July 31, 2000
Cate's Elvish Ways
Staff Reporter
Cate Blanchett found an unusual way of keeping up with the lads during the filming of Lord of the Rings -- she wore platform gold boots which made her as tall as the next fellow. Still, the overwhelming maleness of the set made her want to make her character Galadriel as quietly powerful as possible. 'As there are so few female figures in the books, it's a bit like women everywhere -- you want them to be able to be everything, because there's so few of them!'
In an interview with E! Online, Blanchett talks about the difficulties she had mastering Elvish -- the language spoken in the film. 'It's not like any I've attempted to speak before. It sounds familiar because of the Celtic influences, but it's completely unfamiliar at the same time.' Commenting on the voice trainers on set, she had this to say; 'They speak Elvish beautifully...and that in itself really spins me out! That there's someone who devotes their time to speaking Elvish -- it's just astonishing! It's like people speaking Klingon!'
Since finishing up on the set in New Zealand, Blanchett is in final negotiations to star in Tom 'Run Lola Run' Tykwer's next movie, Heaven. If Blanchett signs she will be reunited with actor Giovanni Ribisi with whom she starred in Sam Raimi's The Gift.