In Warner Bros. Pictures’ heist thriller “Ocean’s 8,” Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock)—just released from prison—has been concocting the greatest heist of her storied career. The first person with whom Debbie connects is her old partner in crime, Lou, played by two-time Academy Award-winner Cate Blanchett (“Blue Jasmine”).
“Debbie has to coax Lou back into that world,” Bullock relates. “She wastes no time, going right in with her plan, and has to somehow convince Lou that what she’s come up with is good enough to risk the life that she has built while Debbie was incarcerated.”
Blanchett says, “Debbie needs a sure hand, someone she can rely on, and they’ve got a long history together. Lou’s gone straight…or straight-ish…running a nightclub. She is doing okay, but it’s not particularly exciting. I think that’s why she decides to jump back in with Debbie—for the ridiculous, danger-filled adrenaline of it all. She’s doing fine, but it’s not exciting and she’s not with her peeps.”
Producer Steven Soderbergh remarks, “There are simply no limits to what Cate can do; she has a phenomenal range. She can say more with a glance than with an entire page of dialogue, which was ideal for Lou.”
“There is no one quite like Cate,” adds director Gary Ross. “You see her assemble a character, piece by piece, latching onto these details that catch her eye as she builds them into a whole person. It’s a thrill to witness.”
The opportunity to work with other actresses became a major draw for Blanchett. She confirms, “When Gary and Steven started talking about the cast they were assembling, that was the absolute ‘why’ for me. It really is an amazing group of women, and it was just great to play with them.”