From the Oscar Archives: Cate Blanchett

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Lemonada Media

Society & Culture, Film Interviews, Tv & Film

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 March 2024

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For over twenty-five years, Cate Blanchett has been as vital as any performer we have. In the lead-up to this Sunday's 96th annual Academy Awards, we're returning to our special talk with Cate.

To begin, we unpack her femme fatale turn in Nightmare Alley (6:06), the way director Guillermo del Toro wrestles with truth and deception in the neo-noir (9:34), the first time Blanchett understood her gift for shapeshifting (11:18), the lasting presence of her late father (14:46), an early job as a script reader that changed how she approached her craft (19:14), the challenge of getting comfortable with “being seen” (22:40), a prophetic encounter with a psychic while filming The Gift (25:46), and how becoming a parent clarified her purpose (31:58).

On the back-half, we sit her work in I’m Not There (34:52) and Manifesto (38:54), her affinity for the Eastern philosophy of imperfection (42:33), words of wisdom from dancer Martha Graham (48:00), and how she’s beginning to accept the “divine dissatisfaction” of being an artist (51:54).

For questions, comments, or to join our mailing list, reach me at [email protected].

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Pushkin. This is talk easy. I'm joined by actor Kate Blanchett. For over 25 years,
0:49.0	Blanchett has been as vital as any performer we have. Some of my personal favorite
0:54.3	performances of hers come in projects like Elizabeth, the talented Mr.
0:58.7	Ripley, the gift, the aviator, Babel, Carol, Manifesto, and Mrs America.
1:05.0	She was in two films in 2021, Don't Look Up,
1:09.0	an apocalyptic satire directed by Anna McKay,
1:12.0	and Nightmare Alley, which was nominated for four Oscars this past week, including Best Picture.
1:18.0	Set in the late 30s, early 40s, it tells the story of Stanton Carlyle, played by Bradley Cooper, an ambitious
1:25.8	Carney turned renowned psychic. Performing alongside his wife Molly, played by
1:31.3	Rooney Mara, the clairvoyant couple begins to impress the wealthy elite of
1:36.2	Buffalo.
1:37.2	It's here during a show that Stanton meets his match in psychologist Dr. Lidith Ritter who suspects he's not the
1:44.0	omniscient medium he claims to be. Here's an early scene between the two of
1:48.4	them from the film Nightmare Alley.
1:50.8	Mr. Kerala, come in.
1:55.0	Slow day?
1:58.0	If you're not heard.
2:01.0	We're at war. I'm aware.
2:06.0	How did you know it was me?
2:08.0	What brings you here?
2:09.0	You left me your card, didn't you?
2:12.0	So. card didn't you? So, here we are. Oh not me I never drink. Microphones. That's right. Fire recorder. You recording this? No. My office is wired to record all analysis sessions.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Lemonada Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Lemonada Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.