Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara have sashayed away from the brink of death having escaped from a car accident incurred on the set of period lesbian romance Carol, emerging with characteristic poise and good humour from the wreckage of a glamorous vintage Dodge more radiant and likeable than ever.
According to an on-set source at the National Enquirer, Blanchett and Mara were filming a scene for the adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Price of Salt on an icy road that apparently stretches 631 miles from New York to Cincinnati (there are conflicting reports as to the accident’s whereabouts) when “Cate was driving and everything was fine until she tried to stop the car and the brakes failed.”
“She kept pumping the pedal as fast as she could, but nothing happened. The girls started screaming at the top of their lungs, speeding past the film crew, who’d pulled to the side of the road after they’d finished shooting.”
Known for her adept evasive driving manoeuvres, grace under pressure and transformative performances [in that order], Blanchett pulled a hard right, spinning the car around until it “came to a halt [and] slammed into a wooden fence. Everyone came running [and] as the camera guy started dialling 911, he heard Cate yelling, ‘We’re OK! We’re good! The car isn’t good, but we’re fine!’“
That’s so Cate.
Director Todd Haynes then informed the pair that he’d got the perfect shot in one take and they wouldn’t have to do it again. This seems appropriate:
Photo: Jason Kempin via Getty
