Zoinks! Nicole + Cate, Holly + Anna
Sunday, February 20, 2011 at 10:00PM Aussie actresses Nicole and Cate are fans of each others. We shouldn't be surprised and perhaps we already knew but have forgotten. The March issue of In Style asked four Oscar winning actresses Nicole Kidman, Anna Paquin, Hilary Swank and Susan Sarandon to name their "Oscar Inspiration" and they chose Cate Blanchett, Holly Hunter, Jessica Lange, and Vanessa Redgrave respectively.
This photo has a certain imaginary Film Experience spark as it's an actress (Kidman) that readers tend to think I'm rather too scarily devoted to combined with an actress (Blanchett) that I tend to think readers are rather too scarily devoted to. ;) Not that they both aren't great actresses, mind you.
The article may well have been titled "Airbrushed Inspirations" because all of the photos are way way glossy. But it's a fun concept. Here's what Cate said about her Oscar win for The Aviator.
I was frankly relieved when I won -- relieved I wouldn't have to answer all the questions about what it feels like to lose, and relieved because, playing Katharine Hepburn, you can't but disappoint some people. You have to throw caution to the wind when you take on those real-people roles; you can't think of the outcome.
I don't see this info at In Style's official site but here is a photo-set. The Hilary Swank/Jessica Lange photos are fun but the one that just thrilled me, for the sheer nostalgia, was seeing The Piano's mother and daughter Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin reunited.
The Piano (1993) is among my all time favorite movies and who wouldn't want such a reminder. Anna is apparently now taller than Holly! Although one reason I object to the super processed/airbrushed photo shoots that are the norm these days is that in the age of Photoshop when a photo looks too plastic, I just assume no one was in the room together. Let me see an errant hair or a wrinkle or a weird pucker of cloth, or some PROOF that these are flesh and blood people in a room together.
The other thing I think of when I look at this photo is: DOES HOLLY HUNTER WATCH TRUE BLOOD? Heh. I do. I wonder.
Reader Comments (31)
Thanks Nat. Saw the picture of Kidman and Blanchett and creamed my pants.
what exactly is an "Oscar Inspiration"?
Good Lord, Holly Hunter looks like Anna Paquin's *niece*! That's both the trouble with airbrushing and the blessedness of Hunter's genes, I suspect.
Lucky - It's a way to get a famous person so that you'll sell more copies ;)
Though Kidman And Paquin went completely "duh". Swank and Sarandon made very interesting choices. And it totally makes sense. Lange has a musculinity that we see in Swank too, and Redgrave has that dignity we also see in Sarandon. Plus: Left-wing.
Is it just me or is Redgrave not airbrushed? Maybe she even demanded that she wouldn't be. I wouldn't be surprised. Maybe they just made her younger but not too much younger.
I like the random Black Swan poster!
Oh and, Hunter watches True Blood and says: What happened to my sweet girl?
Though, in all honesty, she seems sweeter in True Blood than in The Piano. In the boring sense.
Nicole & Cate <3
But when does the new podcast come out??!!!! I need it for my commute Tuesday!!!!!!!
I think that Kidman made a very interesting choice, especially since Blanchett's Aviator role was originally Kidman's.
i wish hilary swank had picked annette bening
par3182 - I think "Oscar inspiration" neans you have to choose an Oscar winner.
Mike B. - I didn't know that, but she chose the most acclaimed Australian actress! It doesn't get more "duh" than that.
I like that Swank chose Lange since both are actresses that seemed to fall into their second oscar win, in between bouts of giving bad performances in bad movies.
I adore Nicole Kidman, but I think she would've massacred Katharine Hepburn, had she managed to get involved in the project.
I don't think Nicole has the aggression and stamina to portray someone as present and always involved as Kate Hepburn.
btw, is it only gossip that "The Danish Girl" will start shooting this summer?
I'm not sure how Cate could be Nicole's Oscar inspiration when Nic got hers first!
I love seeing Holly and Anna together again, but as you say, that airbrushing is criminal. Holly Hunter is in her fifties, but she looks younger than Anna, and Susan Sarandon doesn't even look like herself. There are only ten years between her and Redgrave but they look like they come from different centuries.
I enjoyed Sweet Dreams and Men Don't Leave.
Is it me or is the theme of the Kidman/Blanchett photo, 'The Danish GIrl', with Blanchett being gender ambiguous and Kidman leaning against her as though she is the supportive partner.
Yavor: Honestly, I would rather have seen Kidman's take on Hepburn. Blanchett gave a solid technical impression...voice, few mannerisms and tics....but it didn't feel like a fully developed person. At times, I thought Blanchett was performing an outtake from Bringing Up Baby. Kidman specialises in layers and inner life...I think she'd have made Hepburn a more complex inner life, which I wasn't really getting from Blanchett. I look at both their Oscar winning portyals of real women, and hands down, Virgina Woolf was the more complex and layered turn. Kidman did all the technical stuff she needed to to make Woolf believable (the voice, mannerisms), but the inner emotional life of the character carried the performance.
I think Kidman is an overall better actress than Blanchett, but at the level they are both operating at, I suppose it's one of those "DeNiro or Pacino" things, where they are both so talented and accomplished., that it can mostly boil down to personal preferance. It's really quite shocking that Australia produced both of them within the same generation. In terms of body of performances and overall versatility, they are both way in front of anybody in their general age range. Even Kate Winslet doesn't have their range.
@ Ned, I agree with you on the voice, mannerisms and tics, but whenever I think of Kate Hepburn and all the interviews and films I've watched with her those exact things come to mind: very strong presence, always opinionated, always staying in character, fierce and independent and at the same time someone who doesn't let you easily in her real world/personal life and I think Blanchett definitely nailed everything from that list (the scene where she's talking about her brother's funeral was amazing) even the "Dinner with the Hepburns" segment was great because she behaved in a way that her family likes and is used to.
Of course, we never know what Kidman might have done with that role, but with her it's always very risky, she's very emotionally detached/vacant/cold in most of her performances, one of the big reasons why I love her Virginia Wolf, and one of the big reasons I openly dislike her in "Cold Mountain" and "Australia" - if it works she's excellence, if it doesn't it's a very strong disappointment (for me). She has this beautiful Gemini-almost-Cancer mystery about her that never allows you to say what's going on in her head and that definitely doesn't work with a Kate Hepburn portrayal. Plus, the strong women she's played so far in her career don't indicate at all that she would've been able to handle that particular part in "The Aviator".
I love them both in different ways, because they're very unique. And yes, Blanchett would be ideal casting for the man in "The Danish Girl".
Australia produces a lot of talent :) (I'm not Australian) and I have high hopes for Abbie Cornish too.
Agree with you about Kate Winslet.
Dang. What did Lange do to her face ?
Nearly 30 years later I still cannot believe that Lange won an Oscar for TOOTSIE.
That picture of Kidman and Blanchett makes them
Look like an Australian version of Nic and Jules.
I always looked down on the married women who picked up the ghastly InStyle in stores. Now I'm gonna be one of those married women. Thanks, Nathaniel :'(
Hilary picking Annette as her "Oscar Inspiration" would have been awesomeness. But might as well pick another two-timer that Oscar will never nominate again for hers.
CATE & NICOLE! That's too much win for one photo!
Can't believe Holly Hunter still looks that young and hot! WOW! Didn't think she could show up Anna Paquin, but she surely does.
Vanessa and Susan look way too photoshopped, but just for getting a showcase for some older actresses, kudos.
Don't be ashamed Paolo! I have a confession: I had a subscription to InStyle magazine throughout high school. It guess it was my budding actressexuality. I swear they had the best pictures of women from various events throughout the year. While I haven't looked at InStyle in several years, I can still remember that new magazine smell I looked forward to every month. Plus, the subscription was only $15/year.
seth -- just posted the new podcast.
kensey -- right? if airbrushing is the only way magazines will do it we'll have to suffer through.
john -- fun observation. but i'm trying not to think about the movie because it seems like the kind of movie we're going to hear about for all time and that will never be made (like THE AVENGERS ;)
yavor & ned -- i'm loving this conversation
Have you seen Nicole in Just Go With It? - she and Dave Matthews as husband and wife are pretty hilarious. I was surprised!
John - never mind the photo, I nearly fell out of my chair when I read your suggestion. Cate and Nicole in The Danish Girl? Oh yes, PLEASE! (We already know that Cate can play a man. Although, wasn't Nicole supposed to be the one to take the transgender role? Although I'm not really sure I'm seeing her in it.)
The two of them onscreen together would be too much actressexuality - the fabric of the time-space continuum might warp! Seriously, though, I'm surprised no one's thought to put them onscreen together; it would be a really interesting way to test Yavor and Ned's theories. Fans of each are always going on about the technique of their favorite (comparing the other unfavorably), but this would be an amazing way to really see how different - and how similar - their styles are.
Ugh, I would die to see both Kidman and Blanchett headlining a movie together. Particularly one as meaty as apparently The Danish Girl could be. Ugh, that would be amazing. Or even Blanchett and La Swinton as they compliment each other more in a masculine/feminine way. That would be a DREAM. I'm foaming at the mouth just thinking about it.
That Hunter/Paquin photo is too precious. It's funny to think it's been so long since The Piano came out. And honestly, anything that reunites them again is an automatic win,
Woow! Those two look like a real lesbian couple he he! Well for one thing I dont think that Blanchett is gonna do another male character since Im not there is quite fresh in most peoples mind. And Blanchett is not found of repeating herself
I agree with Yared that Nicole is a hit or miss. Especially Cold Mountain. Oh dear god how miscast she was in that movie. The interesting thing IS that Minghella wanted Blanchett in the lead role at the time.
I really like Kidman cause she has been taken big risks and oh man what performances she has been given us: Dogville, Birth, Eyes Wide Shut, The Others, The Hours. Moulin Rouge...but this is still some a few years ago and it is about time to relight her fire again. Have not seen her in Rabbit Hole yet
Kidman and Blanchett cannot be compared. They are both awesome, but my personal fav will always be The Great Cate
Nathaniel: Just seen The Kids Are All Alright. I think that Portman is gonna win for sure and I cannot believe why critics were not awarding Julianne Moore. To me she was the best thing along with Ruffalo
Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman totally look like a couple. The picture of Paquin and Hunter is freaking me out. Holly Hunter still looks the same age, but Paquin has grown completley (obviously).
That pic of Holly and Anna is too precious. And Zoinks, indeed! Did Holly have "some work done"? Cause damnn, she looks like she could be Anna's sister!
I'd love to see Holly and Anna work together again, I sometimes even wonder about a Piano sequel, you know? Think about it, Anna's old enough now to carry a movie, and the story could focus more on the grown up Flora (Anna), with Ada (Holly) and George (Harvey Keital) in supporting roles.
Oh btw, here's some True Blood trivia for you all. Queen Sophie Anne is played by Evan Rachel Wood, who of course also played Holly's daughter in the excellent 13. Thus Wood and Paquin are cinematic sisters in a way. Also Alfre Woodard (so talented, so underused!) who plays Ruby Jean, Lafeyette's mom, played opposite Anna in 'A Member of the Wedding' several years ago, when Anna was a preteen. J. Smith Cameron (who played Melinda Mickens, Sam's birth mom) worked with Anna in as the yet unreleased 'Margaret', and is the wife of Kenneth Lonergan, a playwright, and which Anna starred in his play, 'This is our Youth' some years back.
Come to think of it, Holly would be a hand in glove fit for a recurring role on True Blood. Holly is from the south, so no troubles with an accent there. Has worked with both Anna and Evan before, and probably would enjoy the camp of TB quite a bit.
Airbrushing should be punished with jail time.
Yavor, supposedly so with Rachel Weisz co-starring. But...no word from Nicole or anything definitive. She did say at the SB film fest that they were "this close" to getting it made. But she didn't go into any details. It could mean money, casting, director. Some people aren't sure any of the 3 named directors are actually doing it.
BTW - I looked at the March issue (with Julianne Moore on the cover, and being interviewed by Tom Ford - how could you miss that, Nat?) and found nothing of the above photos in it. Unless I missed something, I'm wondering if that either is last issue or the upcoming one?