Blanchett to be recognized as Film Festival's Modern Master

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

It’s possible that last fall, one could have stood at the ticket booth of a local movie theater, turned to a spouse, date or friend and debated whether to see “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” in theater A, or “I’m Not There,” in theater B.
On the surface, the films had little in common, aside from the cost -- $7 if it was a sleepy Saturday afternoon matinee. But looking a little deeper, the stern face on the poster for the former, and the shadowy face on the poster for the latter, were both that of Cate Blanchett, who will be receiving the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Modern Master Award tomorrow night at the Arlington Theatre.


Never mind that in theater A, Blanchett portrayed Elizabeth I in 16th century Europe and in theater B, she was one cog in the wheel of the life of Bob Dylan. From Bob to Elizabeth, eclectic, renegade musician to powerful queen, the common consensus -- at least among those in the “Academy” as they say -- is that Cate nailed it.
And if anyone doubted that Blanchett could pull off the two drastically different roles, especially the one where she played a man, well, that was just more reason for her to prove them wrong.
“The more people say ‘how could this possibly work,’ the more I’m spurred on to show them it can,” Blanchett told the Daily Sound during a phone interview from Australia.
But that’s not to say Blanchett didn’t have reservations when Todd Haynes, director and co-writer of “I’m Not There,” asked her to play Dylan.
Instead of excitement or curiosity, Blanchett said she met Haynes’ proposal with “bewilderment” and “awe that someone could have that audacity.”
“It was an audacious idea,” she said of Haynes’ proposal. “The challenge was to move it beyond an idea and make it become a reality.”
In order to do that, Blanchett said much credit goes to Haynes, whom she said created a visual and musical album to help each of the six actors chosen to portray a period of Dylan’s life nail down the role.
Blanchett said the success of “I’m Not There” also hinged on the fact that Haynes’ vision did not waver throughout the process, and according to the Australian born actress, “It was impeccably written.”
“It’s more than an ensemble,” Blanchett said. “Together we do make up a whole person.
“I think it absolutely accomplished its goal. It’s absolutely the film that Todd wanted to make. That’s kind of a rare and wonderful thing.”
Blanchett, who received her first Oscar nomination for her leading performance as Elizabeth in the 1998 blockbuster of that same name, said she also had reservations when faced with making its sequel.
“It took some persuading that it was a good thing to do,” she said. “Once it made sense to me, I jumped to the opportunity.”
After the first “Elizabeth,” she said it seemed the book had ended. So going into the sequel, Blanchett said she knew the second film could not feel the same for her or the audience.
“It was important for me that it had its own identity,” Blanchett said. “It was never going to be the same experience for the audience or for me.”
Throughout her career, Blanchett says she has gravitated toward the role as director rather than actor. Her ability then to see a role not through a singular lens, but as a complete package has likely helped her growing resume of portraying iconic figures.
“I think I always think about the project as a whole not just whether I want to play the role,” Blanchett said. “I’m not the sort of person who wants a showcase.”
With a vast background on the stage (at the time of this interview she was directing the play “Blackbird” in Sydney, Australia), Blanchett said she has enjoyed what film, and its sometimes spontaneous quality, have offered her.
“With film you don’t have security of architecture,” she said. “The pieces haven’t rehearsed altogether. You are thrown into it.
“There’s kind of an electric adrenaline experience that you have in that moment that can be completely thrilling and terrifying.”
It would be difficult to imagine either “I’m Not There,” or “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” without Blanchett’s crystal performances, which border historic.
It’s the 11th time in the history of the Academy Awards that the same person has been nominated for an Oscar in both the leading and supporting roles, and no one has ever won both. It’s only the second time a woman has been nominated for an Oscar for playing the role of a man. The first was in 1982 when Linda Hunt won the Oscar for best supporting actress for her role in “The Year of Living Dangerously.”
Given these feats, it seems all the more appropriate that Blanchett will stroll down the red carpet tomorrow at the Arlington Theatre, where she will receive the award Film Festival Executive Director Roger Durling has called the “crowning event” of the festival.
Blanchett will be the first female recipient of the award, which has been a staple of the Film Festival since its inception in 1995.
“She’s one of the great living actors today,” Durling said of Blanchett when he announced she would receive the award. “I always was looking for a woman to be crowned modern master and this is the first under my regime.”
Blanchett will cap a list of Modern Masters that includes the likes of Peter Jackson, Jodie Foster, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sean Penn, Jeff Bridges, Diane Keaton, George Clooney, Will Smith and Michael Douglas.
The Modern Master festivities begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are $75.