Rosamund Pike to Receive Breakthrough Actress Award

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Rosamund Pike, a 34-year-old British actress who has been making movies since 1998, will be officially recognized for having a breakthrough performance in January.

Pike, who was first signed to an agent while appearing in a “Romeo and Juliet” production with the National Youth Theatre, will receive the Breakthrough Performance Award, Actress, at the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala Jan. 3 at the Palm Springs Convention Center.

She’ll join previously announced honorees Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne and J.K. Simmons at the ceremony hosted by Mary Hart. The gala is sold out, but tickets are still on sale for the festival running Jan. 2-12.

Pike is being recognized for her performance in David Fincher’s “Gone Girl” opposite Ben Affleck, Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry.

“Rosamund Pike perfectly taps into Gillian Flynn’s complex character from the novel ‘Gone Girl,’ bringing to life the privileged, manipulative and calculating Amy Dunne,” said film festival board Chairman Harold Matzner. “It’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role.”

Past recipients of the Breakthrough Performance Award include Marion Cotillard, Lupita Nyong’o, Carey Mulligan, Felicity Huffman, Jennifer Hudson and Jeremy Renner. In the years they were honored, Cotillard, Hudson and Nyong’o went on to receive Academy Awards, while Huffman and Renner received nominations.

Pike first came to international attention for her role in the 2002 James Bond thriller, “Die Another Day,” for which she was nominated for the Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Award. She’s been nominated for three British Independent Film Awards, winning in 2005 for Best Supporting Actor/Actress for her role in “The Libertine.”

She also was nominated for two 2011 London Critics’ Circle awards, winning the British Actress of the Year for “Barney’s Version.”

Her other film credits include “An Education,” “The World’s End,” “Jack Reacher” and “Wrath of the Titans.”

The Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala is presented by Cartier and sponsored by Mercedes Benz and “Entertainment Tonight.” The city of Palm Springs, which annually donates more than $350,000 as the festival title sponsor, considers the 26-year-old festival its flagship event.

For more information, call (760) 322-2930 or visit www.psfilmfest.org.

Source: The Desert Sun

‘Gone Girl’s’ Rosamund Pike to be Honored by Palm Springs Film Festival

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It was announced today by the Palm Springs International Film Festival via a press release that “Gone Girl” star Rosamund Pike will be receiving the Breakthrough Award, Actress, during the festival’s gala awards evening on Jan. 3, 2014, at the Palm Springs Convention Center, Palm Springs, California.

“Rosamund Pike perfectly taps into Gillian Flynn’s complex character from the novel ‘Gone Girl‘ bringing to life the privileged, manipulative and calculating Amy Dunne. It’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role,” said Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “For this outstanding performance it is an honor to present her with the 2015 Breakthrough Performance Award, Actress.”

Past recipients of the Breakthrough Performance Award include Lupita Nyong’o, Marion Cotillard, Felicity Huffman, Carey Mulligan, Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Hudson. In the years they were honored, Hudson, Cotillard, and Nyong’o went on to receive Academy Awards, while Renner and Huffman received Oscar nominations.

David Fincher’s “Gone Girl” is a melodramatic and thrilling tale of betrayal that takes the moviegoer to places that are completely and fascinatingly unpredictable. The film is based on the novel “Gone Girl,” and the script written by Hollywood Film Award winner Gillian Flynn. Along with Pike, the film stars Academy Award winner Ben Affleck, Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry.

Rosamund Pike was born in London in 1979. Her mother is a classical violinist and her father is an opera singer, she is their only child. As a child she started acting at the National Youth Theatre. When she was starring in a National Youth Theatre production of “Romeo & Juliet,” she was discovered by an agent and as they say, the rest is history.

Pike starred opposite Keira Knightley in the 2005 film “Pride and Prejudice,” starred with “Pride & Prejudice” alumni Carey Mulligan in “An Education,” and just recently starred opposite Simon Pegg in “Hector and the Search for Happiness.”

The Palm Springs International Film Festival runs from Jan. 2-12, 2015.

Source: Examiner.com

Young and Veteran Stars Shine at Palm Springs Film Fest

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The Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala began its second 25 years with the blossoming of a new generation of stars.

After last year’s silver anniversary celebration featuring legends such as Meryl Streep, Bono of U2, Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, Saturday’s gala at the Palm Springs Convention Center honored rising stars and possible upcoming household names such as Eddie Redmayne, Julianne Moore, J.K. Simmons, Rosamund Pike and David Oyelowo, who had festival-goers buzzing going into the gala after appearing on the red carpet at Friday’s Opening Night Screening of “Selma,” featuring his stellar performance as Martin Luther King Jr.

The honorees were selected for this first big event of the Oscar campaign season, said festival board chairman Harold Matzner, because they have the best chance of being nominated for Academy Awards. He noted that 10 of last year’s 11 honorees received Oscar nominations and said boldly, “This year’s honorees are of that same magnificent quality and are bound to experience similar success.”

But the presenters, including Brad Pitt, Robert Downey Jr., Shirley MacLaine and Michael Keaton, were actually more iconic than honorees. Instead of having to wait until the end of the three-hour event for a “gala moment,” the record-smashing audience of 2,400 formally-clad people got a treat before former “Entertainment Tonight” host Mary Hart was ushered on stage to emcee the evening.

Pitt, a producer of “Selma,” introduced Oyelowo with the male Breakthrough Performance Award by trying to teach the crowd how to pronounce his name. He admonished them when they couldn’t get it right, saying, “You’re going to be referencing this name for years to come. You might as well get it right tonight.” So then he had the audience sing each syllable of his name.

Oyelowo made his entrance and said, “You know you have broken through when Brad Pitt sings your name. Wow!”

Downey, a producer and star of “The Judge,” entered the stage to an orchestral version of “Iron Man,” wearing red tinted glasses and a loose tie and raising his arms to bask in his applause before presenting the festival’s Icon Award to his “Judge” costar Robert Duvall. He said Duvall earned icon status for his work in films such as “M*A*S*H*,” “The Godfather” trilogy, “Network,” “Apocalypse Now” and “Tender Mercies” (for which Duvall won an Oscar). Then he elicited the evening’s first standing ovation by telling the audience, “This is generally where people stand up.”

Duvall, who won a Career Achievement Award at the 2011 festival gala, said, “I don’t even know what an icon is!” But he teared up as he began to talk about his parents, who encouraged him to go into acting as a profession even before he did any amateur acting.

Steve Carell, presenting the female Desert Palm Achievement acting award to Julianne Moore, his costar in the upcoming drama, “Freeheld,” ran with Pitt’s musical name game theme. Throwing away the script written for him, Carell sang, “It’s pronounced Julie, Julianna…” He also said, “She’s one of the most genuinely nice people I have ever met. And I have met Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, and she makes them look like (bleeps).”

Moore, wearing a genuinely odd shoulderless red dress, humbly responded, “I can’t believe how many times he said my name, like nine, 13 (times).”

She saved her hyperbole for her introduction of her male counterpart for the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Eddie Redmayne, whose portrayal of the ALS-afflicted Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything” took him down a similar path of physical deterioration as Moore traversed in “Still Alice.”

“He beautifully articulated this physical state,” Moore said, “which meant that Eddie lost the actor’s tools of voice and movement, and he was still able to express Hawking’s essence with very little gesture, but a tremendous amount of grace.”

Redmayne thanked his director, James Marsh, who he said “took a punt on me” for the role, but also acknowledged the remarkable person he portrayed and the family who went with him on “this incredibly passionate and emotional journey.”

More off-the-cuff introductions were offered by other iconic presenters. Keaton, presenting the Director of the Year Award to the man who guided his comeback in “Birdman,” said he left his notes in his car. Then he eloquently explained what a remarkable job Alejandro González Iñárritu did in eliciting great performances from his cast and crew.

MacLaine, who received the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, presented Richard Linklater with the Visionary Award for his direction of “Boyhood,” by essentially saying Linklater never instructed her on how to perform or even what to wear when they made the movie, “Bernie.” But then she realized he was a true visionary because “he allows complete freedom. You don’t care about pleasing the director. You care about pleasing the character.”

Jason Reitman, who has directed J.K. Simmons in films such as “Up in the Air,” “Juno” and “Thank You For Smoking,” presented him with the Spotlight Award by saying “There isn’t a moviegoer alive who hasn’t been touched by one of his performances.” Simmons acknowledged that Reitman was responsible for getting him his part in “Whiplash” for which he was being honored.

The Ensemble Award, always the supreme prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, was the penultimate prize at this gala, with director Morton Tyldum presenting the award to his cast of “The Imitation Game.” Tyldum praised his cast, including attending actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Allen Leech, Matthew Bear and Alex Lawther, saying, “nothing would work in this movie without each of its irreplaceable parts.”

But Cumberbatch, speaking for the cast, said there wouldn’t have been a movie if not for the work of Alan Turing, the belatedly-celebrated gay genius on whom “The Imitation Game” is based.

The final position in the awards ceremony was given to Reese Witherspoon, the 2006 Oscar winner who was presented the Chairman’s Award by Laura Dern for her performance in “Wild.” Dern, who played Witherspoon’s mother in the film, praised her performance and her job as the producer for adapting Cheryl Strayed’s memoir.

Witherspoon said she felt compelled to tell Strayed’s story of how she walked 1,100 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail following her recent divorce and death of her mother despite having had no backpacking experience and having shot heroin just two days earlier.

The gala, which began with the presentation of the female Breakthrough Performance Award to Rosamund Pike for her performance in “Gone Girl,” played to a crowd of 2,400 industry people, plus a contingent of Goldenvoice officials who produce the Stagecoach festival that Witherspoon says she attends. The gala grossed $2.4 million for the nonprofit Palm Springs International Film Society, roughly $100,000 more than last year.

More than 200 security people were employed for the gala and guests were made to go through metal detectors. A parking snafu cause the gala to start a little late and go a little long. But it raised funds for the programming of not just this festival but also the summer ShortFest.

Source: The Desert Sun

Palm Springs Film Fest: ‘Selma’ a Powerful Opener

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The Palm Springs International Film Festival opened Friday with a screening of “Selma” to a packed house in a local high school auditorium.

The Palm Springs festival has become an important piece of the annual awards puzzle, most notably through the gala event that gets the machinery of the season turning again after the holidays and as something of a test run for events to come. “Selma” is a notably big presence at the festival, with talent from the film appearing all through the weekend.

Another adventurous program awaits at Palm Springs film festival

Another adventurous program awaits at Palm Springs film festival

Since it first screened publicly less than two months ago, “Selma” has burst upon the awards season, the news cycle and the popular consciousness with a rare vitality and sense of momentum. Filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s depiction of civil rights protests of 1965 — and astonishingly the first theatrical feature film to place Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at its center — “Selma” has gained resonance from its parallels to current events and has also begun to weather controversy over the accuracy of its depiction of historical events.

Already in limited release on its way to opening nationwide Tuesday, the film has been landing on 10-best lists and has been picking up strength as it picks up more awards, including four Golden Globe nominations. DuVernay, actor David Oyelowo and actor and musician Common, all Globe nominees for the film, were in attendance Friday night for the screening at Palm Springs High.

Friday’s event was a mix of the posh and the homespun. It was a chilly night in the desert, so there were more than a few furs, possibly faux, spotted throughout the upscale crowd, and before the screening an announcement was made for someone to move their Smart car from a fire lane.

Starting the evening, festival director Darryl Macdonald lauded the event, in its 26th edition, for its recent “rebirth” before introducing chairman Harold Matzner.

Matzner rattled off some impressive figures for the festival, including selections from 65 countries and over 130,000 attendees. He in turn introduced the mayor of Palm Springs, Stephen Pougnet.

“I can’t buy the kind of advertising” that comes from the festival, Pougnet said. “I can’t thank you enough as mayor.”

The mayor concluded by noting that he had been told the film was 2-1/2 hours long, so he would keep his remarks brief.

The festival’s artistic director, Helen du Toit, next introduced DuVernay, Oyelowo and Common. DuVernay began by saying, “We don’t have anything prepared, so I’ll speak from the heart. First, we love you mayor, but it’s only two hours long, don’t worry.”

A film publicist before beginning to make films herself, DuVernay noted she first met Du Toit at the Toronto International Film Festival and programmer Carl Spence at the Seattle International Film Festival.

As for McDonald, she said, “He doesn’t remember when he met me, I didn’t tell him before,” while adding, “The story ends well.”

DuVernay first submitted her debut short film to the Palm Springs International ShortFest and was accepted and screened there.

“I have shown my films all over the world since then,” she said, “but it started right here. So thank you.”

Oyelowo next stepped to the microphone to say simply, “We made this film in a spirit of service and love and we hope you receive it as such.”

Common concluded the introduction by saying “’Selma” has been such a gift in my life and hopefully you all feel that gift and will be inspired to go out and help improve the world. That’s what we’re here for.”

The film played strongly to the crowd, with gasps of shock and upset at scenes of violence building to powerful emotional swells. Oyelowo’s orations throughout the film are simply mesmerizing and held the audience in rapt attention.

At the after-party at the Palm Springs Art Museum, Oyelowo noted how the film has taken on a deeper resonance in light of recent protests against police violence around the country.

“The thing that has been a huge privilege about doing this story is that, considering how formative it is for this nation, so few people know about Selma,” he said.

“They know ‘I Have A Dream’ and they know about the assassination, they may know about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott,” Oyelowo said. “I have to be honest, that when we made the film obviously Ferguson hadn’t happened, Eric Garner hadn’t happened, so it’s amazing to have made a film that is meeting the time it’s in in a way that makes it not feel like a historical drama.”

Source: LA Times

Ready, Set, Red Carpet! The Palm Springs Film Festival Gala Marks the Start of the Movie Award Season

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And they’re off! A good chunk of likely Oscar contenders popped by the 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Gala Saturday night to test acceptance speeches, curate cuss words, and poke fun at the interesting-looking prizes that the good folks of at the Palm Springs International Film Society hand out each year. The largest crowd yet (this thing just keeps getting bigger and bigger) stood outside in the cold temps to get a peek at big-timers like Brad Pitt, Julianne Moore, Robert Duvall, Benedict Cumberbatch, Eddie Redmayne, Shirley MacLaine, Robert Downey Jr., Steve Carell, Peter Linklater, and Reese Witherspoon among many others. They were joined by an enormous line of party-goers who got stuck in a security and metal detector line that was longer than Christmas at LAX (Chairman Harold Matzner apologized onstage).

Pitt started out the night, quieting the 2,400 partiers to pronounce Selma actor David Oyelowo’s name correctly by leading a sing-along, “How the hell do you pronounce his name? I’m here to help…O-Yel, O-Yel, O-Yel-ow-o. Everybody!” Oyelowo hit the stage beaming. “You know you have broken through when Brad Pitt sings your name,” he said. The actor, who portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in Ava Duvernay’s film, got choked up while accepting his award. Another emotional fella, Robert Duvall (who picked up an Icon award from new Judge pal Robert Downey Jr.), also got a bit choked up himself. “I’m getting a little emotional. Usually they pay me for that,” he joked. Duvall happily rambled (gotta love him) about everything from his love for Robert Downey’s Jr.’s shoes and of Westerns (“Which is really my favorite medium”) to the books both he and his wife are currently reading—“She is reading the definitive book on Churchill and finished Empire of the Summer Moon, and I love sports, so I just finished a book on Lionel Messi, the great Argentine soccer player.” He stopped short of telling everyone what he’d had for breakfast.

J.K. Simmons and Julianne Moore were both dry-eyed while delivering their speeches (sigh, I lost money–shoulda bet on Duvall and Oyelowo), which were both a bit goofy and off-the-cuff. Moore even threw in a jab at her dress before anyone else could. “I love crazy orange dresses,” she said. From the cheap seats, it looked a bit like a ketchup package that someone squeezed at the bottom. From worst dressed to best dressed, Rosamund Pike’s Alexander McQueen number was stunning. She had this to say about landing the plumb lead role in Gone Girl: “As every actor in this room knows, after bingo! comes f–k!

Benedict Cumberbatch and the cast of The Imitation Game picked up the Ensemble Award. Most of the cast made it to the show with the exception of Keira Knightley. “She thought this was taking place in Palm Beach,” Cumberbatch joked before fessing up that Knightley was under the weather. Reese Witherspoon summed up the feel-good festival gala the best, saying, “I can’t tell you how lovely it is for you to come into the door and people are applauding.” She was referring to the gala’s longtime tradition of festival volunteers clapping for the honorees all the way into the ballroom. It’s like the casual Oscars, except that, well…everyone knows they’ve already won.

Partiers went home with a crystal red apple (there is always some kind of tchotchke).

Source: Los Angeles Magazine 

Oscar Contenders Start 2015 Campaign Trail At Palm Springs Festival

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Awards contenders who hit the trail to the 26th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival this weekend were talking about the breathless pace of this year’s race. No sooner had the last Rose Parade float left Colorado Boulevard on New Year’s Day did a herd of Oscar hopefuls head to the desert for the next phase of this wide open awards season.

Earlier than ever, Saturday night’s PSIFF awards gala – timed to land right in the middle of the crucial Oscar nominating balloting – brought out a bevy of contenders who were receiving pre-negotiated trophies at the glitziest ceremonies
this side of theGolden Globes (which take place in a week, also disturbingly earlier than normal).

In a ceremony hosted by the ever-enthusiastic Mary Hart(with usual key sponsor Cartier), recipients includedRosamund Pike(Breakthrough Actress winner for Gone Girl), David Oyelowo (Breakthrough Actor for Selma), J.K. Simmons (Spotlight winner forWhiplash), Robert Duvall (Icon Award for The Judge), Boyhood director Richard Linklater (Sonny Bono Visionary Award), Julianne Moore (Actress, Still Alice), Eddie Redmayne (Actor, The Theory Of Everything),
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
(Director,Birdman), The Imitation Game(Ensemble Cast) and Reese Witherspoon(Chairman’s Award,Wild). 

They all got to try out speeches they might get a chance to deliver at the Golden Globes or the Oscars, if they’re lucky. Even presenters like Steve Carell (for Moore),Michael Keaton (for Inarritu), director Morten Tyldum (for his Imitation Game cast) and Laura Dern (for Witherspoon) are contenders in their own right. Even they had an opportunity to make an impression on the gigantic Palm Springs Convention Center stage in front of a silver screen that even eclipsed the Cinerama Dome‘s.

But it was probably two other Best Actor possibilities (although further down the list in this uber-competitive year) – Robert Downey Jr. presenting to co-star Duvall andBrad Pitt presenting to Oyelowo, star of his production company Plan B’s Selma – who made the greatest impression of all.

Early in the evening, Pitt had the crowd in the palm of his hand as he taught them to correctly pronounce Oyelowo’s tricky name (O-yellow-o). First you had to try to say it in unison, then with Pitt leading the chorus, you had to try to sing it. The actor was clearly having fun and it got the three-hour-plus show off to a great start early on. Breakthrough winner Oyelowo charmed the crowd when he said in his acceptance, “you know you have really broken through when Brad Pitt sings your name!”

And Downey, wearing sunglasses, was the epitome of RDJ Cool, before getting serious about Duvall.

“Did you see my Mercedes parked out in front?” Downey said. “That’s called preferred parking. And you would think Cartier could give me this watch instead of asking for it back at 7:30 tomorrow morning!”

Both superstars came on relatively early in the show and really got the crowd going. Some of the other speeches could have used editing, particularly PSIFF Board Chair Harold Matzner, who took his time thanking the less-famous, but deep-pocketed donors in the room. But Matzner, who puts on this key awards event each year, did succinctly point out its importance to the industry and why so many showbiz types make this annual trek to the desert.

“Last year we are proud to say that 10 of our 11 awards gala honorees were nominated for Academy Awards,”  he said. “This year’s honorees are that same magnificent quality and we believe bound to experience similar success with Academy voters.”

And ain’t that what this is all about? Sort of. When then-Mayor Sonny Bono came up with the idea more than a quarter century ago, it was a good one, guaranteed to bring big bucks into the city. And a big, less publicized part of it is still the actual movies,particularly the long list of Oscar-contending foreign-language films this fest specializes in. Fest director Darryl MacDonald and artistic director Helen du Toit have made spotlighting those contenders a particular festival focus.

But for all that, I doubt Bono could have predicted the festival would also become one of the must-stops on the awards circuit for its glamorous, if sometimes garish, trophy trot, replete with a full orchestra on stage playing honorees on with their movies’ theme songs.  No expense is spared for this thing. Even the centerpieces utilize 19,000 flowers assembled by 45 designers.

I have to confess this all is one of my awards-season guilty pleasures. You just have to admire the sheer scale of it. Tons of volunteers urge every attendee to hit the red carpet and they applaud you as you walk into the cavernous ballroom, which is filled to the rafters with 2400 attendees.

Somewhere in the dead center of all those tables sit the honorees and their entourages from the studios and distributors who arranged these awards for their best and brightest  Oscar hopefuls. But the best thing these contenders can do for this opportunity is to make a coherent, concise speech that turns on the crowd (which does include more than a few Academy voters). To that end, most did nicely.

Even the ones who needed editing can benefit from a Palm Springs push. This is a place where you can really get your campaign rolling. I recall last year’s PSIFF Actor winner Matthew McConaughey really ignited the audience with his speech, setting a tone that took him all the way to the Oscar. If anyone did that this year, it was probably Redmayne, who hit all the right notes in a classy acceptance.

I would say the same for Benedict Cumberbatch, the appointed speaker forThe Imitation Game cast. He was eloquent, funny, thoughtful and touching in talking about Alan Turing, the cryptology and computing pioneer whom he portrays in the movie. It was a sincere, textbook-perfect acceptance. He was amusing too in explaining the absence of co-star Keira Knightley.

“She got mixed up and thought this was in Palm Beach,” he said.She’s enjoying a nice tan right now. Not really. She’s ill and couldn’t make it.”

At the ridiculously crowded Parker Hotel after party Cumberbatch told me they wanted him to use a teleprompter for his speech but he nixed it, preferring to go off the cuff. It worked, right from the Chariots Of Fire slow-motion run he and his castmates made in entering the stage. He told me they had planned even more gags but he forgot them when he was up there. He also paid a high compliment to his friend and one-time co-star (on The Other Boleyn GirlRedmayne.

“Eddie, I thought did such a beautiful speech and such a job of encompassing everything from the personal to the film to Stephen to the subject matter that when he was up there talking I felt my head exploding,” Cumberbatch said. “There are just so many different ways to go with this.”  He chose the right way.

As did Redmayne, who lavished praise on Moore, his presenter who had played his mother in Savage Grace, a film about an incestuous relationship. At the Parker afterparty, Redmayne still was talking about how great Moore was to work with and how she helped him get that early role.

“In the end, she fought for me in a way that had never been done for me before,” Redmayne said. “And that was so lovely of her to do this tonight.”

Redmayne also mentioned on stage he had just married two weeks ago, and told me how he and wife Hannah spent their honeymoon.

“We went skiing in the Alps,” he said. “Unfortunately there was no snow, just a lot of sunshine. A few more freckles. It was just great being away from everything and being super relaxed. “

Then he jumped back into the awards-season grind where he’ll spend this week with multiple Q&A sessions before prepping for The Danish Girl, his next film,which starts in a month and a half.

The show may have run long, but it had many highlights, from terrific career tips by Duvall (deservedly getting the evening’s only standing ovation) and Shirley MacLaine, who presented to her Bernie director Linklater and reminisced about working with Hitchcock, Wilder and Wyler along the way. There was Carell’s charming intro for recent co-star Moore, to  the genuine warmth and respect between Keaton and Inarritu, and particularly between Witherspoon and Wild co-star Laura Dern.

And Simmons, whose award was presented by his frequent director Jason Reitman, seemed genuinely touched by the recognition for Whiplash after decades of journeyman acting work on stage, TV and in movies.

Simmons was soldiering through painful back spasms all day. I was happy to moderate a 45-minute “Talking Pictures”  conversation with him earlier Saturday but, despite the pain, he got through it like a true pro and the Palm Springs film fans loved him.

Now Simmons is headed to Monday’s New York Film Critics banquet, where he will get yet another of many awards in the next few weeks.  It’s that thing you do this time of year.

Source: Deadline

Palm Springs International Film Festival Mixes Glitz with Bold Spirit

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At the Palm Springs International Film Festival’s opening night screening of “Selma,” filmmaker Ava DuVernay surprised festival director Darryl Macdonald and the audience by reminding them that her first short film played at the Palm Springs International ShortFest in 2005.

The Palm Springs festival’s particular mix of glamour and discovery came together as she noted how important that experience was in her early days as a developing filmmaker.

“We’re the opening night film, and we are in pretty dresses and suits, but you have a lot of other beautiful filmmakers that have beautiful work that’s been carefully programmed and curated,” DuVernay said. “I would encourage you to seek out things that you’ve not heard, seek out things that are not Golden Globe nominees. That’s how folks grow and gain confidence in front of audiences.”

The two main events of Palm Springs, the dizzying glitz and glamour of an awards gala against the parade of obscurities and discoveries of the festival itself, would seem at odds, yet somehow festival organizers have found a way to make them live in relative harmony.

The festival’s awards gala Saturday night attracted 2,400 people to a lavish black-tie affair that raised $2.4 million for the Palm Springs Film Society, with some of Hollywood’s biggest names — including Reese Witherspoon, Brad Pitt, Robert Downey Jr., Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rosamund Pike and Robert Duvall — attending as either award presenters or recipients.

At the same time, the film festival itself is in the midst of playing 192 films from 65 countries, including 50 of the 83 submissions for the foreign language Academy Award. (The festival runs through Monday.) Last year more than 135,000 people attended, making it one of the top film festivals for attendance in the country.

“They have different missions, but I see them as closely related and helping each other,” said Harold Matzner, chairman of the festival, a few hours before the gala while sitting amid a sea of elegantly set tables as final preparations swirled around the Palm Springs Convention Center, the red carpet outside still covered in plastic.

Macdonald, in a separate interview, noted that while some 70% of the attendees come from outside the Coachella Valley, that split is flipped in favor of local attendees at the gala.

“How many festivals in North America, or even worldwide, have this mix?” said Macdonald. “Some of the biggest names in the business, some of the most recognizable faces in the business and a great lineup of the best art films from cinema around the world? It’s a heady combination.”

Matzner is a businessman and philanthropist who first became involved with the festival through his friend, tennis partner and the festival’s founder, the late Sonny Bono. Having been involved in the festival’s beginnings — this is its 26th year — he stepped away for a few years but came back in 2000 and has been part of building it to what it is today.

The gala has come a long way since 2002, when it was attended by only about 200 people. The intense media coverage now generated by the event as the machinery of awards season reignites after the holidays has become a key component as for-your-consideration hopefuls are narrowed down to a select nominated few.

“We built a very strong following doing the right things and having a good product,” Matzner said of the turnaround. “Listen, Cheerios wasn’t always the best-selling cereal in America.”

Though the festival’s programming has a strong emphasis on foreign language films, there is still some conventional star power as well. “There are still so many people in this country who wouldn’t cross the street to go to a film with subtitles or someone they don’t recognize,” said Macdonald. “And that’s why you salt in some quality films with more popular appeal.”

Besides the appearance on opening night of David Oyelowo, Common and DuVernay, all Golden Globe nominees for “Selma,” there are some recognizable faces on-screen and off at the festival itself. Anne Hathaway attended with her upcoming “Song One.” James Franco is to appear at the world premiere of “Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha,” directed by his students in a production course at USC. Peter Bogdanovich is scheduled to attend the U.S. premiere of his latest film, “She’s Funny That Way,” which stars Owen Wilson, Imogen Poots and Jennifer Aniston.

“It’s about the mix, making it artistically successful while at the same time popularly accessible,” said Macdonald. “Not being perceived as an ivory tower event, and having the right mix really fuels that.”

Poland’s “Ida” and Estonia’s “Tangerines” recently made the Oscar shortlist of nine foreign language titles. Both also had their first public U.S. screenings at Palm Springs last year. (“Ida” was a so-called “secret” screening so the official U.S. premiere could be at Sundance.) In an unusual move, both played again this year to sold-out houses.

Over the weekend outside the Regal Cinemas Palm Springs Stadium 9, one of the festival’s core venues, staff coordinated lines outside the theater with friendly efficiency. There was a warm air, even though the weather was brisk by desert standards.

Some of those in line have been coming for many years and fiercely plan ahead to knock off a few dozen titles while others have been attending for only a few years and will see only a handful of films. “This is my yearly fix,” said a woman who noted that most of the foreign language films will never play theatrically near her home in the Moreno Valley.

American filmmakers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead had just finished a Q&A after an afternoon screening of their horror/romance hybrid “Spring” and were chatting with a few audience members outside the theater as event staff tried to keep a path clear for lines moving in either direction.

Benson and Moorhead premiered their film at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and have been traveling to festivals ever since. Their screenings in Palm Springs wrap up their domestic festival run ahead of a theatrical release in spring.

“This festival” — Moorhead said, surveying a bustling theater lobby with swarms of people moving about, a busy concession stand and the like — “this festival is like every film festival, but the events they have here, because of the Oscar season stuff, are beyond anything we’ve been to.”

At an intimate brunch Sunday sponsored by Variety, at least one person cut to the chase of what’s in it from the talent side.

“We’re trolling for Oscar votes, let’s be honest,” said Chris Rock, writer, director and star of the recent “Top Five,” in accepting an award. “So please vote for me.”

Source: LA Times

Star-Studded Variety Awards Brunch for Film Fest

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It was a stellar day for the elite crowd of Hollywood royalty attending the Variety Creative Impact Awards brunch held at the stylish but quirky Parker Palm Springs. Day three of the Palm Springs International Film Festival was buzzing with luxury cars and limos cued up in front of the imposing white mid-century resort.

I was leaning against a wall by the entrance waiting for my husband when an oversized SUV pulled up a few feet away. The door opened and out jumped “Boyhood” actorChris Rock, who was there to receive the Creative Impact in Comedy Award. Flashing a warm smile, he stopped, put his hand on my arm and said with a twinkle in his eye, “you are doing a stand-up job there.” A bit taken aback, I thought to myself that the chance encounter was an interesting start to this special Palm Springs International Film Festival event — described by one attendee as the hottest ticket in town.

In a secluded area of the Parker’s lush central gardens was a giant step-and-repeat screen along with a hoard of paparazzi armed and ready for celebrity arrivals. The sun was as bright and warm as guests strolled down a pathway leading to a cordoned off outdoor venue with white tables, food stations, and a stage.

Security was tight. On-the-alert types with dark glasses and walkie-talkies peppered the grounds.

This was people-watching at its best. The lovely “Still Alice” actress and film fest honoree Julianne Moore was there to present the Creative Impact in Acting Award to “Foxcatcher” actor Steve Carell. She looked bandbox perfect in a simple, but elegant, sleeveless black Alexander McQueen Resort dress and was gracious to everyone who approached her.

“Gone Girl” actress Rosamund Pike, Grace Kelly elegant in a Proenza Schouler black knit crew-neck top and black and white hand-painted pleated skirt, presented the Creative Impact in Directing Award to popular “Into the Woods” director Rob Marshall.

Chris Rock, “GQ” perfect in a shirt, tie, V-neck sweater and blue blazer, received his award from “Boyhood” director Richard Linklater. During his acceptance speech, Rock appealed to the audience to please vote for him to receive an Academy Award. “It’s my mother’s 70th birthday, if I am nominated, I will take her to the Oscars. If not, I will take her to Fat Burger. We don’t need another black woman at Fat Burger. Please vote for me.” A roar of laughter could be heard across the Coachella Valley.

Robert Duvall, being his own man and celebrating his 84th birthday, casually donned a baseball cap and a down vest looking ever so much the star that he is. Duvall, the night before at the sold out film festival gala, had received the Icon Award for his lifetime of movie accomplishments.

Ava DuVernay, who was honored as one of Variety’s 10 directors to watch, received many compliments regarding her playful ensemble that included a turquoise blouse, black blazer and bright floral print full skirt. DuVernay’s widely acclaimed film “Selma” opened the film fest festivities.

The gathering of local VIPs and celebrities, along with the Hollywood crowd, sported jeans, leggings, blazers, sweaters, leather jackets, fun-furs, up-to-there mini dresses. Philanthropist Helene Galen was her usual classy self in comfortable slacks and a beautiful dove-gray jacket and matching neck-scarf. Crooner Jack Jones was seen with his gorgeous wife, Eleonora, dolled up in her “Doctor Zhivago“-styled gray fur hat and white fur jacket.

Then there was the dapper festival chairman Harold Matzner, clad in his “man in charge” black shirt and sports coat accented with a colorful patterned teal tie and his signature white sneakers and hanging out with Steve Carell and Eddie Redmayne.

Former professional football defensive back and actor Fred (The Hammer) Williamson made a crowd-pleasing touch-down with his confident “Hollywood persona” while sporting a black leather jacket.

Variety’s Vice President and Executive Editor Steve Gaydos, an award-winning screenwriter, kicked off the ceremonies by welcoming the audience and thanking those involved in the partnership between Variety and Palm Springs International Film Festival. He introduced his Variety team, including publisher Michelle Sobrino, the first woman to head the 110-year-old Variety magazine.

“I love award season because this is when people are talking about cinematic excellence,” said Gaydos. “They aren’t just talking about box office or money that makes the world go around, but art as well.”

He rattled off the current top films and touted the film festival for discovering new film makers each year; as well as applauding the successful collaboration between the festival and Variety.

“Since the dawn of motion pictures this art form has been fueled by pioneering voices who push the boundary of storytelling with innovative documentary structure and new technologies,” said festival director Darryl Macdonald. “The PSIFF has always been dedicated in celebrating those new voices and new visions emerging in film world-wide. It is appropriate that we join with Variety in celebration of both new talent and the pioneering voices we are here to honor.”

Festival artistic director Helen du Toit introduced the winning directors, narrowed down to 10 from hundreds of filmmakers: Sean Baker, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, Ava Duvernay, Shlomi Elkabetz and Ronit Elkabetz, Jeremy Garelick,Dan Gilroy,Marielle Heller, Ruben Ostlund, Damian Szifron and Leigh Whannell.

Guest Jamie Kabler, who was there with philanthropist Helene Galen praised the event, saying, “Variety always highlights the directors and stars who, in the next year, will get the attention. It was amazing to meet the director of “Nightcrawler,” as well as the directors of “Gett” — one of the best Israeli films of the year.” Also present wereCarolyn and Daniel Caldwell, Kaye Ballard, Daleand Leslie Chihuly (designer of the festival’s awards), Melissa, Tristan and Reid Milanovich, Sidney Craig, Colleen Haggerty,Sean David, Ann Greer, Dori and Charles Mostov, Michelle Quisenberry, and Mary Ann Labahn and Peter Mahler.

Much of the buzz among guests was the fact that next year’s festival will kick off with an opulent New Year’s Eve party and the opening film will be shown Jan. 1, followed by the grand gala on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016.

Source: The Desert Sun

Film Fests Hit Home Run with Oscar Nods

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Palm Springs International Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner expressed satisfaction with his .900 batting average this week when nine out of the 10 honorees he selected for the Jan. 3 Awards Gala received Oscar nominations.

But both the Palm Springs International Film Festival and its sister ShortFest scored well in the nominations announced by the Film Academy on Thursday.

“The festival’s synergy with the Oscars has never been stronger than it has proven to be this year,” said Palm Springs International Film Society Executive Director Darryl Macdonald. “We’ve never had so many films and filmmakers from our festival lineups gain recognition from the academy in the same year. I would hope it reflects the savviness and good taste with which the gala honorees and film programs this organization presents are chosen.”

The only gala honoree that didn’t earn a nomination was David Oyelowo, who received the Breakthrough Performance Award, Actor for “Selma.” But “Selma” was nominated for Best Picture.

Three honorees received Best Actress nominations: Chairman’s Award winner Reese Witherspoon for her role in “Wild;” Breakthrough Performance, Actress, Award honoree Rosamund Pike for her performance in “Gone Girl;” and Desert Palm Achievement, Female, Award winner Julianne Moore for her role in “Still Alice.”

A fourth Best Actress nominee was Marion Cotillard, whose Belgium film, “Two Days, One Night,” screened during the festival. Cotillard’s nomination was a surprise since the film didn’t even make the nomination shortlist for the Best Foreign Language film.

Two Best Director nominees were honored at the Palm Springs gala: Director of the Year honoree Alexandro G. IIñárritu for “Birdman,” and Sonny Bono Visionary Award winner Richard Linklater for “Boyhood.” Both films also were nominated for Best Picture.

Desert Palm Achievement, Male, Award winner Eddie Redmayne was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in “The Theory of Everything.” It also was a nominee for Best Picture, as was the Ensemble Performance Award-winning film, “The Imitation Game.”

Steve Carell, who received the Creative Impact in Acting Award at the Variety brunch a day after the gala, was nominated for Best Actor for his role in “Foxcatcher.” Michael Keaton, who presented the Director of the Year Award, also got a Best Actor nod for his performance in “Birdman.”

Two Best Supporting Actor nominations were gala honorees: J.K. Simmons, the Spotlight Award winner for “Whiplash,” and Robert Duvall, who received the Icon Award for “The Judge.”

All five nominations for Best Foreign Language Film were screened at the festival: “Ida,” “Leviathan,” “Tangerines,” “Timbuktu” and “Wild Tales.” “Leviathan” was named the festival’s Best Foreign Language Film by the FIPRESCI critics.

Two nominees for Best Feature Documentary, “CitizenFour” and “The Salt of the Earth,” screened in the festival and a third, “Finding Vivian Maier,” played in last year’s event.

The June ShortFest films received four nominations. Two were for Best Documentary Short Subject: “Joanna,” and “White Earth.” “The Dam Keeper” was nominated for Best Animated Short Film, and “The Phone Call” was nominated for Best Live Action Short.

The Academy Awards will be presented Feb. 22.

Source: The Desert Sun