MIKE ELIASON/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Cate Blanchett sat down with Deadline Hollywood’s Pete Hammond on Saturday night for a conversation about the craft of acting.
This was the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s evening for the Outstanding Performer of the Year, honoring Ms. Blanchett for her starring (and Oscar-nominated) role in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine.”
There’s always been something in actress Cate Blanchett’s eyes that has made her a star, perhaps it’s this sense that behind her most glamorous characters, there’s a touch of pain. It’s a vulnerable beauty she’s used to good effect from playing Katherine Hepburn in “The Aviator” to her role in “Babel.” She also plays characters enigmatic —”Elizabeth I,” and ethereal — Galadriel in “Lord of the Rings.” But it’s her stunning, lead role in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine” that has justifiably earned her a sixth Oscar nomination and this year’s “Outstanding Performer of the Year” award at the SBIFF (Saturday at the Arlington).
And what a role it is, in one of Woody Allen’s best films in a long time. Ms. Blanchett’s Jasmine is a woman not just on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but living through one in real time. In flashback, we learn she lived the life of luxury with her Bernie Madoff-like husband, but when he went to prison, she lost everything. Now she has to move in with her sister, whose savings her ex also lost. Yet, Jasmine refuses to face facts and continues to live in a fantasy world of excess. Ms. Blanchett plays her just this side of sympathy, bringing all that vulnerability to the fore.
More hits than misses: that’s the tally of Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s award-winning movie stars who also got an Oscar nomination this week.
The festival books its buzz-worthy actors and filmmakers months ahead, hoping precognition will turn out to be correct, and after Thursday’s announcement, the festival can now claim 15 Academy Award nominees visiting Santa Barbara at the end of this month.
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Tuesday announced “Exploration” as the main theme for this year’s 11-day celebration of stars and films.
For stargazers, the 29th annual event runs Jan. 30 through Feb. 9 and promises many of Hollywood’s biggest actors.
Cate Blanchett will arrive Feb. 1 for her tribute evening. After that the Virtuosos (Feb. 4) features up-and-coming actors Daniel Brühl, Adele Exarchopoulos, Oscar Isaac, Michael B. Jordan, Brie Larson, Jared Leto, and June Squibb.