Background | Credit Cate | Image Gallery | The Cate Library |
26-11-2000WE’RE BACK!!
idn’t think you were going to get rid of us that easy, did you ?
D Yep, we’ve had a nice Holiday, but we have now refueled our tanks, re-stitched our knickers, Dean’s restocked the bomb shelter with ale, and Linny’s docked the barge.
What’s this mean to you? It means we’re back once again to track down all the Cate news we can possibly find, and pass it on to you, our fellow Blanchetteers.
We hope you’ve missed us as much as we’ve missed you! So, without further adieu, on with the potpourri that is this edition of the CATE NEWS:
he UK Telegraph joined the fray in taking note of Cate’s recent Yul Brynner look with this waggish headline and observation:
T Blanchett takes the short cut to Los Angeles ?
A SHAVEN-HEADED Cate Blanchett amazed airport staff when she flew from Heathrow to Los Angeles yesterday. Onlookers could hardly believe their eyes as the actress, nominated for an Oscar for her performance in the film “Elizabeth”, headed to her aircraft.
"She looked more like Sinead O'Connor than Cate Blanchett," said one airline worker. However, the actress refused to say why her hair had been cut off. Was it for a part in a new film, or was she simply following the trend set by David Beckham?
Loyal Blanchetteers will know, of course, that this IS due to a film, Cate’s participation in the Tom (Run, Lola, Run) Tykwer-directed film, ‘Heaven”, based on the screenplay by the late, great Krzysztof Kieslowski.
In other news, The Guardian UK was the first to report that rising star Billy Crudup is set to appear alongside Cate in a screen adaptation of the Sebastian Faulks’ novel, “Charlotte Gray”.
Crudup, who has received much critical acclaim for his role as a rock journalist in the marvelous “Almost Famous”, will play a WWII British air force pilot shot down over France. Cate will play his girlfriend Charlotte, who goes in search of him. “Oscar and Lucinda” director Gillian Armstrong will direct and shooting begins in February.
Anyone find this next story surprising? Not us!
JACKSON GOING "INSANE" OVER THREE RINGS CIRCUS
irector Peter Jackson has discussed the difficulty of shooting three feature episodes of “Lord of the Rings” simultaneously. At a news conference Tuesday in New Zealand, where Jackson began shooting the three films one year ago, he remarked, "I'm about to go insane." He then explained the difficulties of trying to keep track of continuity: "Any movie you shoot, you shoot out of sequence and what we have done is have three movies shooting out of sequence completely." He said that he expects filming to be completed on schedule on Dec. 22, allowing him to begin work after the first of the year on post-production special effects. The first film is due to be released at Christmas 2001, with the other two films to follow at yearly intervals.
D “The Man Who Cried” was recently reviewed in Variety, one of the very few early reviews we’ve seen, and although not exactly filled with superlatives, we thought we might give you a heads up as to what Cate fan’s might expect in the next few months:
THE MAN WHO CRIED
(U.K.-France)
Universal Focus release of a Working Title/Adventure Pictures/PIE/Studio Canal Plus production. (International sales: Studio Canal Plus, Paris.) Produced by Christopher Sheppard. Executive producers, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Simona Benzakein. Directed, written by Sally Potter.
A Suzie - Christina Ricci
Lola - Cate Blanchett
Dante - John Turturro
Cesar - Johnny Depp
Felix - Harry Dean Stanton
Young Suzie - Claudia Lander-Duke
Father - Oleg YankovskyBy DEBORAH YOUNG
British helmer Sally Potter, who leapt to critical attention with her 1992 adaptation of Virginia Woolf's "Orlando" and got mixed reviews for "The Tango Lesson," makes a serious misstep with "The Man Who Cried," a beaucoup-vu drama about a displaced Russian Jewish girl searching for her roots in pre-war Paris, in the midst of other survivors of history. This expensive-looking British-French effort should do most of its business on takeoff, before unenthusiastic word of mouth clips its wings and it lands on the small screen.
Aiming for an iconic, timeless look, pic ends up resembling nothing so much as old Hollywood stereotypes about Europe between the wars, with its glittering theaters, happy Gypsies, pogroms and Holocaust.
A top-drawer, mostly U.S. cast lead by Christina Ricci is forced to play this cosmopolitan story in distressingly improbable English, dressed up with an assortment of accents. All this might be secondary if film succeeded in delivering an emotional payoff springing from historical tragedy, as it clearly intends. But moments of authentic emotion are scarce in Potter's cliche-driven script.
The most convincing part of the picture is the sober opening in a Jewish village in 1927 Russia, where little Fegele Abramovitch (the gravely touching Claudia Lander-Duke) lives with her father (Russian thesp Oleg Yankovsky), a loving dad and rich-voiced singer. He takes off for America, planning to send for his family later, but Hitler's army comes to town first, and Fegele is lucky to escape to England.
The desaturated colors and Lander-Duke's melancholy seriousness anticipate the pogrom. Concentrating on the visuals and keeping dialogue to a bare minimum, Potter conveys a physical feeling for the place and people, which is not seen again in the film.
Adopted by a prim British couple, Fegele is re-christened Suzie and stripped of her ethnic identity. Growing up into a silent young woman (Ricci), the musical Suzie miraculously lands a job in a Parisian chorus line. As she bids a cold farewell to her adoptive parents, they hand her a childhood photo of her father. At last Suzie knows who she is and what she must do: go to America and find him.
In Paris, she shares her garret with a gold-digging Russian chorus girl named Lola (Cate Blanchett). Blanchett's malicious sparkle creeps through her throaty Russian accent, enlivening the role, but the character feels uncomfortably like the modern stereotype of the beautiful blond Russian who uses her body to flee poverty for the West. In contrast, Ricci is handed the familiar role of the quietly dignified girl in the plain dress, whose inborn high principles and true worth will one day be rewarded.
Lola sets her sights on a swaggering Italian opera tenor, Dante Dominio (John Turturro in a hammy parody of his own, much more nuanced "Illuminata"); he gets the two girls jobs as extras in the opera company of mild-mannered entrepreneur Felix Perlman (Harry Dean Stanton). Suzie falls for a dark, handsome horse handler, Cesar (a silently smoldering Johnny Depp), who lives in a camp set up in a picturesque city square. There the Jewish Suzie feels at home singing opera arias accompanied by Gypsy violins. Then the Nazis invade Paris, and it's time for the characters to move on to their date with destiny.
The chemistry between Depp and Ricci, already tried out in Tim Burton's "Sleepy Hollow," remains pretty much on paper here, particularly in their overwritten farewell scene.
One wishes Potter had concentrated more on the visuals, which occasionally hold delightful surprises, like a fleeting glimpse of three Gypsy horsemen showing off for Suzie in nighttime Paris. Sacha Vierny's camerawork is beautiful, gradually increasing the color saturation.
But in general, the 1939 pre-war atmosphere proves elusive. Osvaldo Golijov's original score blends smoothly with a broad selection of popular opera tunes.
Camera (color), Sacha Vierny; editor, Herve Schneid; music, Osvaldo Golijov; art director, Carlos Conti; costume designer, Lindy Hemming; assistant directors, Chris Newman, Jerome Borenstein; casting, Irene Lamb, Mary Colquhoun. Reviewed at Venice Film Festival (competing), Sept. 2, 2000. Running time: 99 MIN.
On a brighter note, I’m very pleased to note that the trailer for “The Gift” is now showing Stateside.
It is quite exciting, and more than a little creepy. Director Sam Raimi appears to be picking up where he left off with the superlative “A Simple Plan”, and the marvelous cast all look superb here, especially Hilary Swank, Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes. And, Cate looks absolutely MESMERIZING, and more than nails the difficult Southern accent she is called upon to convey.
Only another month to go and “The Gift” should start showing up in theatres in selected locales, just in time to qualify for the Academy Awards.
Inside Film has been doing an early gauging of Oscar possibilities, ranking the probabilities based on a number of different sources. Best Actress is always a bear of a category, but, we’re pleased that they have our Cate within striking distance, particularly in that it is the only film of the top contenders that has yet to screen…that’s some kind of buzz! Go Cate!
1. Laura Linney, You Can Count on Me, 234.6
2. Julia Roberts, Erin Brokovich, 213.9
3. Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream, 206.4
4. Kate Winslet, Quills, 202.7
5. Juliette Binoche, Chocolat, 198.0
6. Cate Blanchett, The Gift, 196.7
7. Joan Allen, The Contender, 194.2
8. Marsha Gay Harden, Pollock, 184.0
9. Bjork, Dancer in the Dark, 177.5
10. Michelle Rodriguez, Girlfight, 176.5
11. Sarah Polley, The Claim, 164.7
12. Meg Ryan, Proof of Life, 158.0
13. Gillian Anderson, House of Mirth, 148.7
14. Helen Hunt, Pay it Forward, 135.2
15. Renee Zellweger, Nurse Betty, 129.5
16. Brenda Blethyn, Saving Grace, 125.7
kay Blanchetteers, guess we better swing back into gear in a controlled manner. So, that’s all for now. But, we promise to be back again soon with some delicious new bits.
O Until then, we hope you haven’t forgotten how to glide once we yell, “PLAY A VOLTA!!” If you’re like us, you’ll probably need a refresher course!
Until then…Bye Blanchetteers!!!!
