Cate Blanchett has boarded arthouse favorite Guy Maddin’s latest movie, Rumors, which is set to start shooting on Oct. 9, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
The indie has been written and will be directed by Maddin with longtime collaborators Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson. Their last joint film was The Green Fog, an experimental feature that combed through San Francisco-produced films and TV shows as it followed the structure of Vertigo.
Blanchett played a composer-conductor whose reputation is suddenly shattered by revelations of her personal life in Tár. Her other film credits include The Aviator and Blue Jasmine, for which she won Oscars, as well as Elizabeth, Notes on a Scandal, I’m Not There and Carol.
Her star turn in Rumors is seen as the latest A-lister and auteur collaboration as Canadian indie film looks to break out into the global market with distribution and critical acclaim. Maddin’s latest film is understood to have signed an interim agreement with SAG-AFTRA to allow Blanchett to appear in the project without breaching Hollywood actor strike restrictions.
Maddin has excelled at surreal storytelling on titles like The Heart of the World, Keyhole, Twilight of the Ice Nymphs, Cowards Bend the Knee and The Saddest Music in the World, films that play well at festivals and on the arthouse cinema circuit.
His 2007 feature, My Winnipeg, was seen as a laudatory and mocking ode to his hometown.
Rumors, a Canada-German co-production, is from Buffalo Gal Pictures, Walking Down Broadway Ltd. and Thin Stuff Productions. Elevation Pictures is releasing the indie in Canada.
Rumors received financing in Canada from Telefilm Canada and Manitoba Film & Music.
