Blue Jasmine Opens Wide; Cate Blanchett Feted by NYFF

Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine
Cate Blanchett in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine” | Sony Pictures Classics

Other actresses may as well head for the exits because Cate Blanchett will be handed the Oscar in February for her role in “Blue Jasmine.”

Blanchett’s portrayal as a delusional, formerly wealthy Upper East Side socialite who loses her mind soon after she loses her fortune is the one to beat.

More audience members will be able to see what the lovefest for Cate is all about when Sony Pictures Classics expands Woody Allen’s comedy-drama from 229 to over 1,200 screens nationwide this weekend. This surpasses the screen count for “Midnight in Paris” – for which Allen received a best screenwriting Oscar – marking “Blue Jasmine” as the widest release of any Woody Allen film.

According to Box Office Mojo, “Blue Jasmine” has made $9,943,025 million at the box office since its limited July 26 release. On opening weekend, the film averaged $102,011 per screen in six theaters – one of the top limited openings of all time. This is Allen’s 44th feature film that he has written and directed, and his 6th film with Sony Pictures Classics.

As though this wasn’t enough Cate love, the Film Society of Lincoln Center also announced yesterday that Blanchett, along with Ralph Fiennes, will be honored with separate tributes during the New York Film Festival. The gala for Cate Blanchett will take place on Wednesday, October 2. (Fiennes’ will take place on  on Wednesday, October 9 in conjunction with the screening of his film “The Invisible Woman,” a main slate official selection.)

Past honorees included Pedro Almodóvar, David Cronenberg, Nicole Kidman and Richard Peña.

Regarding Cate Blanchett’s tribute, FSLC’s Executive Director Rose Kuo said, “In the year that many critics are hailing her most recent – and perhaps greatest – performance (in “Blue Jasmine”), the Film Society is delighted to celebrate the career of Cate Blanchett. Since her breakthrough in “Oscar and Lucinda” in 1997, Ms. Blanchett has consistently mesmerized audiences with some of the boldest screen performances of the past twenty years, with roles as diverse as Queen Elizabeth I and Bob Dylan.”

Blanchett received an Oscar for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator” (2004). She first received widespread attention in Hollywood in Gillian Armstrong’s “Oscar and Lucinda” in 1997 opposite fellow NYFF honoree Ralph Fiennes.

She followed that up the next year with her Golden Globe and Academy Award-nominated performance as Elizabeth I in Shekhar Kapur’s “Elizabeth” (1998). Other films include Mike Newell’s “Pushing Tin” (1999), Anthony Minghella’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley”  (1999), Gillian Armstrong’s “Charlotte Gray” (2001), and Lasse Hallstrom’s “The Shipping News” (2001).

Other notable roles include her first appearance as Galdriel, the Elf Queen, in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The Rings” (2001), the first of the trilogy. Other movies include Ron Howard’s “The Missing”(2003), Jim Jarmusch’s “Coffee and Cigarettes” (2003), Wes Anderson’s “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” (2004), and a trio of films in 2006, including Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Babel” opposite Brad Pitt, and Steven Soderbergh’s “The Good German” opposite George Clooney. She received her third Academy Award opposite Dame Judi Dench in “Notes on a Scandal.”

In 2008, Blanchett was nominated for two Academy Awards, for best actress for Shekhar Kapur’s “Elizabeth, the Golden Age” and for best supporting actress for playing her interpretation of Bob Dylan in Todd Haynes’s “I’m Not There.”

More recently she starred in David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”  (2008) and Joe Wright’s “Hanna” (2011), before reprising her role of Galadriel in Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” in 2012.

Look for her next as Galadriel in Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” in theaters Dec. 13, and in George Clooney’s “The Monuments Men,” in theaters Dec. 18.


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3 responses to “Blue Jasmine Opens Wide; Cate Blanchett Feted by NYFF”

  1. Jane Boursaw Avatar

    Yeah, no doubt in my mind she’ll land an Oscar nom and probably the statue itself.

    Do we have ideas on contenders yet? I can’t think of any performances even in the same realm as Cate in “Blue Jasmine.”

  2. Jane Boursaw Avatar

    From an email someone sent me (and feel free to jump in if you see this, commenter!):

    “On the subject of Cate Blanchett….Oprah needn’t even go out and buy a fancy dress. She’s not going to be getting another Oscar. I am still seeing Cate’s “crazy” eyes from the end of Blue Jasmine in my head, and I saw it 2 weeks ago.”

    So true.

  3. Tom Farrell Avatar
    Tom Farrell

    The Academy Awards will be handed out on March 2,2014. It’s too early to declare a winner for Best Actress.

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