Stars celebrated at film festival gala
Emma Stone reflected on her career highlights and Meryl Streep praised Billie Eilish and “Barbie” with saving the movie industry Thursday during one of the first stops of Hollywood’s awards season. Stone, Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cillian Murphy were among the A-listers who descended on the desert for a gala at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Stone accepted the career achievement award presented by her “Poor Things” co-stars Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe.
“I’m grateful that I get to keep trying new things and for the opportunity to make choices when it comes to work because I know how rare and fleeting it can be to choose what you want to do or who you want to work with as an actor,” she said.
Colman Domingo, Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph were among the honorees who fought back tears as they praised film’s distinct ability to express what it means to be human.
“The more I do this, the more I think acting may be a kind of teaching,” Giamatti said. “It’s how we learn how to be human. It’s how we learn about our common humanity.”
Giamatti presented the night’s breakthrough award to Randolph, his “The Holdovers” co-star.
Domingo, who was recognized for his performance in “Rustin,” also became emotional as he shared his understanding of his work.
“Faith is what brought me here,” he said. “When we have faith in one another, what an extraordinary world we could build. To channel that humanity and let that speak of the complex experience is what I consider my service as an artist.”
Awards season comes on the heels of historic strikes and news that 2023 resulted in the best yearend box office seen since the pandemic.
“You saved the movies last summer and all of our jobs,” Streep told Eilish and her brother Finneas O’Connell, a reference to their song “What Was I Made For?” in the movie “Barbie,” for which the pair accepted an award.
“You’ve delivered joy to countless generations and genders of people. And you should surf that wave, kids,” Streep said.
The night concluded with Martin Scorsese, DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and other stars from “Killers of the Flower Moon” accepting one of the night’s top honors.
Actor Soul dies: Actor David Soul, who earned fame as the blond half of crime-fighting duo “Starsky & Hutch” in the 1970s television series, has died at age 80. His wife, Helen Snell, said in a statement Friday that Soul died Thursday.
Soul’s acting career dated back to the 1960s, but he continued to appear on stage and screen well into the 20th century.
He starred as Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson alongside Paul Michael Glaser as David Starsky in “Starsky & Hutch” from 1975 to 1979. He also had success as a singer with such hits as “Don’t Give Up on Us” and “Going in With My Eyes Open.”
Singer Shirley Bassey is 87. TV host Bob Eubanks is 86. Singer Cristy Lane is 84. Director John McTiernan is 73. Actor Harriet Sansom Harris is 69. Actor Michelle Forbes is 59. Singer Sean Paul is 51. Actor Gaby Hoffmann is 42. Guitarist Disashi Lumumbo-Kasongo is 41. Actor Cynthia Erivo is 37.