Cate Blanchett on Her Double Oscar Buzz, Skipping ‘Ricardos’ and New Pedro Almodóvar Movie

Wyatte Grantham-Philips editorThe Spanish Film Academy announced on Friday that its first-ever International Goya Award will be received by Cate Blanchett.Currently presided by Mariano Barroso, the Spanish Film Academy created the award to “honor artists that have contributed to cinema as a medium that brings together different cultures and people.” In Friday’s announcement, Blanchett was recognized for her impactful work both on and off the screen worldwide — as an award-winning actor, producer, artistic director and humanitarian. She will receive the award at a gala ceremony on Feb.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorIn today’s podcast roundup, Cate Blanchett is launching a podcast about the climate-change crisis with Audible; Marvel and SiriusXM explore the origins of “Black Panther’s” T’Challa; Julie Bowen and Chad Sanders team up for “Quitters”; Snoop Dogg joins Shondaland Audio’s drama “#Matter”; and more.Audible, Amazon’s premium audio storytelling arm, has commissioned two seasons of original podcast “Climate of Change With Cate Blanchett and Danny Kennedy” from Blanchett’s Dirty Films production shingle (in association with StoryHunter). The show is co-created and co-hosted by Blanchett (“Don’t Look Up,” “Nightmare Alley”) and climate entrepreneur and activist Kennedy, CEO of nonprofit New Energy Nexus and managing director of the California Clean Energy Fund.

Clayton Davis Ballots are in, and the nail-biting portion of Oscar season has begun. Nominations for the 94th Academy Awards will be revealed on Feb.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorWomen have always been in the center of Pedro Almodovar’s films, driving his narrative. For the past few years, a woman has also been in the editing chair. For years, José Salcedo Palomeque was his go-to editor, until Palomeque died in 2017.

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentOscar voters take their duties seriously and seem to have a few key criteria in voting: Is this work emotionally honest, does it pop off the screen, and is it something that will be admired 50 years from now?Penelope Cruz in “Parallel Mothers” checks all those boxes. There are no guarantees with Oscars, but if there’s justice in the world, she will be nominated Feb. 8.

Clayton Davis The Producers Guild of America announced its nominations for the motion picture and television categories for the upcoming 33rd PGA Awards, and it was a good day for the streamers (once again).Netflix ruled the film side with three films landing in the field of 10 nominees: “Don’t Look Up” from Adam McKay, “The Power of the Dog” from Jane Campion and “Tick, Tick … Boom!” from Lin-Manuel Miranda.Warner Bros. captured two nods from its slate: “Dune” from Denis Villeneuve and “King Richard” from Reinaldo Marcus Green.At the best possible moment with Oscar voting opening today, Amazon Studios’ “Being the Ricardos” from Aaron Sorkin snagged one of the coveted spots, which helps its best picture chances considerably.

Clayton Davis The best picture prize is what every studio and filmmaker covets, whether they publicly admit it or not. But, of course, it would help if you had the star power to make it happen. Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett both have proven that they have said star power with the amount of best picture nominees (and winners) they’ve appeared in over their careers.

Clayton Davis Penélope Cruz is luxuriously refined in “Parallel Mothers,” a performance that has picked up critical acclaim and notable accolades since debuting at Venice. The voting bloc of the international community is a key demographic that pushed last year’s “The Father” from Florian Zeller, another Sony Pictures Classics feature, to perform exceptionally well with the Academy despite significant misses from key guild groups leading to nominations.

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentIn April 2019, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences board of governors decided to change the name of the foreign-language-film category, saying it was “outdated within the global film community.” So they renamed it “international film.” It’s better, but still not precise: All films are international, whether they’re in English or not. This year’s Academy Awards race provides many reminders of that fact.Several 2021 Oscar contenders seem like all-American films, such as “West Side Story,” though the cinematographer is Janusz Kaminski, from Poland; “Nightmare Alley” boasts DP Dan Laustsen (Denmark), editor Cam McLauchlin and production designer Tamara Deverell (both Canada), not to mention director Guillermo del Toro (Mexico) and stars Cate Blanchett and Toni Collette (both from Australia).

Nicole Kidman won a 2022 Golden Globe for her portrayal of Lucille Ball in “Being the Ricardos”, but she wasn’t the first choice to play the legendary “I Love Lucy” star.

Cate Blanchett is getting candid about her career.

Gurl, WHAT?? Kristin Davis clearly thought fans might be getting the wrong idea about her relationship with Willie Garson‘s son.

Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar is having a bit of a moment after releasing the well-received “Parallel Mothers” last year starring Penélope Cruz and will be making his English-language debut with Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett attached to lead “A Manual For Cleaning Women.” There is yet another lovely project coming from Almodóvar on the horizon but this time is in the realm of streaming television.

Mónica Marie Zorrilla “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” Pedro Almodóvar’s hit dark comedy starring Carmen Maura and Fernando Guillén, will be adapted for an Apple TV Plus series.Gina Rodriguez is attached to star as Pepa Marcos, Maura’s original role in the 1988 film, and Almodóvar is slated to executive produce the show via his El Deseo banner. Rodriguez, in addition to being cast as a lead, will also executive produce via her I Can and I Will Productions banner alongside partner Molly Breeskin.The Hollywood Reporter, which was the first to report the news, was told by sources that the movie’s adaptation will be bilingual — a mix of English and Spanish.

Claudia Eller Co-Editor-in-ChiefHollywood insiders and movie fans are still scratching their heads over Kristen Stewart being shunned by the Screen Actors Guild last week for her ballyhooed performance as Princess Diana in “Spencer.”I too am totally mystified as to why one of the best performances of the year was ignored by Stewart’s actor peers.From the moment “Spencer” premiered to great fanfare at the Venice and Telluride film festivals, Stewart was considered the hands-down favorite to win the Oscar. I can’t imagine that she won’t score an Oscar nomination on Feb.

“Nightmare Alley” director Guillermo del Toro had quite the compliment for Cate Blanchett.