Leading Oscar contender Cate Blanchett says that Woody Allen’s notorious lack of direction is basically a myth. “The direction is in the writing. I asked questions,” she told NY1’s Neil Rosen. The actress also admitted that the 78-year-old director would often tell her, “Do it the way you did it before I talked to you.”
Rosen and a panel of critics all think the “Blue Jasmine” star is a lock for the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a Madoff-like fraudster’s wife. “As sure a thing as you’re going to get this year,” adds Caryn James.
The predictions came this week during the annual “Talking Pictures On Demand Oscar Preview,” airing on NY1 and in 50-plus Time Warner Cable markets.
Blanchett also talked about how lots of wives have to “reinvent” themselves thanks to their former husbands.
“So many women have been attached to their husbands’ social status,” she said. “Their sense of identity has been through their husband’s financial standing.”
The panel, which also included Lisa Rosman and Bill McCuddy, agreed that Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto will both take home statues, but were divided on Best Picture. Rosman and James like “American Hustle,” McCuddy is in outer space with “Gravity” and Rosen says “12 Years A Slave” has the “important social injustice” that Academy members favor.
None is crazy about host Ellen DeGeneres, causing Rosman to wonder: “Why can’t Amy Poehler and Tina Fey host everything? As I brush my teeth, I want them to give me an award.”