New releases, music videos and album news — indie, rap, rock and pop. Always covering Ren, Chris Webby, Sam Tompkins, bbno$, CHINCHILLA, Muse, Yungblud and more.
In 2006, Cate Blanchett already had an Oscar. Alejandro G Iñárritu still tore into her “shit” performance
During the first day of filming Babel in 2006, director Alejandro G Iñárritu told Cate Blanchett that a scene she had shot with Brad Pitt was “shit” and that the film depended on it working. Blanchett, already an Oscar winner, later described the blunt criticism as a form of direction and said she used it to drive her performance.
She was dealing with a distressing incident involving one of her children at the time, but did not blame Iñárritu for her reaction. Babel went on to earn seven Oscar nominations and win the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, while making more than $100 million in profit, according to the article. Blanchett also earned an Oscar nomination that year for Notes on a Scandal and appeared in The Good German.
In short
- Iñárritu sharply criticised Blanchett’s first Babel scene.
- Blanchett said she channelled the criticism into her performance.
- Babel earned seven Oscar nominations and a Golden Globe.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Blunt criticism can be a legitimate directing tool when it identifies a performance that is not working and conveys the stakes clearly. Blanchett later said she understood Iñárritu’s remark as direction and used it to sharpen her performance, suggesting that candid feedback can support an actor’s work when the actor finds it useful.
The case against
Calling an actor’s work “shit” risks humiliating or demoralising them, especially when delivered on the first day of filming and without specific guidance about what to change. Even if Blanchett chose to use the remark constructively, directors have a responsibility to give forceful criticism in a way that remains respectful and helps an actor improve.
Explained simply
Babel is a drama directed by Alejandro G Iñárritu, whose stories connect people in different parts of the world. Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt play a married couple travelling in Morocco, while other parts of the film follow characters in Mexico and Japan.
Blanchett was already an established actor, having won an Academy Award, commonly called an Oscar. Iñárritu is known for intense, demanding films, and Babel became a major success with audiences and awards voters. The film’s production offers a glimpse of how a director and actor worked together under pressure.