MOMENTS IN THE SUN Winslet's performance in Little Children (with Patrick Wilson) had her basking in the glow of Oscar speculation again after the film's premiere
Winslet isn't one to join in the chorus of complaints about the lack of layered roles for women in Hollywood. [See Hollywood vs. Women] ''I don't have the right to criticize the way a woman is portrayed in film, purely because I've had the opportunity to play so many great parts,'' she says. (What really incenses her is when she reads a mediocre script that has studio backing. ''I cannot understand how on earth this got funding when you could make three decent British films with this money!'') And when she feels queasy about her own shelf life, the generation of women above her provides sustenance. ''I look to people like Meryl Streep and Judi Dench and Helen Mirren and just think, As far as I can tell, none of you have had any surgery,'' says Winslet. ''You all look amazing. And you're all working and being better than ever!''
At last month's Toronto film festival, Winslet, who was promoting Little Children, reunited with Emma Thompson, who was plugging the comedy Stranger Than Fiction. In between junkets, the two old friends met in Winslet's hotel room for lunch and a quick gab. ''She turned up and went, 'I'm not going to stay for long, but I want to make sure you eat!''' remembers Winslet. ''She said, 'I ordered sushi, salad, and a pudding of some kind. Did you order the pudding?' And I said 'No, no, I didn't.' And she said, 'Why didn't you order the pudding?! It looks delicious!'''
After the premiere of Little Children, another gust of Oscar talk started to swirl around Winslet's performance. There's something refreshing about a famous actress who doesn't natter on insincerely about her dumb luck. Winslet fondly remembers the 1997 Academy Awards when Frances McDormand accepted the Oscar for Fargo. ''She just strutted up there,'' she says. ''It was almost like a performer going up there to take the podium. 'It's my turn!' She didn't make any apologies.'' Winslet likewise isn't the type to feel apologetic for her achievements. ''I work really, really hard, so I feel incredibly proud of my nominations. And I feel very proud of the fact that I'm [one of] the youngest who's ever gotten that many. That's amazing! I'll be able to tell my grandkids that when I was that age, that happened to me. Wow! Yes, Kate, well done.''
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