NEW YORK, March 18 (UPI) -- Cate Blanchett says she wanted to star in the film "Veronica Guerin" because the story of the murdered Irish reporter was so extraordinary.
"Usually, it's not just the character that draws me into a project, it's the circumstances in which that character is set," she told UPI in a recent interview. "And there are a lot of extraordinary women who have lived recently, historical figures, but unless you can find the point of drama to set them in, then their extraordinary lives don't become films."
The "Lord of the Rings" and "The Missing" actress said she first heard of the journalist, who lost her life in 1996 after exposing Dublin drug lords in her newspaper, when director Joel Schumacher sent her a "60 Minutes" piece about her.
"I instantly found her fascinating," the Australian actress recalled. "[The segment] was done after she was shot the first time. So, I was really taken by her and then Joel described how he wanted to make this a dance of death between her and [drug lord] Gilligan, so that everything is heading toward that point. Suddenly, I saw the focus for the drama."
"Veronica Guerin" is now on video and DVD.
