and independent films. She has finally landed her first starring role in Hollywood and it's a big one she plays Arnold Schwarzenegger's tormentor in a futuristic thriller “On The Sixth Day”.
If nothing else, the issue is always worth a gander just for the extraordinary photographs by Annie Leibovitz.
Okay Blanchetteers, the clock on the wall tells us it’s time to go. That, and the fact that we’ve run out of news to share. Until next week, same Cate time, same Cate channel, don’t forget, that when all else fails, “PLAY A VOLTA!!”.
