Happy Sad Confused - Cate Blanchett, Vol. II

Episode Date: October 12, 2022

No big deal, just maybe the most revered actress alive returning to the podcast to talk about what may earn her a 3rd Oscar! Yes, it's Cate Blanchett talking TAR and so much more on this episode of HAPPY SAD CONFUSED. Make sure you subscribe to Josh's youtube channel to watch all his conversations! Click here! Come see Josh tape LIVE Happy Sad Confused conversations in New York City! October 25th with Ralph Macchio! Tickets are available here! October 26th with Henry Cavill! Tickets are available here! November 11th with Sylvester Stallone! Tickets available here! For all of your media headlines remember to subscribe to The Wakeup newsletter here! Don't forget to check out the Happy Sad Confused patreon here! We've got exclusive episodes of GAME NIGHT, video versions of the podcast, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Happy, sad, confused begins now. Today on Happy, Sad, Confused, Kate Blanchett returns to talk about one of the performances of the year in Tar. Hey guys, I'm Josh Horowitz. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. And, yeah, it sounds crazy to me, too, to say Kate Blanchett returns.

But it's true. She is now a returning guest to Happy Zeg Confused, and it's a great occasion to have just one of the best actors on the planet. She stars in The Remarkable New Film from Todd Field. He of Little Children and In the Bedroom Fame, it's his first film in 16 years. The film is TAR. It's in limited release right now, and it is extraordinary. And Kate's performance in a career filled with amazing. performances, it could be your best, and that speaks volumes. Okay, we'll get into the Cape Blanchett

side in a second, but let me just update you on what else is going on in Happy Sand Confused and Josh Harrowitzland, which is a lot. So I'm taping this just on the other end of New York Comic-Con and Paley Fest, which I think actually is still going on in New York City, which is a series of events at the Paley Center, all of which is to say I saw. I saw a a lot of you out there, a lot of kind words from folks I ran into. I moderated four different events in a couple days. It's been insane. But what fun. It was so, you know, I'm moderating more than ever, and I love it. I love seeing the fans and feeding off that energy. And I got a chance to talk about some really great projects. And just in brief, I'll mention them because

they're all shows and films that I want to give some love to. In no particular order, I moderated the panel for the Peripheral, which is a new Amazon Prime series from Jonah Nolan and Lisa Joy. That is another great kind of bit of heady sci-fi. They of course made Westworld. This one comes from William Gibson's work, and it stars Chloe Grace Moretz and Jack Rayner, who I both adore. Great to catch up with them in person. That was super fun, and that we debuted a bunch of footage from that. That's coming soon on Amazon Prime. Let's see. Then we did I'll save the biggest, craziest one for last. I did a War of the Rings event with the cast of War of the Rings at Paley Center.

And what a treat to see this cast. It was seven members of the cast who I'd all seen at San Diego Comic-Con before the show even premiered. And back then, they couldn't say anything about the show. And now having seen seven episodes thus far, really fun to sort of dig into what that show is and those brilliant characters. and that high degree of difficulty that were the rings the rings of power is so i don't know if you guys have caught up on it but it's it's um it's a massive i mean a massive undertaking and i think

they're doing a great job and i'm excited to see the finale which is this week and uh they're already in production on season two i think there are five seasons that are planned they do have a plan there's all this you know we don't we complain about these movie series and tv series that don't kind of have open-ended plans they have a plan so That speaks volumes. I moderated the panel. I've mentioned this movie before, but I want to give it some love again. Coming November 4th on Roku, you guys have to check out Weird, the Al-Yankovic story.

It is a biopic like no other. Definitely reflects the vibe of Weird Al. Very funny movie. And I got a chance to moderate that panel at New York Comic-Con with Daniel Radcliffe and Evan Rachel Wood. And Al Yankovic, Weird Al himself, joined us via Saturday. like Zoom, whatever technology we were using, I don't even know. But that was a treat.

And I just look, mark that movie down because it is such a crowd pleaser and it's going to be for free on Roku. And, you know, nothing to complain about that. And I guess the last one I want to mention, because personally, this was a big one. And I, like, I do get a chance to moderate a bunch of events and I try not to be jaded about all of it. And this one was impossible to feel jaded about. But I hosted the Star Trek Universe panel at New York Comic-Con, and not to digress too much,

but Star Trek was kind of the first geek love for me. It really was. I went to Star Trek conventions when I was a little kid in New York City. I stood online for Gene Rodenberry's autograph. I did it all. And to be there full circle for this panel in which we covered Star Trek Discovery with the cast and creators of that, Star Trek Prodigy, had Kate Mulgrew there, amazing, of Voyager fame, so awesome, and then culminating, guys, if you're a Star Trek fan, you're going to feel the same way I do, we reunited the cast of Next Generation on stage, and it was bananas. They're all in the third season of Picard coming soon. So it was, let's see if I remember it all, I think I should, Patrick Stewart, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Marina Cirthus, Jonathan Frakes, who am I leaving out? Brent Spiner. Michael Dorn.

Am I leaving somebody out? I might be, oh, you know, I think that's it. It was amazing. It was amazing. And the energy in the room was remarkable. How often do you get that group together on one stage? Well, it happened again. I don't know.

But it was a real honor and a privilege to be there. And I tried to very much embrace the moment. And there was so much love in the air about Star Trek, which, you know, as we kind of talked about Trek throughout this long panel, the themes of family kept coming up. Rod Roddenberry, who's Gene's son, you know, still very much a key component of that creative team. And to see, hear him talk about passing it on to his son, LeVar Burton talking about his daughter appearing in the new season of Picard. So, yeah, it just really spoke volumes to like what Trek has been and continues

to be over decades. And to see it continue was really heartwarming. So all of which is to say, it's been busy, guys, and I have no complaints. I love, I love it. I'm really honored that I've been asked to host so many great events. I'm looking forward to a little bit of a break for a second, but not for too long because in the show notes, check out the upcoming live, happy, say, and confused events, and we've got a bunch of them coming. I'll rattle them off. October 25th, Symphony Space, is Ralph Machio talking about waxing.

on his new memoir. October 26th, we've officially announced it. Me and Henry Cavill. Yes, Henry Cavill. And there will be a lot to talk about, guys. Trust me. I'm not going to say too much, but there will be a lot to talk about. Noah Holmes, too, and a lot more. And then this is an exciting one. November 11th, this is at 92Y, as is Henry Cavill, by the way. Sylvester Stallone. Sylvester Stallone, and his showrunner for his new series on Paramount Plus, Tulsa King, Terence Winter of Sopranos in Bordwalk Empire, fame, writer of Wolf of Wall Street, will join me. So, hi, Stallone, guys. Talk about a living legend. So lots of opportunities to see me and some amazing guests in person in New York City.

There are virtual options for all those shows. So check it out in the show notes. You know what to do. Go to Patreon. dot com slash happy set confused to get early access discount codes all the good stuff um and check out check out our youtube channel as well youtube dot com slash josh horowitz who a lot going on right okay uh back to kate i'll toss this conversation momentarily but just a tiny bit more context this film that she's promoting one of my very favorites of the year it will definitely be in the top 10 if not top five if not

top two or three i don't know um i've seen it twice It's fantastic. It is a probing character study of a very flawed woman who is a conductor-composer of very high esteem and accomplishment, who is basically at a crossroads and her past is catching up to her. And it has been very well reviewed and justifiably so. This performance will blow you away. She is, for what it's worth, currently, I don't know, probably the frontrunner to win best actress, but that can change. Who cares? Bottom line is, it's a great movie. She's fantastic in it. I caught up with Kate Blanchett the day she was in New York City for the New York Film Festival premiere.

We contextualize that. We say that in the conversation. It was the morning of that film festival premiere. And I just, I'd run into, I'd gotten a chance to actually see Kate Blanchett a couple weeks prior. Again, just saying this because it comes up in the conversation. I saw her at the Tell You Ride Film Festival where the film screened as well. So that's some context around that. There's a little bit of spoiler-ish talk in here,

but I do reference it and give you ample warning. But there's some great stuff in here about her life and career and her many notable roles and a lot on this fantastic performance in Tar, which if you love film, you've probably already prioritized this one. and if not, do so right now. My highest recommendation. Okay, let's get some of the main event. I know this is a long preamble, but it's been a lot going on.

I'm going to go lie down and go to bed because I'm tired. It's just too much. You have a task at hand to listen to one of the world's greatest actors on the planet talk about their craft and their career. Here is me and Kate Blanchard. You know, I've been married to my husband for 25. years, almost 26 years, and he will not let me make him tea.

Boundaries. This is the limit. Obvious reasons. So we're just coming into this very important conversation where Kate has mangled her tea procedure. Yes. It's a daily, daily occurrence mangled tea procedures. The good news is you're much better acting than your tea procedures.

Yes. Yes. I hope so. You're quite good. Congratulations. It's good to see you again. We were just talking. We caught up briefly in Telly Ride. We both drank the Kool-Aid. We're in for that festival. That's amazing. Yeah, you just said it was your first. It was my first too. Remarkable.

And now we're here in New York. You're on my home turf. Thank you for coming. And today's a big day. As we tape this, this is the premiere at the New York Film Festival for TAR, this exceptional piece of work. Before we get into TAR, I'm just curious.

You've done so many different kinds of premieres in your career. What's, like, what stands out as like, I don't know, walking into a premiere with expectations, worry, anxiety, is it always? Like, what's your secret to a chill premiere? Well, the longest premiere that I ever went to, the Mahabarata of premieres, was for The Hobbit in New Zealand.

And Pete and Fran said, it's a long red carpet. It was literally, I think it was about two and a half miles long. So the red carpet is proportional to the film. No, proportion to the population of New Zealand. They wanted to all out every single member. the New Zealand population to have access to the actors. Welcome New Zealand and we don't mean just metaphorically we mean literally welcome

all of New Zealand to the premiere. So that was a long one. But you know it is, I mean when we showed the film for the first time in Venice it is I find it excruciating to watch myself but Todd has made an exceptional film and you know the ensemble of actors

you know Nina Hoss for instance is so extraordinary I could watch her you know read the phone book but it's I find it increasingly important to watch these things with an audience because you have no idea how it's going to play and then you have to let it go. But it's very nerve-wracking. Well, this is one, and I've seen it, I've seen it a second time since Tell You Ride and it's, it plays, I mean, in so many fascinating different ways. It's a sticky film. I mean that in that. It's called

Tar. I didn't even mean that metaphor, but thank you for that. But no, it does. It really, like, it sticks with you in the best possible ways and it's going to conjure a lot of different conversations. At its heart, it's a character study, a fall from grace of this amazing figure, this complex figure, Lydia Tar. It's interesting you say fall from grace.

I think the first time I read it, I found the dissent in a bit like Orpheus going down into the underworld, really dark and confronting. But then in playing it, I

feel like there's a kind of an epiphany or a rebirth. It's a little bit of an inkblot test. I mean, I don't want to give away the ending, but where it gets to. It's about, look, it's a meditation on power in a lot of ways, but it's also, it's the corrupting nature of power. You don't have to be a classical musician to understand that. But I think it's also about the creative process

and that we talk about giving birth to ideas or giving birth to, you know, works of art, whatever that in whatever form that may be. But the urge to destroy that is equally as powerful. It's interesting to say that, and maybe we'll put a little spoiler on this part of the conversation because I wasn't planning on going there, but what you bring up is something that I was thinking about, especially the second time I watched it, which is the way the film ends, she's not destroyed.

You can stop listening now if you haven't seen the movie. You'll skip high this. For those that I'll skip ahead a couple minutes. But she still has the same certitude and passion for the work at the very end. There's a humility, I think. and we don't associate that with positions of power. And I think what I find really interesting, particularly because she's a classical musician,

you know, she's a composer, she's a pianist, but she's also, you know, a conductor of the greatest orchestra of all time. So, you know, the fact that a woman is leading it, you know, it is a bit of a fairy tale in that respect. But, you know, she does, she's had to invent her own origin story. Yeah. And I think because in classical music world, your connection to your mentor to the history of the music

and therefore your unassailable right to be able to perform it and reinvent it. You know, if you look at Marin Alsop and her connection to Bernstein and Bernstein's connection to Marla's widow, you know, like it's, or his sister, I can't remember which, that that gives them the right to reinvent the music. And of course, we discover that the Tars' sense of her history

is not what she says it is. Yes. She's very estranged from her. herself. It's a masterful kind of masked exposition in the first, like, act that Todd does, I think. The prologue, I'd like to think of it. Yes. So the prologue is this extended sequence, this like interview from no less than Adam Gobnick, that could feel like an exposition dump, but it really is very telling for exact. No, but it could in the wrong hands in the wrong, like treated, but it says so much because you're right. Like we see her assistant mouthing the bio and we realize, oh, this is constructed. This is totally.

constructed by her. I mean, the facts, maybe the facts, to a different degrees, but this is a meticulously created world she's created for herself, this like her medically sealed world that really, I guess then the whole film is a bit of a slow burn on like of that, of that world getting destroyed, of getting holes poked in it. And I think, you know, conductors in particular, but I think a lot of people in the public eye, you know, whether they be an architect or or the CEO of a major banking corporation, you know, but particularly with conductors, is that their personalities go a long way

to cement their reputation. Right. And so what is said about you, because what you do, making music, it's ephemeral. Right. Unless you, and that's why recordings are, you know, so important. You look at Von Karian. You know, he was very obsessed with how music looked

as much as how it sounded, and he would go into the recording studio and replay and replay and replay. and film himself conducting. Wow. You know, because he knew that that would be his legacy. Because if he just left it up to the concerts, then once all of the people who had seen him live,

it's over, it's gone. I mean, that's what I love about theater. You know, you have to be there. And that's what is great about cinema, too, particularly these days. If you don't see this film in the cinema, then you don't, you miss that experience. So where are you at? You're just talking about theater.

I'm right here, right now. Literally. Where are you? you Kate, I can't see you. I'm over here. Help. No, but I mean, you talked about theater and that's part of the love of theater, which is that it is ephemeral and it's special. It's only for that 500 people at once. But, you know, are you the type that, I don't know, like Lydia keeps the clippings, keeps the memorabilia, keeps like, is documenting every tangible part of her life. Oh, I had this horrifying moment that the National Archives in Australia, and I can't remember whether it happened or not. They approached me to say,

do they want to archive stuff? And I went, oh, and I must have mentioned it to my mother. And one day a box arrived to my house. And it had kind of the dress that I'd worn to my dad's funeral and pages and pages and pages bound volumes of clippings. And that from, you know, when I, the first interview I must have given, you know, when I did Olianna coming out of drama school, David Mammett's Olliana. And I went, it was really

horrifying. It was like you looking at a dead limb. It wasn't enjoyable. It didn't bring back the beautiful memories. No. Well, no, no, because it's so interesting because I think, I mean, don't you find that the way we think about things that have happened in the past, we, it, it, the present influences how we remember them. And then when you get the stark reality of, I looked like that, I actually said that ridiculous, nonsensical sentence. You know, like it's, it's, we sort of repolish those things. Right. One of the many talking points about this film I know will be, you know, how it reflects the cancel culture that we've been, you know, the world that we live in now. I mean, I, we're all going to relate to it in different ways. Like, personally speak, it's a texture,

definitely. Definitely. And I, I worked, my first job out of school, I worked for Charlie Rose. And I know you were on Charlie a bunch of times. Many times, yeah. Right. And like, so like that, it's a, it really had me thinking about him, frankly, and thinking about folks that are canceled and what happens literally the day after. Like, you don't think, you know, like, because we're seeing her in that moment of when it's over and going from the center of attention and her world is perfect by her own standards in some ways. And then she's a pariah.

But she's also, she's haunted, I think. You know, it's a, true. There is a creeping dread of it catching up to her. Yeah, it's a strange haunting that's going on in, in the film, you know, and it's interesting you talk about cancel culture because for me it's like you know that moment when mobile phones ended our lives it changed the way we constructed narratives right and i feel like we haven't even processed um the me too movement and black lives matter and um the idea of canceling people but that is the world in which we live and the pandemic you know that so even if a movie doesn't a film a story

a novel a stage play um it doesn't a work of art doesn't directly literally literally literally address those things. Like the mobile phone influence narrative delivery, I think that all of these things that we're going through are textures in the way an audience perceives a movie. Because it's our day-to-day. It's what we're living with. And so definitely you can't make a movie now without those things being a reference point. And I think that that's where they sit in the movie. I think for me it's a much more existential metaphysical journey than it is kind of a literal social commentary. Do you think about, though, I mean, the character does talk about, I think at one point of caring more about the work than the life of the

artist. And I feel like it's something that we all kind of wrestle with, I've wrestled with as a lover of the arts when I learned that the person that makes the thing is not the, you know, the paragon of virtue that maybe I had dreamed when I was a kid. I'm good at separating it. I still, you can't take away a filmmaker's works from me if they're complicated, right? It's very complicated and, you know, I mean, the interesting thing I think the film really examines is who is the judge. Because it's not just, you know, I think there's such a phenomenal ensemble in this film of Todd's because it's not just Lydia who is changed and altered, corrupted maybe, or emboldened by being in a position of authority of power. It's all the people who support her being in that position and need her. to behave in a certain way, need her to keep them in the positions they are.

I mean, we're all culpable in some way. That doesn't excuse outrageous behavior, and it doesn't mean it doesn't need to be examined. But I think it needs to be discussed with, you know, with a degree of mature nuance discussion, you know. It can't be dealt with in a soundbite. So it's written directed by the great Todd Field. This is his first film in 16 years. Not because he's lazy. Not because he's lazy.

He's just picky. Picky and it's tough to make good stuff from anyone. I mean, you think about little children and in the bedroom. I mean, I still remember moments, scenes, expressions, performances, and shots from those movies. He's so gifted. So he says he wrote this with you in mind. How often does that happen and how often does it work out when someone comes to you and says, I've written this for you and you're the only one.

Oh, well, they all say that, don't they? And then 17 people have passed on it before it gets to your desk. I don't know. I mean, look, I didn't know that until I read the press notes in Venice. And I'm so grateful. I didn't. I mean, it's a lot of pressure. And there was, you know, there was enough to be getting on with.

There was so much to do to get to first base to even play the role. Well, what is the first step? Like, what's the first? Like, you get the script. Panic. Panic attack. And then the first. work begins. And what is the work? Is it a lot of different facets in approaching this?

Well, our conversation, Todd's and my conversation initially were intensely practical. It was, okay, so this is a 10-minute scene. How do you think you might shoot this? Okay, so is this the piece of Bach that you want me to play on the piano? Okay, so I need to get on top of that because it's a teaching exercise. How can I play that? She's also composing something, and Hilda Gourdon Dorteur did the music. I mean, she did an amazing score. People will know her from The Joker, but she's an incredible composer and cellist.

And so she composed that. I had to learn that. I didn't know how much Todd wanted to use, so I had to be prepared. And then, of course, she's leading an orchestra in Germany, and I said to Todd, she's been there. Tara's been there for seven years. She's not going to lead the rehearsal in English.

She has to do it in Germany. He said, you said it. So then I had to play. Me, when it comes time to do it. Yeah, my German textbooks. But fortunately, I've got a very dear friend who's an opera singer, and she introduced me to this miraculous human being, Francisco Roth, who helps opera singers to sing correctly in German.

So she knew the musical world, and so I spent a lot of time with her. All right, so let's take a step back a little bit on some broader career stuff. I just had Matt Smith on. I don't know if you're familiar with this work. He's fantastic. And he introduced me to a game called Movie Star. or actor. He just brings up a thespian, an actor, and

says, are they first a movie star or an actor? So, Kate... Oh, hang on, but, I mean, that... You pulled a funny face. Is one good and one bad? Well, that was my question for you. A, I guess my... Component A, is Kate Blanchett a movie star or actor? And B, is there

a pejorative, is there a negative connotation in your mind, like, just a movie star? Like, I don't know. I mean, I revere both, and I think someone can be both, but... I don't know what is... I mean, I think that the notion of movie star is, it seems like an antiquated thing, but there's a light that some people have.

And it's not about transformation. It's not about seeing the acting. They just, they're luminous. Yeah, holding the screen, holding our attention. Yeah, and I, yeah, I think that's maybe the quality that people are talking about. And you're born with that. Yeah.

And it's so interesting, too. You work with some actors and you think, are you doing anything? Right. but then you see them on the screen and there's a relationship or something that the camera brings out in them which is just, it's so imperceptible.

So it's a gift. It's a gift. When you came out of drama school, were movies on your mind? No. I was never that girl. I was never, no. I thought if I was lucky, I would have a career in the theater

which I was very, very happy with working in Australia. I didn't ever think that I would make a movie or do any television or even travel with my work. Obviously, you know, we're going to skip around because we don't have time to do everything. But like Elizabeth was a turning point that changed things seemingly in terms of your visibility around the world. Say it to say no, maybe not. Maybe. Maybe.

Maybe. Maybe. Yeah, maybe externally it might have seen that. For me, though, a big turning point was in my final year at drama school, I played Electra. And by default, actually, not by design, it was kind of a really complicated situation where another girl was quite painful, actually. She didn't perform the role, and I did.

And that was transformative for me. And then when I came out of drama school, so many people in my year worked, and I don't think anyone knew what to do with me. And so I realized I sort of had to work out what to do with myself. And I got cast in David Mammots, Olianna. And that was, to me, that was for me,

was a big turning point. Because of the material. because you're working with Jeffrey on stage. I guess because I just felt like I stopped thinking about myself. You know, because, of course, self-consciousness is the enemy to getting anywhere as a performer. So that was, yeah. Was it clear to you, though, when Elizabeth came around that, like, I mean, it's like a Michael Corleone kind of role, down to, like, her orchestrating the multifaceted attacks at by the end?

Did you see the capacity of what that could be, Matt? with the director at the time? I thought it was going to be the death of my career. What? Yeah, as nascent as it was at the age of 27, I thought, you know. But I loved working with Chekakopur. And it was kind of like the first, one of the first sort of Bollywood East Meets-West aesthetic hybrid.

So, you know, I don't think I fully appreciated how that sort of shifted things at the time. It was just, I just thought, well, this is it. I have to enjoy it while I can. And then I'll go back and, you know, my first love, which is theater. You've been able to do both, thankfully. I'm lucky me. I mean, it seems like next to talent, the best asset and luck perhaps an actor can have is good taste. And it's safe to say, I mean, looking at the directors you've worked with in your career,

it's like looking at like a, just a compendium of the greats of the last 50 years. It's, and in terms of reflecting also international cinema. And I guess I'm curious, I don't know, how do you select directors now, I guess you're selecting projects, not just directors, but I would imagine. In the end, I think it's the director. I mean, there's been a few times where I've been so enamored with the script and then the script has just been shot. Right. And that was a remarkable thing working with Todd. I mean, what doesn't that man do?

I mean, we had a conversation, obviously he was an actor, he was a jazz musician, he's a screenwriter, and I I fell, I was totally entranced and bowled over by the screenplay for Tar and he's a director. And then we had this conversation the other day and he was talking about going around and checking the theaters for when Tar comes out because the sound is so important. Audiences have also appreciated especially some of like the quote-unquote bigger franchise stuff that you've been a part of. I'm curious like the stuff like, Where are the Rings, Indiana Jones, etc. Thor, Ragnarok in recent years. Have those been influenced by your kids as much as your interest in the material itself? Like, do they factor into when you get involved in something that satisfies the popcorn side of things, or no?

I just felt like it was a genre that I didn't, I hadn't worked in, and I was curious about. And obviously, doing something like Thor Ragnarck, it was to work with Tyker, you know? So once again, it was kind of director-driven. But, yeah, partly. Like, you know, I did a voice in Guillermo del Toros, Pinocchio, which comes out soon. And, you know, I could say, what a good parent I am that was for my children. But really, it was to work in Guillermo again. Hang out with Guillermo.

Yeah, of course. Who wouldn't want to do that. Yeah, genius. Yeah. And do I have it right? You're completing that great Mexican trifecta of brothers, as it were, soon. Are you going to work with Claron? Just, well, almost finished.

Yes. Yeah, we've kind of wrapped the first tranche in London. Oh, exciting. Yeah. It does seem like he's one of those filmmakers, storytellers that, again, like, has all the tricks in the toolkit, but it's for, it's service is a good thing. Like, it's ways that tell a story in a unique way. The way Inorritu can do Birdman and explore, you know, a seemingly continuous shot, but it's for narrative reasons. Some people can just trot out the tricks for no reason.

But it does seem like you've taken some big swings with some great filmmakers. I think of like Soderberg. Unlike good German, which some people may have loved or hated. Only three or four people saw it. I saw it. And again, I admire, I would say I admire the big swings. And that must have felt like when he comes to you with that is part of the excitement like, yeah, we're going to go for it.

I mean, he is one of the genuine experimenters. Yeah. And he's experiments, I mean, he's just, obviously, a technical master, but he's so inventive with the way films are distributed, released, and disseminated and consumed, as well as the way he tells stories, and so he's constantly shape-shifting and moving the form. He's, you know, he's so fascinated to talk to, and so the chance to work with him, and he came and did a play with us in, my husband and I'm running the Sydney Theatre Company, which was great.

Oh, cool. Based on the Casey Anthony story, Top Mom. He's somebody that, like, is so ill. It's like every 18 months, it's like he's just going to do something he's never done before in a fascinating way. And it's just thrilling that like someone, because a lot of people lose that. And it feels like he's never going to be that. No, no. And he's, you know, he's totally prepared to give it all away.

But he's so curious about it. He can't help himself. The legacy, so we were talking a little bit, Thor, I mentioned Where the Rings. I mean, the legacy of Galadriel and that character and those films must exceed your wildest expectations. I can only imagine, like, day one of shooting that. or when you took that on versus what it of how it just informs your life day to day like still being recognized and still being kids generations from now will still know you for that role I mean I mean it's a great thing but I mean does that boggle your mind that it has had the staying

power it did did you know from Peter Peter's talents from day one that it had that capacity I mean it was totally of course being a Tolkien fan who who isn't but it was absolutely to work with with Peter and Fran you know um and that that was the draw and so didn't I wouldn't mind what I did you know and so I yeah and but but it was it felt like something like no one was it wasn't really on anyone's radar right and so I don't think any of us imagined that it was going to be I knew it was going to be something something amazing but I didn't know would have this sort of lasting impact but then of course he's an incredible filmmaker yeah folks like every year are you hear about like it's an annual tradition I'm going to watch the entire trilogy over like a holiday and it's

that's you're a part of part of something that will never go away it's amazing um is there any curiosity about this new or the ring series just to see what another actress does with a different incarnation of galadriel oh i'm sure she'll be amazing and how great that they're that they're re-examining that story through through her lens yeah i mean great yeah and in terms of so we mentioned you're in the middle of working with clero now it does feel like you're working through the list of the grace. Like, and I know there's some that are even, like, haven't happened that you've tried, like Luca Guadonino, there was talk of collaborating with him on Bride's Head.

There's, who else is coming up that, oh, I know you want to work with Pedro, Pedro Almodovar. Yes. Which, again, may or may not. Yeah, one day. I mean, we've been talking for 20 years about doing it, so, you know, some things take a long time. So is that how it works? I mean, do you reach out to filmmakers that you admire and just sort of like, because Todd even started on a different project, right?

It wasn't necessarily this. Yeah, we met it. 10 years ago and we were talking about he was working on a on a screenplay with Joan Didion and we met and for one reason I can't even remember why it just didn't happen but you stay in one another's orbit you know you encounter one another at an event or you know you watch their movie or you end up your paths end up crossing or they send you a script but you're not available at that time but you've begun a kind of conversation sometimes those conversations are

sporadic but you know it doesn't stop you admiring what they do and being influenced by what they're doing and, you know, absorbing, you know, what they do year and year out. And then hopefully one day, the stars will align and you'll find something to do together. Is your attitude like, I mean, are you, do you feel like you can work with any kind of director at this point? Or do you need a specific, are there certain things that you need to hear from a director that earn your trust, I guess, at this point in your career? Like, what are you looking for in those initial conversations? I think it's just the quality of conversation.

I think for me, I don't have a particular process. I think the work, the director, the, you know, the material, the other actors, the location, all of that influences the way you work. I mean, in the instance of TAR, there were certain technical things that I just had to get on top of immediately, so I had to, but some roles are not like that. But sometimes you have to just show up and be alive and open to what's going to happen on the day. Sometimes you have to get super fit, you know, which is probably an important thing as you've got a bit older. Yeah, to exercise.

That's where the magical tea comes in. The magical tea, yeah, which I've drunk so much off. I'm keeping you talking too much. I heard you say something about Todd and this and that he was really great about, you know, being willing to kill him. his darlings that that old phrase in terms of this like it's surprising in some ways to me because the film feels very assured and it clearly is but it sounds like some ideas came and went and if it wasn't working for whatever reason he let it go or what the screenplay that he wrote was absolutely immaculate yeah um i thought you don't have to change a syllable i just have to

try and rise to the occasion but in the process of making it i'd say you know this this says in the big print here and he went oh don't worry about that and then you'd realize that the camera was here and you'd never imagine that it was going to be shot like that but he was very open to ideas that came up in the moment you know to shifting and changing things and as we shot one scene he'd say I think we need to do this other scene in one take

because we've had a lot of intercuts and rhythmically like he's such a rhythmic director and him and Monica Willie together you know astonishing editor you know worked with Hanuky for years, you know, that they were very focused on the rhythm of the piece. And as a result, he warned me, you know, there was some sections. There was a big birthday party sequence because my character was turning 50, which I hear is a very big turning point for a person. Yeah, I don't remember that when I one day reached there.

There's two 35-year-olds, we can laugh about what that's going to be one day. I just lost my bladder control. Yeah. No, but it's, so that that was excised. said, you know, don't worry, he said, because all of those elements are homeopathically in the movie. And I understood what he meant, because the fact that all of us understood, like Nina Hoss and I understood that there was a, that she was throwing a surprise party for my character, that it was a big deal, that she was turning 50. That influenced the way we played the other

scenes. So whilst, you know, and, you know, my halfway through the shoot, he said, I really, really think, you know, because my character has an acute sensitivity to sound, she has misophonia. He said, I think, what have we really played into that? And we said, you know, that she came from an incredibly silent household. Because I kept thinking she's a character who's been mercilessly bullied and said, you know, she's a child of deaf parents. And what, therefore, where does her, her relationship to her acute ability and incredible talent with sound, sit with her. And And that sort of went away, literally, but it was still a texture for me, you know? Does it matter to you, like, where the camera is?

Like, do you want to know? Because, again, when I was watching the film again, like, there's like an extended dialogue scene where the camera is, like, way back, it's on your back and the person you're talking to for the entire dialogue scene. Like, we see none of your face. Does that matter to you? Does it affect your performance at all? Well, one thing you learn working on stage is to act with your back.

So, and I love, I mean, you know, the son of soul. What an astonishing film. You were so inside that experience. Laslo's film was amazing and so confident, you know, that. And I, Todd has an absolute confidence in mastery. He always knows where to put the camera. And it helps me enormously to know where it is because then you know, you know your relationship or the tunnel through which you're communicating with the audience.

I don't think I never want to lose that sense on film. But what he was very clear about from the beginning is he wanted, particularly in the rehearsal scenes, because it's a rehearsal movie, not a performance movie. When they're rehearsing the major work with Marla's fifth, is he really wanted it to feel like fly on the wall. And I think that that was all the way through. So I knew that the camera would have that quality quite often, which was useful to know in terms of the texture of the performance, I guess. We're also seeing like those like kind of revealing moments like, I think the first full glimpse of your character early on in the film is you waiting in the wings about to go out and kind of doing some vocal exercises, kind of just getting into that space where she needs to be. Yeah, getting in control of her tics and anxieties. Boy, I know that feeling backstage.

Well, I was going to ask. So what if I had a camera trained on you before you go on stage for a theatrical performance, what does it look like? It wouldn't be pretty. but something I have learned to to tell myself is that my anxiety is actually excitement because that you know that energetic quality is quite similar so it's a it's a sort of a confidence trick that you have to do you know but and I just I every time I go on I just say just remember the first moment and then the everything else has to evaporate you cannot endgame. You know, you have to... Have you ever blanked on stage? Have you, has it ever just...

I think I have once. I think I have once. And it was a, it was just a moment where I, it was like everything dropped away. Right. For a minute. And I realized I'd forgotten to breathe. I mean, that's most times, isn't it, when we forget anything. We're holding our breath. Yeah. So. Theater for you, as I said earlier, has been, it's always going to be a part of the time. of your life clearly. I mean, it's not, oh, I'll do this at some point. As long as people will come and see me. Yeah. No, no, I love it as an audience member. You know, and the thing is, when you go and see a bad film, you know, a film that disappoints you or, you know, you go, oh, well. But when you go and see a terrible play, you go, I am never

going back to the theater again. What I hate, I hate the theater. And I love that about it, you know, because it's so, you know, you have a responsibility to, you know, you're, you're The audience is, leans in. So an audience is not passive in the theater. They're not saying that they are in cinema, but... Well, they've made the investment. Money, time. It's just, it's an endeavor and they're going to...

But on the stage, I think what people are unaware of is that the audience will shift, the show will shift night to night depending on the audience's reaction. Now, you can guide them rhythmically to look at a certain part of the story, and that's part of the stage picture, where to look. But, you know, it's, they do complete the evening. When you were growing up, was it theater or film that influenced you that inspired you first? Like, less about the career, but just like what, I don't know, what were the turning points? What are the moments when you think to your childhood that made you kind of fall in love with the arts?

Gosh, it's hard to say. I think my first memory of thinking acting was an exciting and dangerous profession was I went to see a production of the Macardo, and Frank Thring, who you wouldn't know, but he was this extraordinary belesque of a human being. And he was playing the emperor, and his moustache fell off. And he made some quip about, he looked at the back of the moustache, said, oh, made in Japan. And he put it back on. And I didn't quite get the joke because I was only six, but everyone laughed.

And you realized that the wall had come down and that something genuine and real had happened and that the audience just went right in. And I thought, oh, I want to be up there. And 10 years in counting, she just started, folks. She's just getting started, Kate Blanchett. We're just in the beginning stages of the career. I mean, you must be so thrilled, honestly. But to be how old I am?

No, no, no. What I was going to say is... It's not easy. I know it's not easy. But what I was going to say, honestly, is the breadth of the work that continues. Because, like, you probably... It was probably ingrained on any young actress.

Like, it's going to dry up. at 40, it's over. Like, I feel like that's... Oh my God, yeah. Right? I mean, my husband said with absolute, I mean, I couldn't have a more supportive partner, you know, and he said, you know, when I came out in Elizabeth, he said, he said, darling, enjoy this because you've probably got five years. And that wasn't a lack of confidence in my capacity. It was just the reality of what it was. And that has really shifted for women. I mean, my God, there's a lot to be said and a lot to do. I mean, look at what's going on in Iran at the moment, and women's right to choose, forget an actress's career. I mean, you know, women's rights are in profound peril, but

there has been advances in our industry. And you're inspired, excited by stuff that's coming your way. You're working with Clorone. I don't know if you're still going to work with Stiller on a project. That sounded interesting. Yeah, that's exciting. I really admire Ben. I think he's astonishing. And what he's been able to do as a director. Oh, my God. I mean, he's incredible, yeah. Yeah. Excellent. Okay. More to come. It's a busy day. This is a part two? We're doing part one, part two. We're doing part hundreds.

I'm going to stay here all day. Just settle in. We got the tea. I go. I'm going to call you, sir. No, I honestly, I really appreciate the time. It's an exceptional piece of work. Tars, the film.

Everybody should check it out. As you said, it's a masterful piece of direction, I think. It's a real kind of welcome home for Tart. I think people will be, think, oh my God, can you please just make a movie? Don't take another 16 years. I know. Hopefully, yeah. Do what you can.

Do what you can. Five or six. will take. He can still take his time. Congratulations and enjoy the moment of New York. Thank you. Thank you. And so ends another edition of Happy, Sad, confused. Remember to review, rate, and

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