Cate Blanchett talks fashion on the latest episode of the podcast Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud. VPro Cinema published an article on the talk with Cate and Guy Maddin at Rotterdam Film Festival.

Podcast interview

In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Cate Blanchett share stories of how both their mothers hand-made their school uniforms – Cate’s mother even made her underwear. They also discuss Cate’s role as Bob Dylan, and how putting a sock down her trousers helped her to change her body language.

Cate Blanchett and Guy Maddin on… the start of their film careers

Cate Blanchett: ‘I thought I would never be able to work in film and I had kind of accepted that my career would be in theatre. It was at a time when we thought that film actresses had a shelf life. But I loved film and I had very broad tastes. I remember our French teacher in high school took us to see Visconti’s  Lo straniero  and I was just mesmerized by the cinematic storytelling. Jane Campion’s films were also important to me: there was something daring about her work that made me think that, as the strange clown that I was on stage, maybe I could still enter film.’

Guy Maddin: ‘When I was in my early twenties I wanted to be a writer, but because I read a lot I also understood that I would never be a good writer, because I wouldn’t want to read what I wrote. But then I discovered a kind of primitive, grotesque cinema and I found that it could really affect me. When I saw Eraserhead  by David Lynch I realised that you can also make films that completely confuse the viewer.’

Cate Blanchett on… Guy Maddin

‘I got in touch with Guy through a mutual friend, who sent me the script for Rumours . When you get the chance to work with a filmmaker like Guy Maddin, you’ve already decided to do it. From his previous work, you already know the direction the film is going to take, and it helps a lot if you already know the world you’re entering. All his films are so beautiful, melancholic and full of longing, but also very funny.’

Cate Blanchett on…stealing

‘Nowadays, aspiring filmmakers are often told to find their own voice. But I would encourage stealing from everyone and everything, which is what I have done. I think that in part you are paying homage to your role models, but it is also a way to connect. In a way, you are in conversation with the actor or filmmaker you are stealing from. The obsession with being original or groundbreaking often works as a pitfall.’

Cate Blanchett on… facial hair

‘As an actor, you only have your own body to work with. You can put on a fake nose, but still. And male actors have facial hair, I’d like that too!’

Full article on VPro

Source: WhatsOnStage