Tuesday night brings the opening of the much anticipated Sydney Theatre Company's production of A Streetcar Named Desire starring Cate Blanchett and directed by cinema great Liv Ullmann.
Ullmann , although nominated for Oscars, Baftas and Cannes film awards has yet to win but has reaped a whole lot of other awards for her film and stage work as well as being a Cannes Film judge .
According to Ullmann, she was frustrated by the Norwegian Film Fund in 2006 in her ambition to film Ibsen's play "A Doll's House"in which she hoped to cast either Blanchett or Kate Winslet.
Now with Cate Blanchett, a Hollywood heavyweight and heading the STC for a year, Ullmann was commissioned by Cate to produce and direct Streetcar. With Blanchett as Blanche Du Bois opposite Joel Edgerton's Stanley Kowalski this also could be the much needed break Edgerton needs to crack the US market when the play moves to New York in November.
Edgerton narrowly missed out on the role taken by Aussie actor Sam Worthington in Avatar which is bound to bring Worthington instant stardom. Edgerton has auditioned for several Hollywood roles but has yet to be cast despite appearing in the Star War's trilogy and carrying heavy endorsements from producer/director George Lucas.
The Shuttle also recently encountered Cate Blanchett a fortnight ago at the launch of Audi's new multi-million dollar showrooms in Zetland. Asked if she was an Audi driver , Cate declined to confirm but did say she was still very fond of zipping about town in an eco-friendly Toyota Prius.
