 Cate Blanchett (qv) felt that accurately reproducing  Katharine Hepburn (qv)s distinctive upper class New Englander  accent was crucial to her portrayal of this Hollywood icon. She did  daily voice exercises with the films voice coach Tim Monich (qv)  (with whom Blanchett had worked previously on  _Talented Mr. Ripley, The (1999)_ (qv)), and also studied Hepburns  early films and documentaries about her to learn her mannerisms.