Cate Blanchett is going to star as Martha Stewart in a biopic. NEED I SAY MORE?? My friends, this is a very very good thing! In fact, the working title of the movie is Good Thing. And before you start panicking about whether or not OG Martha is on board (or plans to send an army of lawyers to shut it down), fear not! Ms. Stewart is aware, if not somewhat bemused but trying to play it off with an unbothered affect. Actually, based on Variety’s reporting, I’m fairly certain Martha herself leaked the news of the project, the casting, and the title… while attending the premiere of a documentary about someone else. Centering yourself on someone else’s night? Not a good thing for most of us, but absolutely everything I’d expect from Martha Stewart. Here’s what we know so far:
Cate Blanchett is set to star as Martha Stewart in the upcoming biopic “Good Thing” about the career of the lifestyle media mogul, Variety has confirmed. “Zola” director Janicza Bravo will helm the project.
When asked about her thoughts on receiving the biopic treatment during a red carpet interview at the New York gala screening of “Brunello: The Gracious Visionary,” Stewart told Variety that she was “hearing rumors” that something was already in the works with Blanchett in the starring role. She revealed the working title as “Good Thing.” The title refers to Stewart’s famous catch phrase, “It’s a good thing.”
During the 90s and early 2000s, Stewart operated at the pinnacle of lifestyle media, writing multiple best selling books and hosting her own Emmy-winning show “Martha Stewart Living.” The half-hour DIY and cooking program shared a title with her popular magazine, which reached peak circulation in 2002 with more than 2 million copies per issue. After her Martha Stewart Living Omnipedia conglomerate went public in 1999, she became the first self-made female billionaire in the United States.
In late 2001, Stewart found herself under legal scrutiny after she sold off her stake in ImClone Systems and avoided a loss of about $45,000. The day after her sale, ImClone’s stock value fell 16%. Stewart’s stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, tipped her off to nonpublic material about the health of the stock, a fact she denied to federal investigators. In 2004, Stewart was entrenched in a highly publicized trial over the sale. She was found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction and two counts of lying to federal investigators. She served five months in jail and two years of supervised release.
Blanchett was last seen starring in Jim Jarmusch’s family drama “Father Mother Sister Brother,” which won the prestigious Golden Lion award at the 2025 Venice Film Festival. The two-time Oscar winner seems like a natural fit for Stewart, often bringing a maternal, yet cutthroat fire to her roles. Blanchett can be seen next in David Zellner’s sci-fi comedy “Alpha Gang” and Alice Birch’s psychological drama “Sweetsick.”
So my reading is right, right? That Martha totally leaked the news? I mean, she grabs icebergs to top off her cocktails. To say Martha Stewart is in her IDGAF Era would be the understatement of the century. Not to mention, she leaked the name of her biopic was Good Thing while attending a screening of the boldly titled Brunello: The Gracious Visionary. She’d rather have Brunello’s title, yes? In any event, I am super gagged for this. Cate Blanchett is not a precious actor; she’s certainly not afraid of playing, um, difficult characters, and she looks reasonably similar to Martha. It’s perfect casting! I’m already imagining a pastiche of Lydia Tar’s ruthlessness with the bossy homemaker vibes of her Phyllis Schlafly portrayal. And speaking of Mrs. America, Janicza Bravo directed the penultimate episode of that series (“Houston,” the one that takes place at the 1977 National Women’s Conference). So Good Thing will be a work reunion for Janicza and Cate, and I have but one request (for now): can we please recreate the moment on film when Martha nearly crashed into Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa over a lemon square emergency? Pretty please!!
PS — “Blanchett was last seen starring in Jim Jarmusch’s family drama ‘Father Mother Sister Brother.’” Was she? No really, has anyone seen this movie? Has anyone heard of this movie? Does this movie really exist??!
Photos credit: Justin Ng/Avalon, Darla Khazei/INSTARimages
I’m so here for it.
This will be epic. Never thought who would portray Martha but as soon as I read Cate Blanchett is was obvious Duh!
I recall seeing trailers for that Jarmusch film. It also stars Adam Driver, Charlotte Rampling, Mayim Bailey, Vicky Krieps, and Tom Waits. It opened in theaters before Christmas and disappeared quickly. I can’t find it streaming anywhere
Respect for Martha who worked her way up in life, created an empire, went to prison, came out of prison to build up her empire again and is still re-inventing especially as a mature senior woman.
WORD UP.SHE GANGSTA.
I’m weirdly excited about this.
I respectfully disagree that Ms. Blanchett ‘looks’ similar to Martha. Great actor, but if casting were based on looking like Martha, Mariska Hargitay would be a much better fit.