The Curious Case of Cate Blanchett's Chewed Gum
Posted: Thursday, December 25, 2008 7:45 AM by Sarika Dani
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Live from Studio 1A
From Stephanie Becker, TODAY producer
This morning we aired an interview with actress Cate Blanchett. She's promoting her new movie with Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." And I’m here to attest that she is, in fact, as beautiful in person as she is on screen. Drat! Not even a pimple. My neighbor Cheryl worked on the costumes for the movie and warned me that she's a down-to- earth-gal with a self-deprecating sense of humor. And she lived up to her billing. She's lovely. Drat again. WATCH VIDEO
When I told my gal pals about meeting this elegant mother of three, they didn't want to hear about the love scenes with Brad Pitt, or her winning an Oscar, or wearing stunningly form-fitting designer outfits down red carpets world-wide. Nope, my gal pals wanted some news you can use. They were desperate to know, with her flawless alabaster skin, what kind of sunscreen she uses. I had to oblige. Honestly, when would any of us ever have the chance to talk to someone with the ability and the necessity to keep skin so perfect? Then, like a little kid, the moment I saw her, I blurted out my question. Horrified that I hadn't even introduced myself I blamed my friends for my rude behavior. She tossed her head back with a great big laugh, which put me at ease. It was like talking to any old friend, if I had a friend with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
So, here's the secret to her skin: tons of sunscreen, any kind. So presumably, if I slather myself in a barrel full of SPF 30 my skin will look like Cate's or I will slide right out of my clothing.
Then I just about slithered from my seat in embarrassment. Brad Pitt accidentally came into our room. In what sounded like a high pitched ‘tween scream, I yelled, “Come stop by!” Fortunately he kept walking. And yes, to me at least, he is as gorgeous in person as he is on the screen. Perhaps tearing across the room to get a better look could have afforded me a more accurate assessment, but I'm a trained professional. And I was pretty sure I would trip over the tangle of wires from the lights, fall over and break a bone. Plus it's probably completely uncool to stalk someone in the middle of a press junket. Just the mere fact that I thought about it makes me realize why they don't let me do too many celebrity spots.
Cate, okay Miss Blanchett, was such a delight to talk to that I did really forget that she was this classy award-winning actress, with impeccable instincts at picking stellar roles and pulling them off with seeming ease.
What really made me like her right away was when she sat down and asked sheepishly, "I guess I shouldn't chew this gum for the interview?" Then pretended to sneak it out of her mouth, looked around for garbage pail, found none and hid it behind the flower vase out of camera range. She laughed again as she stuck it on Brad Pitt’s face on the DVD press kit.
When the interview was over, I faced a dilemma. Do I remind her about her ABC (after being chewed) gum? And make her pick it up? And throw it away? Would she pick it up and plop it back in her mouth? While I weighed the options, she glided out of the room to the next interview, now gum-free.
Now I faced a new dilemma. Should I freeze the gum and wait until it was economically feasible to extract her DNA, clone her skin; graft it onto my face so I too could have perfect skin? Or do I carefully preserve it to sell on eBay? Would I then have to turn the proceeds over to NBC? What would it be worth on the open market? By that time the cameraman was watching me, puzzled as I stared down that flavory wad. I felt his eyes boring into me. Embarrassed for the third time in 15 minutes, I grabbed a tissue from my pocket and threw the gum away, and with it any chance of genetically altered epithelial enhancement. WATCH VIDEO
