Did you binge on the Globes? Time to purge by thinking of something else for one hot minute.Thanks to reader Red Rose for pointing the following news bit out to me. It seems that even when Cate Blanchett doesn't attend the big glitzy Hollywood awards, she still manages to walk a red carpet (figuratively) and pick up a trophy (okay, plaque)! While Hollywood was giving out the
it does give me exquisite pleasure to pip the ubiquitous and, in my opinion, the much over-rated Cate Blanchett. I was at NIDA with her and she was a sh**.Hee. Here's a video of the win.
Awards upon awards upon awards. I'm reasonably certain her family applauds her each morning for waking. And her staff give her gifts for allowing them to serve her.
What would you throw trophies at her for?
*incidentally -- thanks anon -- Meryl Streep saw this Streetcar performance and raved about Blanchett's work.
*
Posts
44 comments:
Notes on a Scandal and The Talented Mr. Ripley.
EVERY-god-damn-THING!
Had the pleasure of seeing Cate perform her version of A Streetcar Named Desire, and believe me she deserved that Best Actresss Award.
Elizabeth and HEAVEN. Yes.
Funny you mention Streep, she watched Streetcar too, this is what she said about Blanchett;
``That performance was as naked, as raw and extraordinary and astonishing and surprising and scary as anything I've ever seen, and it didn't have anything to do with what clothes she took off, you know what I mean?
She took the layers of a person and just peeled them away.
``I thought I'd seen that play, I thought I knew all the lines by heart, because I've seen it so many times, but I'd never seen the play until I saw that performance.''
Here's the link:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/sunday-heraldsun/meryl-streeps-complicated-life/story-e6frf92f-1225814962777
Little Fish. To me this is her career-defining performance.
For constantly being the best thing in mediocre movies (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Missing, The Shipping News) and for making an effort when all around have given up.
She also once said in an interview that she doesn't run the tap whilst cleaning her teeth in order to save water which surely deserves some recognition.
Don't hate. She's made a lot of really great professional decisions over the past decade. I guess ubiquity is fine here, as long as it's Meryl Streep's ubiquity. Suddenly "Meryl Streep having fun" is automatically an award-worthy event.
"I swear this woman can't breathe without someone raving about the way she processes oxygen. Awards upon awards upon awards. I'm reasonably certain her family applauds her each morning for waking. And her staff give her gifts for allowing them to serve her."
What a bitchy post, especially coming from such a big Meryl Streep fan. Cate hasn't REALLY been in the Oscar conversation for a couple years, so why would you take such a nasty tone towards her decision to excel at stage work, which as Anon says, has been applauded by critics and peers?
I think playing Blanchet DuBois convincingly in a Liv Ullmann production takes a little more energy than simply "waking." I know you're not a fan, but come on. Everything about this post is nasty. The only good thing you have to say about Cate is that she made a joke at her own expense.
Instead of these stupid and pointless posts you should spend more time uploading the Film Bitch. I know it takes time but if you didn't waste some writing posts like this things would be faster.
WOW.
y'all really take things too seriously. Just having a spot of fun about Cate WHO IS HAVING A SPOT OF FUN AT HER OWN EXPENSE.
why does awards season always make people so bitchy/sensitive? I have enough love for actresses to go round. If occassionally I snark, it only means I've snarked. it doesn't mean i'm out go get someone.
i think it is TOTALLY CUTE that Blanchett made fun of herself.
and the last question is FOR THE FANS. i understand your love even if i don't share it. I have my own actresses-who-can-do-no-wrong.
***
and as for the film bitch awards anon... you do know that it's not nice to ask for something from someone you've just dissed right? It's way tacky but also extremely counterproductive.
Oh my god, some random person on the internet just told me they had a bad experience with Meryl Streep. Let's make a blog post entitled "Meryl Streep is a Shit" and pretend it's endearing/admiring/joking when the barbs inside sound pretty damn real.
Bahaha I don't even think Anon read the post.
Just ignore the other posters Nathaniel, part of what i like is that your humorously catty comments regarding La Blanchett come out out of a deep love and respect for her! he he
i dont think so either
I don't think anyone's read my comment, either.
Shame I really tried to be funny.
Sniff.
Runs Like A Gay, I read your comment, and it is funny!
i am not a hardcore cate blanchett fan, but i do think that this post of yours is quite unfair and i do understand why some people are offended by it. you may not be a fan of her, but she certainly does not deserve your snide comments. she is an exceptional actress and we should at the very least respect that.
yes. LOL towards you my good man
NATHANIEL!!! YOU MUST BLOG ABOUT WHAT A FUCKHEAD JASON REITMAN IS!! SPREAD THE ILL WILL!!
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2010/01/james-cameron-jason-reitman-anthony-minghella-avatar.html
Awards: Elizabeth, The Aviator and I'm Not There
Nominations: Oscar and Lucinda, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Gift, Heaven, Coffee and Cigarettes.
Nathaniel, if you had told me in 2002 that your most nominated actress of the decade was gonna be Samantha Morton, I don't think I would have believed you. But with four nods, she matches Nicole Kidman. And that Marisa Tomei would have more nominations than Julianne Moore?
Is it bad that I knew that without having to check?
No doubt the Anonymous commenters are being way too touchy and don't seem to have any practice reading for tone. Still you did kind of leave yourself open for this one. The morning after Streep wins her umpteenth Globe for hardly the most demanding performance of her career and rides her faux humility thing a little hard "I'm just being confused with a great actress!" is probably not the time to take potshots (even obviously sarcastic ones) at Cate Blanchett. Even Meryl agrees or seems to that Cate deserved an award yesterday more than she did.
Yeah, I mean, the bottom line is, she wasn't accepting an important trophy or walking the red carpet; she was doing something in a small theater community that barely even resembles what happens at the Golden Globes. Not asking for attention, not doing anything redundant or overkill. It's funny how such a pedestrian activity can be misconstrued as an expression of her ubiquity. And besides her own self-deprecating sense of humor, there's a tangible animosity in YOUR words, too, that I think is unfair. I would actually point to the same parts Anonymous quoted.
And I mean, I suppose you could play it off or say you're laughing *with* her. But it's all fun and games until you end up like Nicole Kidman.
Thanks for this post Nathaniel. People finally got your double standards when it comes to Blanchett. Just a reminder, how many movies she was in 2009?
It`s ok for Meryl Streep(and Kate Winslet, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, you name it) to have everyone drooling and praising and awarding her to heavens, but Blanchett gets some small theater award in fricking Australia and she`s back at being ubiquitous and oh so awards driven.
I bet she did Streetcar to win this thing. Such a pity her play didn`t go to Broadway. She may have lost some nights of sleep thinking of that Tonny.
Um, if one us (the commenters) is ironic towards someone, no one will care. If Nathaniel does it (playfully or not) then people get really aggressive. That is only positive for him since it means that people care about his opinion.
And I happen to enjoy having fun at the expense of Blanchett. She gets enough love to endure some nastiness. :p
mcnellie -- i get it i do. But a reader sent me the article and i thought it was a fun "aside" topic that i doubted other people were covering today ... i'm so glad i don't take things as seriously as some people do.
i couldn't make it through the day if i was that easily offended.
anon -- i was not attacking her just goofing around. jCate Blanchett doesn't know i exist. trust me ;) me having a spot of fun at her expense is rather like someone refusing to buy a ticket to Avatar and thinking they've hurt James Cameron's bank account.
anon @ 9:12
I think that this Streetcar will eventually find it's way to Broadway. Producers are very interested, and Ben Brantley has been drooling over her for a while now.
Well I laughed!
In fact this made me like Cate even more.
Cate is the best actress of her generation. One of the best all the times. Great person, too.
I love Cate !
Trin
oh man. Robin Hood is being marketed as a block-buster. I really do hope that doesn't undermine the great work I'm expecting from both Blanchett and Crowe.....
Being an aussie and having a sense of humour.
After reading many of the comments I had to go back and reread the post as I only saw the light-hearted nature of the post. Lighten up people.
"What would you throw trophies at her for?"
I would throw some shiny corkscrew thingies at Cate the Great so next time she meets some of her fans she will be able to pull the sticks out of their arses.
Oh dear, i don't think you can ever mention her ever again Nathaniel in case you get a lot of bad comments.
Geez, judging from some of the comments there's a lot of people without the ability to read between the lines and find the humour. I thought this post was brilliant, and I'm a Cate fan.
To me Cate is an outstanding actress, one that's actually interested in theatre, and her 2009 was blank for the sake of theatre which is something good; I expect her to be great in Robin Hood; for those who are not Cate fans but simply respect her work they need to remember how awful Kidman is at times, and how horrible Winslet was in The Holiday; when was Blanchett dull in a big movie? Exactly, I don't remember any such thing.
And talking bout the awards, I would give her an Oscar nomination for Benjamin Button and leave out Angelina Jolie.
Yavor, re The Holiday, are you confusing Cameron Diaz performance with Kate's? Winslet was quite enjoyable despite the horrendous script.
Then again I would have never ever nominated Cate Blanchett for TCCOBB.
Hmmm, I think I read (Variety? can't remember, it was last year) the exact comment now attributed to Streep from the play's director instead... Liv Ullmann!
I was really really glad that she didn't score a nom last year for Benjamin Button.
I mean it felt like she was being nominated for everything she touched this decade...
Notes on a Scandal?! The Golden Age?! Please,
Blanchett has got more Academy Award nominations than Julianne Moore, Annette Benning, Juliette Binoche, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen, Laura Linney and Michelle Pfeiffer... and the same amount of nominations as the great Glenn Close, but Close doesn't have a single win!
Blanchett's very good, but not everything that she tackles is cinema history. Funny that the one time she is not around in movie awards season (because no Blanchett film this year), she gets theatre awards. But I think, having not seen her performance, at least from her looks she is perfect for the Blanche Dubois part.
The thing about everyone using Meryl Streep's comment as proof of Blanchett's ability is this: Streep also once said she was obsessed with Claire Danes and has offered raves for Lindsay Lohan. The woman will say something ridiculously nice about anyone.
I feel like Blanchett has done solid work, but I also feel like she has a few weaknesses as an actress that have played against her (like I never buy her as a lower class woman. She can't play ignorant or naive, imo, either). I feel the same way about Kate Winslet.
Oh, forgot to mention: Cute post, Nathaniel!
I'll cop to being swayed by fanbases: if an actor/singer has a super annoying one it makes me less likely to gravitate toward that actor/singer. This is one of the lesser reasons I find it so difficult to embrace Blanchett; fans showing up demanding that you write what they want you to and not what you think despite the fact that this is what this blog is all about! God forbid someone dare point out Blanchett is not perfect. Jokingly.
Heh, I laughed at this and I'm a Blanchett fan. To actually answer your question instead of bicker about the malintent of your post, I think she should've been nommed for the following: Elizabeth, Heaven, Little Fish, Notes on a Scandal & I'm Not There and won for Elizabeth & I'm Not There. Sara, you're right that Blanchett is not a perfect actress, NO ONE is and she can sometimes let her technique get the better of her. Her brilliance for me, however, is that she seems incapable of giving an uninteresting performance no matter how poor the film. I choose to enjoy the positives rather than focus on the negatives. Like Meryl for me, Cate brings a part or film completely to life. I was actually priviledged to see her Blanche DuBois in New York and she brought the house down, not even exaggerating. We had 6 standing, rousing ovations at our performance and I left completely stunned by her transformation. Truly spectacular performance that is worth every bit of the praise and I feel was a perfect synthesis of actor/role/director that is rarely seen on stage.
Sara,
Just out of curiosity, when has Blanchett even tried to play a lower class woman? I'm pretty familiar with her CV and she hasn't really done the naive, lower class woman yet so I'm a little confused by your statement. Anyhow, I think it's unfortunate that you don't gravitate towards an actor/singer because of their fans. Don't all performers have those? Many are possessive over their favorites and I say leave them to it, otherwise that diminishes a lot of exposure to great work. I look at the art and the art alone and disregard the silly fanbase's opinions.
You wanted attention and you got it.
Lukas,
Being happy that Blanchett failed to receive a nomination for Ben Button simply because she received four previous and recent nominations is ridiculous and a bit childish.
I got what you were trying to do with this post. However, it does come off a tad bit aggressive, especially when as a huge Meryl fan, you should know, she basically gets an award or nomination for everything, even when she shouldn't. I am not saying all of Blanchett's films are great but, you could have bit a little less agressive.
I am a Blanchett fan, I love that she isn't seen everywhere or shows up at awards shows just because she can. She would rather be with her family in Australia.
I enjoyed her acceptance speech. It was funny.
Post a Comment