Things present themselves to you, and it's how you choose to deal with them that reveals who you are. We all say a lot of things, don't we, about who… - Cate Blanchett

As random and as subjective as this award is, it means a great deal in a year of extraordinary, yet again, extraordinary performances by women ... And perhaps those of us in the industry who are still foolishly clinging to the idea that female films with women at the center are niche experiences. They are not. Audiences want to see them, and in fact, they earn money. The world is round, people.

What interested me was how much of a departure this was in that you have three interesting, across the generations, female characters, literally riding alongside the male characters. Also the emotional and psychological depth of the characters was, for me, a lot richer than I've seen in a western. But never once did it sacrifice the thrill of the chase. So it was a journey into the unknown for me.

No one is ever who they purport to be. And I suppose I'm most interested in the gap between who we project socially and who we really are.