The Solution to Shop David Mamet's BLACKBIRD, Starring Cate Blanchett, at TIFF; Filming Begins Jan 2014

The Hollywood Reporter writes that David Mamet's BLACKBIRD, starring Cate Blanchett, will begin filming in Australia in January 2014. The Solution Entertainment Group also announced today that it will promote the film to buyers at the Toronto International Film Festival this week and next.

"Blackbird is the quintessential suspense thriller in the vein of Mamet's other great work, The Spanish Prisoner," stated Ben Said of SBS Productions, which is financing the film. "The Solution is just as passionate and committed to the project as I am and will choose the right international partners to bring this film to a global audience."

Read the original report here.

The film is described as "a present-day Hitchcockian nailbiter turning on a secret explanation for the 1963 assassination of U.S. president John F. Kennedy." Blanchett takes on the role of 'Janet,' who returns for the funeral of her grandfather, a film visual effects artist who secretly worked as a U.S. special ops agent. As her grandfather's secret life becomes a threat to her, she is forced to uncover the truth about his mysterious background.

Blanchett's most recent film is Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine, now in theaters. She also recently appeared in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and is filming the other two installments of that franchise. Her upcoming projects also include George Clooney's The Monuments Men, Carol, Triple Nine, Cancer Vixen and Disney's reimagining of Cinderella, directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Blanchett, an Academy Award-winning actress, came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She appeared as the elf queen Galadriel in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy from 2001 to 2003.

In 2004, Blanchett's portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator brought her numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Blanchett's other films include Babel (2006), Notes on a Scandal (2006), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008).

Playwright, screenwriter and film director David Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays Glengarry Glen Ross and Speed-the-Plow. He earned Oscar nominations for his work as screenwriter on The Verdict and Wag the Dog. He also wrote and directed the films Redbelt, The Spanish Prisoner, Spartan, Heist, State and Main, The Winslow Boy, Oleanna, Homicide, Things Change and this year's TV movie Phil Spector for HBO, starring Al Pacino and Helen Mirren.

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