Cate Blanchett is like my Australian, girlie-version of Michael Fassbender. I’m drawn to her like a moth to a flame. I find her enchanting, timeless, sexy, insanely talented and impossibly cool. I wouldn’t mind a threesome with Fassy and Blanchett, honestly. Where would you even start? I’m guessing it would begin with cocktails, and then Fassy would take his clothes off and Blanchett would smile cryptically and then she, too, would slip out of her gown (because she’s wearing a gown in my sexual fantasy).

Anyway, this is all to say that I love writing about Cate Blanchett, and if there are new photos of her, I always want to write about her. A few days ago, there were new pics of Blanchett that I ignored (it was after the SAGs and we had other stuff to cover), but last night, Cate was a presenter at the 2012 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards held in Sydney, so we have even more new photos of her. Cate wore this gold Alexander McQueen dress which… she pulls off. Very few women could make this work like Cate. Like, I think this is the kind of dress Salma Hayek would attempt, and it would look like a terrible costume on her. On Cate, though, it looks amazing.

And here are some photos of Cate in a Louis Vuitton Pre-Fall 2012 dress in Rome over the weekend. Cate must have pulled in a major Louis Vuitton contract, because her only public appearances recently have been on behalf of Louis Vuitton. This event was called the ‘Maison Louis Vuitton Roma Etoile’ Cocktail Rome. Once again, on another woman, this would look like a shapeless sack. On Cate, it’s perfection.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

It’s always a good day when there are new photos of Cate Blanchett! La Blanchett was in Geneva to support something called the “IWC Top Gun Gala Event”. Don’t ask – I don’t know. I’m guessing that Cate and some other celebrities were probably paid to make appearances on behalf of whatever it is – and paid well, because they managed to get Blanchett, Adriana Lima and several other quality celebrities. I do know that Cate looked lovely and gorgeous in this sexy black Givenchy dress. On another woman, I would be bitching about the weird fabric thing down her chest, but, as always, Cate makes it work. I also love her hair these days – I love the length (just above her shoulders) and the color (not too blonde). Cate can pull off nearly anything, stylistically, but this current hairstyle is sophisticated and lovely on her.

And if that wasn’t enough eye candy, Ewan McGrgeor was also at the same event. Have Cate and Ewan ever worked together? They should! They should play lovers. That would be hot, wouldn’t it?

Photos courtesy of Fame.

After what seems like an eon of production hell, the teaser trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has finally materialized. The movie, of course, will be the first of two Hobbit films based upon J.R.R. Tolkien’s works and directed by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings; King Kong). I’m not a huge fan of the source material because, to be blunt, I didn’t go crazy about all of that Middle earth stuff during my childhood (I was more of a Nancy Drew chick), but die-hard fans have been waiting forever to see this movie. And even after this trailer, they’re still going to have to wait another year for the first movie itself, which releases in December 2012, and even longer for the second installment, which arrives in December 2013.

Naturally, the promotion has already started, and EW.com has released the first few stills of the film in conjunction with the new teaser trailer. As far as the main casting goes, Martin Freeman (“Sherlock”) plays title character Bilbo Baggins; Ian McKellan will be, to borrow an expression from Tom Cruise, “amazing” as Gandalf; Cate Blanchett plays Noldorin princess Galadriel; and Elijah Wood shall pop in as Frodo. Here’s that trailer:

At first, I was wondering whether the fanboys (and girls) would tear this sneak peek to pieces because they’re probably so frustrated at waiting so long for the actual movie. Seriously, there have been a million false starts, so fans would have to be really devoted to hang onto any semblance of hope. Well, the YouTube comments on the trailer range from “I NEED TO CLEAN MY SCREEN NOW” to “Teasing this film one year before the release is pure evil…” to “omg omg omg omg want to see NAOW.” Yeah, this film will make far too much money when it finally arrives.

Photos courtesy of EW.com and Coming Soon

New Cate Blanchett photos! Hurray! God, do you know how much I miss Cate Blanchett? She’s been focusing on her family and her theatre work for SO LONG, and that means we very rarely have new red carpet-fashion photos, new interviews or new movies with Cate. It sucks so hard being Blanchett-less. Anyway, these are new pics of Cate in Sydney, Australia, at the opening of a new Louis Vuitton shop in the city. One of the dudes in the photo is Louis Vuitton’s CEO, Yves Carcelle. Does Cate get paid for these personal appearances? I think she does. This must be how she supplements her income, because I doubt a year of theatre work helps pay the bills.

As for how Cate looks – I’m assuming the dress is LV, right? It’s pretty. On another woman, it would look like a doily or a hacked up wedding dress. But on Cate, it’s lovely. I love her skin and her face. She looks especially ageless in these photos – she’s 42 years old right now, but that face never changes.

The only film Cate had in theatres this year was Hanna, which I saw and didn’t really care for. I looked at her IMDB to see if 2012 would bring us more Cate – she has a part in The Hobbit, a film called Lawless (with Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale and Rooney Mara) and she’s attached to another film called Knight of Cups. Someone write La Blanchett a lead role, for the love of God.

Photos courtesy of WENN & Fame.

Ooh, two Cate Blanchett sightings in one week! It’s so exciting. Earlier this week, we saw Cate out and about in Washington, D.C., where she performing in Uncle Vanya, at the Kennedy Center. For that outing, Cate was dressed beautifully and casually in a pair of white pants, and a HOODIE. I was flabbergasted that Cate owns a hoodie, but she does, and she wears it beautifully, pairing it with some metallic sandals and a gorgeous YSL purse. So here are some new photos of Cate, out and about in Georgetown yesterday. For this outing, she once again opted for flats (I love her). And she wore a simple black dress and black glasses! Cate in glasses = HOT. She is the pinnacle of glass-wearing nerd porn. Anyway, the Georgetown gossips are all over it. They love when a big star comes to town, especially someone as cool as Cate:

In a season of hurricanes and quakes, Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett sought out a bit of stability on the historic streets of Georgetown Thursday. Standing outside of Dean & Deluca, she discussed the streetscape with two companions with a cinematic look.

Were they scouting a future movie?

The Georgetown Dish has suggested that Blanchett play the leading role in the film adaptation of Carol Joynt’s Innocent Spouse.

Meanwhile, Blanchett is in town starring in a new adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya at the Kennedy Center by her husband and co-artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company, Andrew Upton. The production runs through Saturday, weather permitting.

Blanchett plays Yelena, wife of Professor Serebryakov who visit Uncle Vanya and his niece Sonya, setting off disarray and a few consuming love affairs, each of which withers in disappointment.

“I’ve always wondered what she did during the day,” said a Washington theatergoer who recently saw the actress in Uncle Vanya. “Her role is so intense I would have to sleep all day to recover.”

Blanchett looked rested and fresh, however. It is the second time in recent years she has spent time in Washington. The Sydney Theatre Company’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire, which starred Blanchett as Blanche DuBois at the Kennedy Center, received rave reviews.

[From The Georgetown Dish]

I should really drive up to Washington and stalk Cate a little bit, right? I don’t mean “stalk” literally, just go to a performance of Uncle Vanya and maybe sit outside of her hotel with some binoculars. Nothing fancy. Maybe I would hang out in Barnes & Noble or Dean & Deluca and if I happened to run into her, “Oh, helllllooo, Cate! I worship you. Tell me about your hoodie. I love you bag. Can I have your bag? Please?” Do you guys do that to? Fantasize about conversations you’re going to have with celebrities you love? You should hear what Michael Fassbender and I talk about (hint: dong).

Photos courtesy of Fame.

I have a kind of unofficial rule around here. There are certain celebrities who I will just automatically write about as soon as we get new photos in. It doesn’t matter what they’re doing, who they’re with, what they’re wearing. It’s just reflex – I’m so excited to see this celebrity, and I usually think you’ll enjoy them too. Some of these celebrities who get automatic posts, no matter what? Angelina Jolie. Nicole Kidman. And Cate Blanchett. New Cate photos are rare – when she was promoting her last movie, Hanna, I think she made maybe two public appearances in support of the film. She doesn’t get pap’d a lot. I don’t even know what her sons look like. And whenever I see her, her hair looks completely different!

So these are new candid photos of Cate, out and about in Washington, D.C., where she is performing in Uncle Vanya at the Kennedy Center. It looks like Cate is also doing some shopping while in the city – I hope she wasn’t too disturbed by yesterday’s earthquake! I’ll punch the earth in the nuts if the ‘quake upset my beloved Blanchett.

So, can we talk about Cate’s oufit? How awesome does she look? That’s a reflex too – I can rarely admit when Cate looks bad, but in my defense, she rarely looks like hell. After Jennifer Garner’s daily frump-fest in casual-wear, it’s so nice to see a celebrity who looks chic even when dressed down. Simple white slacks, a striped hoodie (I can’t believe Cate owns a hoodie!!!!), great metallic sandals, and an INCREDIBLE bag. I love the purse so much. Look at the way she’s accessorized too – a substantial watch and awesome sunglasses, and that’s it. She’s so elegant, even when she’s just walking down the street in a HOODIE. Sigh… I love her.

By the way, La Blanchett was recently on PBS’s News Hour. Go here to watch her interview.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

Paris Fashion Week began today (I think) and these are photos from the Armani Prive show, where the two big celebrity attendees were… CATE BLANCHETT. And Katie Holmes. We so rarely get new photos of Our Beloved Blanchett, so lets milk these two lonely photos for all they are worth. I’m assuming Cate wore Armani, and it is magnificent, as most things are on her. You’d think that red would overwhelm her, considering she’s so pale and blonde and such. But it doesn’t – it works beautifully on her. Maybe that’s just because I love her… but I seriously think she looks amazing. I want the suit. UPDATE: I added more photos of Cate.

Next: Katie Holmes. No, we don’t have access to any photos where you can see her whole outfit. I think it’s black, loose and long-sleeved. Armani did her wedding gown, if I remember correctly, so Katie has some history with the brand. Plus, she doesn’t have much else going on – she’s been in Florida, where Tom Cruise is filming Rock of Ages, and she just threw him a big birthday party. Guess she didn’t want to stick around, though. Zoom…. PARIS! I do like her hair here. Very glossy.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

These are new photos of Cate Blanchett attending the opening of the Sydney Film Festival, where her last film Hanna was being screened. First, let’s talk fashion. God knows, Cate is one of the few women in the world who can literally wear ANYTHING and make it look high-fashion and fabulous. She is the anti-Katie Holmes. Holmes can put on a $6000 couture gown and it looks like it’s from WalMart. Blanchett could wear a WalMart dress and she would look impossibly chic. So… with that being said, I don’t like Cate in this oversized suit. She’s always loved menswear-inspired looks, but this isn’t a polished, chic look. This suit looks like it came from Hillary Clinton’s closet. No disrespect to She Who Wears Pantsuits, but Cate is simply better than that, sartorially.

Next: I’d like to talk about Hanna, which I saw for the first time a few weeks ago. It was… a bizarre film. Like, I’m surprised that it was made. I’m surprised that someone put up the money for this odd little movie. Saoirse Ronan was great in it, as was Eric Bana and the smaller, supporting roles. As for Cate’s part as a bitchy, anal-retentive CIA operative/handler – uh. It was weird seeing her like that, walking around in her great suits and her Southern accent. But the whole thing was just weird. It made me wonder if Cate just needs to get back to doing strong dramatic performances in big films rather than these WTF?-supporting parts in little films.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

These are photos from Cate Blanchett’s appearance yesterday on the cover of the New York Times’ Style Magazine. Lovely, beautiful, epic Cate. Cate makes every photo shoot special. Cate can pose her ass off. Cate looks unique and different in every photo, ever.

I haven’t gotten a chance to read every word of Cate’s interview with the mag – it’s a really long article! You can read it here, and I’ll probably get a chance to read the whole piece later today. I’m looking forward to it! Surprisingly, Cate is not really what I consider to be a “good interview.” She’s not dumb, and she doesn’t say stupid things because she can’t help herself. She’s not full of herself, and she consistently comes across as a normal working mom who is a bit eccentric. She doesn’t enjoy talking about herself, she’s not a self-obsessed narcissist, and she seems to insist on keeping areas of her life private. All of that makes her a good person, a role model, a wonderful actress, but a boring interview. Here are some quick highlights:

*She’s a dignified, pre-red-carpet star caught in a celebrity-tweeting culture, with the result that she’s learned how to promote her role of the moment — in this instance, that of a ruthless C.I.A. agent in the thriller “Hanna,” directed by Joe Wright — without seeming to be promoting anything, least of all herself. I dutifully bring up the subject of the film and mention that I found it beautiful looking but disappointing. Blanchett says she took “Hanna” on “because it was the best first 20 pages of any script I’d read — brutal, terrifying and suspenseful.” And then she’s happy to move on to other matters. It’s an art all its own, this straining toward the shadows of self-effacement when you’ve been shoved into the limelight, there’s no doubt about that.

*Blanchett does admit to liking clothes — “I love dressing up,” she says, “although that doesn’t mean necessarily on the school run”.

She goes through her paces like a trouper, despite her fatigue and having suffered through a spider bite, investing each shot with a narrative arc, calling on the skill she puts into delivering information on screen about characters as diverse as Queen Elizabeth I, Charlotte Gray, Veronica Guerin, the elf queen Galadriel, Katharine Hepburn and Bob Dylan. Blanchett seems patient and unfussy but also keeps at a slight remove from the proceedings in her regally self-possessed way. (When I asked her whether she felt nervous about giving an award at the Oscars, she answered with a simple “No.”)

So, over soft-boiled eggs (Blanchett orders a side of spinach) the next day, I bring up the biceps issue and the more general one of her svelteness. Blanchett doesn’t admit to dieting (wouldn’t it be nice if someone other than Carrie Fisher did?) but does avow how she doesn’t have a big sweet tooth. She also explains that she and her husband gave each other running shoes for Christmas and have renewed their commitment to exercise; Blanchett spends a half-hour on the elliptical trainer four days a week. “I don’t enjoy it,” she says, “but I certainly have more energy.” We go on to talk of other things, of the perils of performing versus writing (Upton is a writer as well as director), the limitations of psychotherapy (she’s never been in “very intensive” therapy), how death doesn’t solve anything (“I’m not interested,” she says, striking a rare note of annoyance, “in using my father’s death as some touch point for why I’ve become an actor — it’s grossly opportunistic”) and the crucial importance of timing, especially when it comes to romance. “Don’t you think like most things, like comedy, like sex, like anything, it’s about timing? I think we collided with each other,” she adds, referring to her husband, “at what turned out to be the perfect time. We knew each other socially and we didn’t get on and we played poker one night and I don’t know how we ended up kissing but we did and he asked me to marry him about three weeks later and we got together in the same spirit. . . . Maybe I’ve got a lack of consequence,” she adds, “a healthy lack of consequence.”

[From The New York Times]

Ooh, she works out! I would love to work out with her. I imagine she would be a cool workout buddy. And I love what she says about her father’s death – it’s so refreshing to see an actor who is unwilling to whore out personal tragedy for the benefit of their “craft”. I love her.

NYT Style photos courtesy of The Fashion Spot.

God, I miss Cate Blanchett when she’s not around. Last night there was a big NYC screening of Blanchett’s new film, Hanna, and Cate wasn’t there! Boo!! But Eric Bana was there, and he was looking delicious – I’ll have those photos up in a short while. For now, however, I need my Blanchett fix. I’m getting it from an exclusive interview Cate did with InStyle Australia, where she discussed her Givenchy Oscar gown/boob frame (the one in these photos). As you may remember, I loved the gown. I loved the gown mostly because Cate wore it, and because Cate can pull off looks that mere mortals couldn’t dream of. That being said, on anyone else, the dress would have been hated. Well, Cate has seen the criticism, and she has an answer. It’s a good one too.

Cate Blanchett’s 2011 Oscars dress—a couture lilac gown by Givenchy—was one of the most fashion-forward looks of the evening, and Blanchett had no qualms wearing something so avant garde, despite the hit-or-miss reaction from fans after her appearance.

“People get so worried about dressing for other people, but you’ve got to wear what you like,” Blanchett told InStyle this week while promoting her new film Hanna. “If people get it, they get it. If they don’t, then it doesn’t matter. There are so few houses that can afford to do couture, and since the red carpet is such a wonderful showcase, we should be celebrating that.”

So what did she love most about the dress?

“It was so architectural, and the breast piece is made all out of elastic,” she explained. “The color combination, I couldn’t believe it when I saw it in real life. I was tempted to wear it two ways, because if you take the top part off, it’s a really simple halter dress underneath. I thought the external piece was so unusual.”

Does the transformational element mean we might see her in this again?

“You could wear it again because it becomes a completely different dress, so, possibly,” she said.

[From InStyle Australia]

I love her. I love her justifications for wearing Givenchy couture. I love that she made it about representing High Fashion, and how it’s not for everybody, and that’s fine. La Blanchett doesn’t judge you for not liking it, she’s just saying that she liked it, and you should respect the craftsmanship. I love her. MORE BLANCHETT.

Photos courtesy of WENN.