Catching up with two time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett last night at the premiere of “Truth” in New York. Cate stars as Mary Mapes, former “60 Minutes” producer who was fired along with Dan Rather back in 2004 after a story about George W. Bush’s time in the Air National Guard backfired.

I asked Cate whether rumors in the Australian press that she was leaving her home in Australia and moving to the U.S. were true.

She laughed. “No they are not. Why would I leave Australia? We’ve devoted our lives to the theater there. But my husband, Andrew, is ending his run. And we thought we’d travel for a year, a year abroad. No one seems to understand this.”

No secret: Cate is one of my favorite people. I’ve known her since she was in “Elizabeth” in 1998. She was denied the Oscar that year but eventually won Supporting Actress in “The Aviator” and Best Actress for “Blue Jasmine.” This year she’s in a quandary. She has lead roles in both “Carol” and “Truth.” Either won would be a winner, I tell her.

“Forget that,” she said. “Did the movie work? How do you feel about it?” she asked. Blanchett produced the film, which was shot mostly in Australia so she could be home with husband Andrew Upton and her kids. She is much more interested in discussing other current movies. She also has high praise for co-star Robert Redford.

“He transforms himself. His whole demeanor,” she says. “There’s one scene where he calls me, and talks about the history of journalism.” She shakes her head. “Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.”

Friday night, “Carol” plays at the New York Film Festival, then Cate goes home to spend a month with her family. She returns in late November to start an Oscar campaign– although it’s not clear which one yet.

As for “Carol,” she is also — as am I– enthralled with cinematographer Ed Lachman. “I keep begging him to make a book of his Polaroids [of the scenes] he’s designed. They are the movies.”

Everyone should have this problem. This year Cate Blanchett has it worse than when Kate Winslet was in “The Reader” and “Revolutionary Road.”

Blanchett stars in both “Carol” and “Truth.” She does equal work in each, the best of her career and the best of the year. The Academy rules say one nomination per category per person. If they give two awards to Blanchett, they will get one speech. At least that cuts down the time of the show.

I told you about Cate’s exquisite work in Todd Haynes’s “Carol” last week. Last night I finally saw James Vanderbilt’s movie “Truth” in which Cate plays CBS producer Mary Mapes and Robert Redford — in a performance that will surprise everyone — embodies Dan Rather and does his own best work in years. (Except I did love “All Is Lost,” but he never spoke. Here, he talks. And is great.)

The great thing about “Truth” is you never what the truth is, and the filmmaker doesn’t force one idea of it on the viewer. This is a warts-and-all retelling of what Rather and Mapes endured at CBS a decade ago when their story about George W. Bush’s career in the Air National Guard imploded. It ended both of their illustrious careers at CBS.

You can love this movie without taking sides, which is sort of great. Personally, I feel that CBS and Viacom were cowards, didn’t stand up for their people, and buckled. CBS is making noises against the movie, and Sony is brave to take on Viacom, CBS’s parent company, by releasing the film.

“Truth” is absolutely among the best movies of the year. The supporting performances by Topher Grace, Dermot Mulroney, and John Benjamin Hickey stand out, as does Bruce Greenwood (Hollywood’s all star MVP) as former CBS News chief Andrew Heyward. Stacy Keach has a nice turn, too, as Mapes’s source for the story.

Last night’s premiere at MoMA and Armani brought out the cast as well as directors Taylor Hackford, Julie Taymor, and Bennett Miller. It was nice running into Caroline Rhea, who just about plotzed when she finally got to meet Redford.

Redford probably won’t campaign for an Oscar. He didn’t for “All Is Lost.” But he should, a little. And I urge Academy voters to put him in, I think for supporting, because he is exceptional in this role. He doesn’t look a bit like Rather, but transforms himself in a very neat piece of acting. Think of it: Rather hasn’t played real people since Bob Woodward 40 years ago. Here is one playing another living one, and morphing into him. He gets Rather’s speech and walk just right, without making it an imitation.

As for Blanchett, what do we do? She is on fire. Mary Mapes isn’t a celebrity, she was always backstage. But this is Blanchett’s “Norma Rae,” or “Erin Brockovich,” or “Silkwood,” or “Coming Home.” She’s completely captivating.

At the packed advance industry screening last night of “Truth,” Cate Blanchett descended the staircase of the Academy Theater in Beverly Hills in true Hollywood glamour style. The Academy is lush and wonderfully old Hollywood, so the sight of Cate, descending down the winding staircase adorned by life size golden Oscars, as the guests downstairs munched on mini hamburgers, all practically stopping to watch Cate, was truly a sight to behold.

Helped by her longtime noted fashion stylist, Elizabeth Stewart, Cate was a Hollywood heavenly vision in white. The two time Oscar winner is going to need Elizabeth’s expertise this coming awards season, as she is on the map for her bravo performance in “Truth,” as well as her talked about performance as a closeted lesbian in 1950’s New York in “Carol.”

Blanchett shines in “Truth” playing the real life veteran CBS News Producer Mary Mapes who, faced harsh, –and many say unjust– scrutiny, for a story about George W Bush’s controversial military record. The fiasco cost not only Mapes her TV career, and ended the nightly news anchor job for the respected Dan Rather (Robert Redford).

This whole saga fell under the radar for most people, including Blanchett, who is Australian. She told me: “This was a fantastic experience. I didn’t know the whole or the true story. I knew vaguely about what happened with Dan Rather, so I did research on it, again, because I didn’t know.”

Producer Brad Fischer said, “Mary is still out there, writing and pursuing what she’s passionate about. She hasn’t worked in television news since this whole thing unfolded. She’s an incredibly smart, witty and a great person. It was a tragic event for everybody involved. This story is more relevant today than it was back then, in terms of what the news has become. There is so much manipulation in stories and in the media by the time it gets to the viewer.”

Cate added that, “I’m so glad this story has been told, because it really needs to be known by the public, what really goes down behind the scenes that we’re not always aware of. So I think it’s a tremendous tribute to all the people that are involved in this film to tell this story. So that the truth came out, that the truth always wills out. You can only hope.”

Other guests included co-star Elisabeth Moss, plus John Savage, Lesley Ann Warren, and Stacy Keach.