FILM · 2013
Blue Jasmine
22 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (22)
- #001
Because Woody Allen does not delve into a character's motivation or backstory while directing actors, Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins met and invented the background of the sisters' relationship. So every scene in which they discuss their past, though left ambiguous in the script and to the audience, was something both actresses understood completely.
- #002
Costume designer Suzy Benzinger had a budget of only $35,000. The Hermès bag Jasmine carries was worth more than the entire budget and, like most of the designer clothes, was borrowed.
- #003
In her memoir "Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow: My Life," Sophia Loren reveals that the screen legend still draws inspiration from other actors to refine her own portrayals, saying: "Recently the final scene of Blue Jasmine (2013) moved me deeply; there was an expression on Cate Blanchett's face that I had never seen before. That expression seeped into me and waits there for a new plant, a new flower, to sprout."
- #004
To capture the essence of a woman whose once wealthy and privileged world is collapsing around her, Cate Blanchett (Jasmine French) studied the 60 Minutes (1968) interview with Ruth Madoff, the wife of Wall Street swindler Bernie Madoff, imitating her specific vocal tones and body language.
- #005
The character Jasmine French (Cate Blanchett) is based on Ruth Madoff, the wife of Wall Street swindler Bernie Madoff. After Madoff's Ponzi scheme collapsed in 2008, he was sent to prison. Ruth Madoff moved to Boca Raton, Florida, where she lived in an apartment with her sister Joan Ramon and Ramon's husband, both of whom were also victims of Bernie Madoff's fraud. After losing millions of dollars, Ramon and her husband ran a car service to make a living. Also, like Jasmine, Ruth Madoff became estranged from the two sons who had reported their father's Ponzi scheme to the SEC. One of her sons, Mark, committed suicide in 2011, while Ruth eventually reconciled with her other son, Andrew, and provided him with a house to live in in Old Greenwich, Connecticut.
- #006
Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins were the only cast members who had the entire script during filming. Given Woody Allen's tendency to keep his story hidden even from the actors, this is hardly surprising.
- #007
Louis C.K. originally auditioned for the role of Augie, which was ultimately played by Andrew Dice Clay. Woody Allen felt C.K. was too gentle to play the role and instead offered him the part of Al Munsinger.
- #008
This was Sally Hawkins's second collaboration with Woody Allen after Cassandra's Dream (2007). Her performance in this film earned her a total of 25 award nominations, including her first Oscar nomination.
- #009
Jasmine's dentist and employer in the film, Dr. Flicker, is a recurring character in Allen's films. Most notably, he is Alvy Singer's childhood doctor in the first flashback of Annie Hall (1977).
- #010
This is the only Woody Allen film in which the two main American characters are played by non-Americans: Australian Cate Blanchett and English Sally Hawkins.
- #011
Many critics believe the film is a reimagining of Tennessee Williams's play A Streetcar Named Desire. Coincidentally, Cate Blanchett and Alec Baldwin both appeared in productions of the play. Blanchett played Blanche in the Sydney Theatre Company's 2009 revival, while Baldwin played Stanley in the 1992 Broadway revival. Baldwin also played Stanley opposite Jessica Lange as Blanche in the play's 1995 film adaptation.
- #012
After Alice (1990) and To Rome with Love (2012), this was the third Woody Allen film in which Alec Baldwin appeared.
- #013
In an interview given in August 2024, Cate Blanchett revealed that the final scene was shot twice (one day and the next) because Woody Allen rewrote part of the dialogue after seeing it for the first time.
- #014
This is Woody Allen's third film with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, after Manhattan (1979) and Anything Else (2003). Unlike films shot with anamorphic lenses, this one was shot in Super 35 with spherical lenses.
- #015
It is the only Best Original Screenplay nominee that was not also nominated for Best Picture of the year.
- #016
Bradley Cooper was considered for a role but dropped out due to a scheduling conflict.
- #017
Cate Blanchett starred alongside Judi Dench in Notes on a Scandal (2006). In the final scene, Dench's character sits on a park bench and begins talking to a complete stranger. In the final scene of Blue Jasmine, Blanchett's character also sits on a bench in a park and talks to a stranger.
- #018
The cast includes one Oscar winner, Cate Blanchett, and two Oscar nominees, Alec Baldwin and Sally Hawkins.
- #019
Jasmine French (Cate Blanchett) mentions the Masters golf tournament. One of the holes at Augusta National, where the Masters is played, is named Yellow Jasmine.
- #020
Ali Fedotowsky's first appearance.
- #021
Alec Baldwin and Alden Ehrenreich, who play father and son on screen, share a role with Harrison Ford. Baldwin played Jack Ryan in The Hunt for Red October (1990), a role Ford later took over in Patriot Games (1992). Ehrenreich appears as Han Solo in Solo (2019).
- #022
Michael Stuhlbarg and Bobby Cannavale both appeared in Boardwalk Empire (2010).
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