Out Today: What To Expect From Cate Blanchett’s G7 Movie

This absurdist horror comedy has a star-studded cast – all portraying familiar world leaders. Of course, Cate Blanchett isn’t actually Angela Merkel (her character’s name is Hilda Ortmann), but the weight of the long-term German chancellor underpins her performance. Here’s who else might seem familiar in Rumours.

Rumours: Plot, Cast & How To Watch

(Universal Pictures)

What Is Rumours About?

It’s time for the G7 to meet, so world leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US come together in Germany to puzzle through a global crisis. As they scramble to compose a joint statement on the unspecified crisis, the group gets lost in the woods. Stumbled across unfamiliar terrain beset by thick fog and menacing undead bog bodies and a giant brain, the group navigates the tortured passions strained between them.

With two EU representatives rounding out the cast, nine politicians are at the centre of the action in Rumours – but it’s not exactly a political film. Creators Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson have said they wanted ‘the politicians’ ideologies [to be] neutered’. ‘They really could have been a bunch of plumbers, or high school alum getting together in a forest,’ Maddin says.

Get a taste of the action below.

(Universal Pictures)

The Cast

• Cate Blanchett as Hilda Ortmann, the Chancellor of Germany
• Charles Dance as Edison Wolcott, the President of the United States
• Roy Dupuis as Maxime Laplace, the Prime Minister of Canada
• Denis Ménochet as Sylvain Broulez, the President of France
• Nikki Amuka-Bird as Cardosa Dewindt, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• Rolando Ravello as Antonio Lamorte, the Prime Minister of Italy
• Takehiro Hira as Tatsuro Iwasaki, the Prime Minister of Japan
• Zlatko Burić as Jonas Glob, the President of the European Commission
• Alicia Vikander as Celestine Sproul, the Secretary-General of the European Commission

While no one actually portrays a specific world leader, they naturally draw inspiration from real counterparts. A subtle memory of Angela Merkel underpins Blanchett’s performance, while Dance surely drew on facets of President Joe Biden for his performance. Since 2015, Justin Trudeau has been the Prime Minister of Canada, but it perhaps goes without saying that Nikki Amuka-Bird sadly does not closely reflect any British Prime Minister we’ve ever had – though the parallels with Theresa May are clear.

(Universal Pictures)

Where Was It Filmed?

Rumours was filmed in Hungary in October 2023, as well as Winnipeg in Canada. At the opening of Rumours, we are told we are at the castle of Dankerode in Germany – but the lavish palace we see on screen is actually the baroque Royal Palace of Gödöllő in Gödöllő, Hungary. Once a summer residence of the Habsburgs, the palace is now a museum and concert hall.

(Universal Pictures)

Release Date

Rumours is in cinemas now, after being released on 6 December 2024.