Cate Blanchett is the Modern Master

Mom-to-be Cate Blanchett (in Herve Leroux) attends the Santa Barbara International Film Festival at the at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Saturday.

The 38-year-old Aussie beauty received the highest honor as the 2008 Modern Master (Will Smith won last year). She was recently interviewed by SBIFF and here’s an excerpt Q&A:

And you have managed to [provoke, inspire, challenge, and reawaken ideas] by being involved in so many thinking-person’s films. I wonder if that has always been a premium for you? Yes, box-office death (laughs), those thinking-people’s films. I don’t know. I’ve been involved in films that have worked and have not found an audience. I’ve been involved in films that have found an audience and haven’t necessarily been the best films in the world. I’ve been involved in projects that fall somewhere in between all of those goalposts. It has been an interesting experience, particularly having gone to drama school and never really being fascinated by films, to tell you the truth. It was never particularly a mecca for me. Working in the film industry wasn’t a destination for me, because I couldn’t consume film the way I could the live experience. Maybe that’s why I’ve been fortunate in my experiences. I haven’t been so ambitious to try and get somewhere in the film industry. I feel like I’ve been meandering.

Check out Cate the Great‘s full interview with SBIFF at Independent.com.