Emotions run high in desert at Palm Springs awards gala
Hollywood kicked off the year’s compressed awards season with an emotional night in the desert.
The Palm Springs International Film Festival’s annual opening gala is often treated by honorees as a businesslike, pro forma stop on the industry’s selfcongratulation circuit. But Thursday found Laura Dern, Jennifer Lopez and Quentin Tarantino wiping away tears onstage at the city’s convention center.
Dern, presented with the career achievement award, was surprised with a video of her divorced parents Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd highfiving as they praised her, saying “You got game.”
“That was really moving for me,“the 52yearold actress said. “And every kid kind of wants to see their parents together.“
Dern, who stars in “Little Women“and “Marriage Story,“then told the crowd of more than 2,000 dinner guests that she’d been conceived in the nearby mountain town of Idyllwild during production of the 1966 Roger Corman biker movie “The Wild Angels.“
Lopez apologized for being overcome with emotion after an introduction from “Hustlers“writerdirector Lorene Scafaria.
“I’m so glad to be here but I want to run out the door, I’m so nervous,“she said.
Also taking home honors from Palm Springs: “Joker“star Joaquin Phoenix, “Judy“star Renee Zellweger, “Pain and Glory“star Antonio Banderas and “Bombshell“star Charlize Theron.
Hollywood’s awards season, which has typically stretched over more than two months, is shorter than usual this year. In an effort to reduce awards fatigue, the U.S. film academy announced last summer that it had moved the date of this year’s Academy Awards to Feb. 9 from its typical late February or early March slot.