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6-3-2000BAFTA FEVER
ell, the BAFTAS, the British equivalent of the Academy Awards have come through again and gone for our Cate for the second year in a row. Yes, Cate received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her marvelous turn as Meredith in “The
W Talented Mr. Ripley”.
Cate and Emily at the BAFTAS last yearIn fact, two of Cate’s films were well represented. “An Ideal Husband” received nominations in the Best Adapted Screenplay (Oliver Parker), Best Costume Design and Best Makeup/Hair categories.
“The Talented Mr. Ripley” scored noms in the aforementioned Best Supporting Actress category, Best Film, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director (Anthony Minghella), Best Adapted Screenplay (again!), Best Cinematography (Aussie John Seale) and Best Musical Score (Gabriel Yared).
Cate’s competition in the Supporting Actress category includes Thora Birch and Mena Suvari for “American Beauty”, Cameron Diaz for “Being John Malkovich” and Maggie Smith in “Tea With Mussolini”. I must be the only one not impressed with Cameron Diaz’s dressed down, talking softly “performance” in “BJM”.
Mark Morris, writing in The Guardian UK, said “The most surprising performance by an actress this spring comes from the almost unrecognizable Cameron Diaz in Being John Malkovich, and her scenes with Catherine Keener are brilliant. And as for the unwittingly annoying Gwyneth Paltrow? Thoroughly outclassed by Cate Blanchett in The Talented Mr Ripley.”
Okay, we’ll leave it at that. The BAFTAS will be handed out April 9. We will report the results when they become available.
CATE PROJECTS
dam Minns reported for AFM this week that Gillian Armstong is in advanced talks to direct FilmFour's adaptation of Sebastian Faulks' best-selling novel, “Charlotte Gray”.
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John Madden was previously expected to direct the high-profile project but he is now attached to Working Title Films' “Captain Corelli's Mandolin”. As we reported ages ago, Cate is in talks to star in “Charlotte”, which is based at UK production outfit Ecosse Films, the producer of “Mrs Brown”. The film, part of a move by FilmFour to hike budget levels on selected home-grown productions, follows a British girl in Nazi-occupied France during WW2. Ecosse's Douglas Rae is producing.
In other Cate News, “The Gift” continues its scheduled principal photography shoot in and around Savannah, Georgia. This continues a string of film shoots in the area. “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” probably remains the most famous novel based in, and film shot in, Savannah.
More recently, “The Legend of Bagger Vance”, the latest film directed by Robert Redford, was shot here as late as last November. This period film stars Matt Damon, Charlize Theron and Will Smith. For some of our readers from foreign ports, we offer this little description to help give some local flavour: “Savannah is known as the legendary Hostess City of the South! One of only two Southern cities that were not burned to the ground during the Civil War by General Sherman's troops, Savannah is steeped in history and rich in old-fashioned Southern charm.
Located on the Savannah River, just 14 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, Savannah features beautiful marshes, islands and estuaries that showcase the natural beauty of the Georgia coast. In Savannah's legendary historic district, cobblestone streets lined with majestic live oaks, fragrant jasmine vines and towering magnolia trees give the city a special magic that evokes the Old South. Quaint shops, fine restaurants and a bustling riverfront make Savannah, a glittering jewel nestled along the Atlantic seaboard, a unique destination.”
How’s that for laying it on thick?
CATE ON DISPLAY
ur friends and readers in England should note the following photo exhibition:
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Polly Borland: Australians
At: National Portrait Gallery
25 May 2000 - 17 Sep 2000Held in the Photography Gallery, admission free. Considered one of the most exciting and highly regarded of contemporary photographers, Polly Borland, Australian born, but London based, exhibits 50 portraits of Australians who contribute to British life.
The portraits have been taken of prominent Australians in the fields of art, business, literature, science, music, media, architecture and fashion, for example: Cate Blanchett, Kylie Minogue, Leanne Benjamin, Nick Cave and Barry Humphries.
The exhibition marks a wider centenary celebration of the Federalisation Act, when the Commonwealth of Australia was established by the British House of Commons, uniting six former colonies into a federal state.
Born in Australia in 1959, Polly Borland has lived and worked in Britain for the past ten years and is currently one of London's leading contemporary photographers. She is known for her distinctive use of juxtaposition and intense colour saturations, and has had work published in the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vogue, The Face, Harpers & Queen, the Telegraph Magazine, the Independent Magazine and the Independent on Sunday magazine.
Ms. Borland’s photos are so very striking. We will do our best to track down Cate’s photo from the exhibition.
ELIZABETH GOES ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK
ccording to a recent story by the BBC, censors cut the word 'Quinny' from the film, amongst other edits. Indian director Shekhar Kapur has agreed to minor cuts in his Oscar-winning film, “Elizabeth”, so it can finally be shown in his home country of India.
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There had been a two-year delay because when the film was first released Mr Kapur said he would not allow any censorship of the film. Stars Cate and Joe Fiennes had flown to India for the Premiere which never came off.
Shekhar & Joe Feinnes"I feel frustrated," Kapur said.
"Films have a very short shelf life and the delay has only helped fill the coffers of pirates."“Elizabeth”, which won an Oscar and four British Academy Film Awards, was blocked when the Indian film censor tribunal objected to a beheading, a nude scene and the use of a word deemed vulgar (a word made up for the film!).
A version including two cuts the censorship tribunal insisted upon will come to screens in India next week. The film maker did managed to convince censors that the beheading was the clue to the character of the queen and they then backed down on two other scenes.
The word 'quinny' will be cut - it was used in the film to humiliate the young queen and a love scene was trimmed.
Shekhar Kapur started his career making Hindi films and broke into international cinema five years ago with “Bandit Queen”. Censors also required him to make cuts in that film before it could be shown in Indian cinemas.
As we reported previously, Shekhar’s next film will be a remake of the classic “Four Feathers’, which will reportedly pay star Jude Law up to Ł3.5 million. And, as if that were not enough to keep Jude busy, it is now being reported that Oscar nominee Jude Law and his actress wife Sadie Frost are to branch out into the pop music world.
They make their singing debuts in “Love, Honour And Obey”, released in April, along with a soundtrack album. Frost also has a single from the film, which is about mobsters. No comment from us on this one.
As always, tune into LOTR NEWS UPDATE for all the up-to-date info on the “Lord of the Rings” film project. So, we’ll say goodbye for now, Blanchetteers, and catch you on the dance floor as we all gather, one and all, at the clarion call of “PLAY A VOLTA!!”. Cheers all.
*B/W Pic of Cate courtesy of Addicted to Cate*
