The filmmaker directed a play called Tot Mom at the Sydney Theatre Company, where Blanchett and Upton are joint artistic directors, and invited the cast to test their acting skills in front of the cameras in a secret side project.

The improvised comedic film, titled The Last Time I Saw Michael Gregg, tells the story of a glamorous couple who run a theatre company in Australia and is said to have been based on Blanchett and her husband.

A spokesman for the Sydney Theatre Company says, “It’s something the cast did while they were making the play. It was just a bit of fun between the cast and Steven.”

Blanchett praised Soderbergh for giving the actors some filmmaking experience, adding: “How great that the actors got a taste of working on a film with one of the true masters. You can tell everyone had a good time with it and it was the perfect way to balance the intensity of working on the play.”

© BRWC 2010.