Cate Blanchett is on the cover of Marie Claire Japan Issue 173. TÁR is currently playing in cinemas in Japan. We have some additional photos from Louis Vuitton Cruise Show. Thank you to Elena (@julesblanchett) for sharing some photos she took during the post screening discussion with Cate and Todd Haynes at Centre Pompidou.

TÁR Interviews

Google translated from Japanese to English

Cate Blanchett shows a ferocious performance of possession in the topical work “TAR” (2023). She puts all her heart and soul into creating a character obsessed with an obsession, and it’s powerful enough to make her jump out of the movie screen. She has swept the British Oscar Award and the main actress award from the Golden Globe Awards, but the Oscar, which was expected to be the third time due to the rise of Asian power, went to Michelle Yeoh.

‘It is easy in a way to play a role that people like, but I felt it was a challenge to see how the audience would accept my disintegrating personality, she has been taken for granted for bad behavior, and has fallen prey to the cancel culture of coping with the crisis in her own way.”

“It was only director Todd Field who was able to play a genius, narcissistic, and sexually powerful character without a safety net. He wrote the script for me and said he would cancel the shoot if I didn’t take it.”

‘For the role, I studied German hard, started piano lessons, read materials of world-famous conductors, and practiced by watching videos repeatedly. When Todd told me that I was going to shoot with the Dresden Symphony Orchestra in Germany, I was overwhelmed with anxiety.”

“But I pretended to be Lydia and said in German, ‘I’m an actress who plays a conductor. It was the first time I had such a deep and strong collaboration with a director on a film.”

“Yeah, when I was nine years old, I was in a piano recital in Melbourne, and when I started a piece, my teacher grabbed my hand and said, ‘Stop playing, you’re not cut out to be a pianist.’ You would be good to become an actress.” She must have recognized that I was acting as a pianist in my own way.

Cate clearly chooses her words and comments, you might think she has a tough personality, but she actually has a caring and gentle personality.

Marie Claire Japan

In reality, there are very few female principal conductors in the world. That’s why the audience’s curiosity is first aroused by the fact that the role that symbolizes male authority in the art world is a woman. “When I first entered the world of movies, the range of images that actresses could portray was very narrow. The overwhelming majority were beautiful women who were liked by others. There were only three. The role of Tar is a role that will change that dramatically. Women are human beings, and there are various aspects that make them wrong. It’s also a whim. This work is interesting because of the drama that draws around it. For example, Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth is interesting as a character because she is drawn surprisingly creatively. Without her existence, a play called ‘Macbeth’ doesn’t work.”

After graduating from Harvard and other prestigious universities at the top of her class and participating in five major American orchestras, Tár is currently serving as the principal conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker and is also active as a composer. She has won Emmys, Grammys, Academy Awards, and Tony Awards. Right now, she stands at the top of the classical music world and holds a lot of power. “I thought I could create a lot of nuances with the main character being a woman. Because the next thing you can do is let it go, because power changes people.”

Blanchett spent nine months preparing for the role, learning to conduct the members of the Dresden Philharmoniker, who played the Berliner Philharmoniker on screen. She is stunning in her soulful performance.

“It was a pleasure to be able to conduct. To prepare for the role, for example, I heard a conductor talk about conducting, and that alone was a surprise. For example, in the case of rehearsals, we are thinking and trial and error, so the energy is different from the actual performance. The style and methods were completely different depending on the individual. In addition, the style of conducting has changed with the times. However, there is a big difference between a guest conductor and a principal conductor. I learned a lot by summarizing many conductors. It was a theme that I was never exhausted from. I jumped into the world of conducting.”

Director Todd Field is a talented director known for masterpieces such as “In the Bedroom” (2001), but he has few feature films. This is his third film, and his precious collaboration with Blanchett has created a masterpiece that will go down in film history. At this year’s Academy Award, the film was nominated in six categories, and Blanchett herself was nominated for the Best Actress Award for the fifth time.

“What I love about Todd’s filmmaking is that he is clearly informed during the shooting process. His style of production has a strong documentary element. You can see through, it’s like our real life: when you’re engrossed in something, people can’t see how you’re behaving or what you’re saying. I don’t care about how I look at all, I just focus on communicating in that moment, so it’s honestly surprising to find out later what people thought of my actions.”

The labyrinth of the main character, Tár, is depicted in a style that can be called a thriller, and the viewer is drawn to the screen. Filming took place in Berlin. Perhaps because she stayed for a long time, she shows off her wonderful German that makes Germans groan.

“I took my children to an amusement park with my best friend from college who lives in Berlin, but there were so many Australians that we evacuated to another amusement park (laughs). I think it’s because there aren’t many chances to meet people, so many people tend to move abroad in search of excitement. He used to live there, but now he has returned to his native Australia and lives with his family in Sydney. He has been actively involved in environmental conservation as a member of the Australian Conservation Fund since 2006 and as a Lifetime Honorary Member since 2011.”

Louis Vuitton Cruise Show

Cate Blanchett attended Louis Vuitton’s cruise 2024 show in Stresa, Italy, on Wednesday, putting a colorful spin on classic tailored dresses.

The actress wore a gray dress with a high-waisted straight-line skirt and a blazer-style bodice with voluminous sleeves featuring trompe l’oeil graphic prints of musical instruments. She coordinated the dress with black open-toe ankle-strap heels.

Blanchett was named a brand ambassador for Louis Vuitton in June 2022, specifically for its high jewelry collection. The actress has supported Louis Vuitton for over a decade, attending a store opening in Rome as far back as 2012.

In June 2022, she also handed out the LVMH Prize for Young Designers at a ceremony in Paris, wearing an outfit designed by the brand’s womenswear designer Nicolas Ghesquière.

Blanchett recently wore two sustainable Louis Vuitton gowns for her red-carpet appearances at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

 

“I was talking with Nicolas last year and he came up with the idea of using sustainable silk and sustainable velvet, so it’s a whole new process, using much less water, it was amazing that you can get these incredible colors and sheens,” she explained to WWD about her gowns. “The black velvet dress with sustainable silk was green and the white one was made with deadstock and pre-existing fabrics.”

Post screening discussion at Centre Pompidou