Latest news with #LifeAchievementAward
Hindustan Times
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Coppola receives AFI Life Achievement Award; 'The Godfather' stars Pacino, De Niro pay tribute
Los Angeles, The American Film Institute has honoured master filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola with the prestigious Life Achievement Award, the highest accolade bestowed by the institute. Coppola, whose credits include "The Godfather" franchise, "Apocalypse Now" and "Megalopolis", was presented with the award by his contemporaries and acclaimed filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, on Saturday, according to the entertainment news outlet The Hollywood Reporter. During the ceremony, veteran actors Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, who starred in "The Godfather" films based on Mario Puzo's novel, thanked the 86-year-old filmmaker for changing their lives. Pacino, 85, said he was on the verge of getting fired from the first part of "The Godfather , but Coppola stood by him throughout. Back then, studio Paramount Pictures wasn't in favour of having the actor, who played Micheal Corleone, the unwilling heir to the Corleone mafia family earlier headed by Marlon Brando's Vito Corleone, in the blockbuster film. "You know, none of us were fired from 'The Godfather' but some of us were pretty close, I was the closest, yes. And Francis just fought for us all the time, he fought for his film and his vision by which he always does... It could have got him fired, it could have all of us fired, but it didn't happen. "Now years later, here we all are to celebrate. Thanks, Francis, for believing in me more than I believed in myself. I am eternally grateful and honoured to be a part of your 'Godfather' family," said Pacino, who later starred in two more installments which were released in 1974 and 1990. De Niro, who won the best supporting actor Oscar for playing the young Vito Corleone in "The Godfather - Part 2", expressed gratitude to Coppola for not casting him in the first of "The Godfather". "It was the best job I ever never got and hence I was available for "The Godfather-Part 2'...Francis you changed my career, you changed my life. We are here today because of you," the 81-year-old added. In his praise for Coppola, Spielberg called "The Godfather" the "greatest American film ever made". "On one hand, you are a warrior for independent artists, you always champion their causes, but also, and always, you're fearless in how open you are to ideas, opinions and inspiration," he further said. "When I was 22, he taught me, don't be afraid of jumping off cliffs. And I've lived with that the rest of my life, although I don't go to the higher level that he does," added Lucas. Other Hollywood celebrities who spoke of their admiration for Coppola at the event were his collaborators Adam Driver, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Dustin Hoffman, Ron Howard, C. Thomas Howell, Diane Lane, Spike Lee and Ralph Macchio. Previous recipients of the AFI's Life Achievement Award, include Orson Welles, Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock, Gene Kelly, Sidney Poitier, Spielberg, Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington and Nicole Kidman, among others.
Al-Ahram Weekly
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Egyptian talent takes centre stage at 4th Hollywood Arab Film Festival - Screens - Arts & Culture
The fourth Hollywood Arab Film Festival (HAFF), celebrating Arab Heritage Month from 9 to 13 April at Hollywood Universal Studio Cinema in California, will feature multiple Egyptian films, including Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo and The Tale of Daye's Family. Actor Ahmed Helmy will receive the Life Achievement Award, and actress Elham Shaheen will head the jury panel. Directed by Egyptian filmmaker Karim El-Shenawy, The Tale of Daye's Family (Daye: Seret Ahl El Daye) will open HAFF. The Tale of Daye's Family: Opening film The Egyptian-Saudi co-production Daye, written by Haitham Dabbour, follows the story of an 11-year-old albino Nubian boy who dreams of going on a magical journey from south to north Egypt to pursue his dream of becoming a singer. Daye, the first Egyptian film to feature an albino actor as the protagonist, had its world premiere as the opening film of the fourth edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival and competed at the Berlin International Film Festival. The film stars Saudi actress Aseel Omran, Sudanese actress Islam Mubarak, and Egyptian actors Haneen Said and Badr Mohamed. El-Shennawy directed the highly successful TV series Lam Shamseya (2025), screened during Ramadan. The series shed light on the unique topics of child sexual abuse and family disintegration. He also directed the film Gunshot (2018), which starred Ahmad El-Fishawi, Mohamed Mamdouh, and Rubi. Before that, El-Shenawy was an assistant director (AD) in several noteworthy productions, including Mohamed Diab's Clash (2016), which garnered over a dozen awards, including four wins at the Carthage Film Festival (2016) and countless nominations, including at the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival. Clash was Egypt's nomination to the Academy Awards but was not shortlisted. Seeking Haven For Mr. Rambo: Screened in the Narrative Feature section Six films will compete in the upcoming edition of HAFF, including Seeking Haven For Mr. Rambo by Khaled Mansour. The film had its world premiere in the Orizzonti Extra section at the 81st Venice International Film Festival (28 August—7 September 2024). It was then screened in numerous festivals and released commercially in Arab countries. The drama film tells the story of Hassan (Essam Omar), a young man in his thirties who is forced to confront his past fears. He embarks on a journey of self-discovery, which includes a quest to save his dog and best friend, Rambo, from an unknown fate. HAFF will also screen Mira Shaib's Arze (Lebanon), Oday Rasheed's If You See Something (Iraq), Hala Matar's Electra (Bahrain), and Sina Mohammed's Transient Happiness (Kurdistan). Additionally, 16 short films will compete in the short film section, including the Egyptian film Wishes For My Heart (Sherine Diab), Jordanian films The Chant (May Ghouti) and Shadows (Rand Beiruty), Syrian film Weaning (Houssam Hamo), and Algerian film NYA (Imene Ayadi). Ahmed Helmy: Life Achievement Award During the festival's activities, actor Ahmed Helmy will receive the Life Achievement Award, and his film Sorry for the Disturbance (2008) by Khaled Marei will be screened, followed by a discussion. Helmy, a High Institute for Theatre graduate, is one of the region's most popular artists. He launched his career on television with the programme Laab Eyal (Kids' Games). He rose to stardom in 1999 for his role in Sherif Arafa's comedy Aboud Ala El-Hedoud (Aboud on the Borders), which starred Karim Abdel Aziz. He has starred in over 25 successful feature films, including Sahar El-Layaly (2003), Saye Bahr (2004), Zaky Chan (2005), Alf Mabrouk (2009), Bolbol Hairan (2009), Horoob Etirari: Forced Escape (2017), and Scarecrow (2019), among many others. He also voices a storyteller in Amr Salama's 2014 film La Moakhza (Excuse my French). Helmy is a prominent promoter of children's rights and often raises awareness on early childhood development issues in the region. Elham Shaheen - Head of Jury Egyptian actress Elham Shahine has been appointed the head of the jury for the narrative feature films programme. Shaheen launched her career with director Kamal Yassin, who gave her a role in his play made for television, Hooreya Men Al Marikh (Mermaid from Mars). She then went on to star in numerous TV series, including Akhu El Banat (Brother of the Sisters), A'al El-Bahr (The Ocean Said), Hatta la Yakhtaniq Al-Hob (So Love Doesn't Suffocate), Nisf Rabia Al-Akhar (The Second Half of Spring), Layaly El-Helmeya (Nights of Helmeya), and Samhoony, Makansh Asdy (I'm Sorry, I Didn't Mean To). She also won many awards for her roles in The Gentle and Ya Dunia Ya Gharamy (Oh World, Oh my Love). HAFF The 4th edition introduces the new programme, Voices from Los Angeles, which includes screening six films by young filmmakers from American universities. The festival launched the first edition of HAFF industry days, where five projects in development are competing: Egyptian film The Land Beyond by Nadine Salib, Iraqi film Madness and Honey Days by Ahmed Yassin, Sudanese film Blue Card by Mohamed El-Omda, Lebanese film Plus One by Zayn Alexander, and Palestinian film The Hearse to the Final House of Happiness by Wisam Al-Jafari. Organized in the heart of Hollywood by the Hollywood Arab Film Festival Foundation, HAFF showcases Arab narrative, documentary, and short films. Dozens of renowned filmmakers are expected to attend. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jane Fonda just showed us how to respond to Donald Trump
Jane Fonda used her acceptance speech for the Life Achievement Award at the Screen Actors Guild awards show Sunday night to rebuke President Donald Trump and the fascistic ideology he espouses — and offer a community-oriented activism and empathy as an antidote to what she alluded to as tyranny. 'Empathy is not weak or 'woke,'' she insisted. ''Woke' just means you give a damn about other people.' Fonda said acting is a craft dedicated to cultivating empathy through storytelling and which, in turn, facilitates us turning toward each other rather than away from one another. 'A whole lot of people are going to be really hurt by what is happening — what is coming our way,' the activist said. 'And even if they're of a different political persuasion, we need to call upon our empathy and not judge, but listen from our hearts and welcome them into our tent because we are going to need a big tent to resist, successfully, what's coming at us.' Fonda also used her time to support unions, as corporatization and late-stage capitalism threaten the power of the collective, arguing that SAG was singular in what it protected. Unlike most unions, which protect workers who produce tangible products, SAG protects actors, whose work is the creation of empathy. The speech was on brand for the 87-year-old Fonda, who is as much an activist as she is an actor. Consider her vocal support of the Civil Rights Movement and vocal opposition to the Vietnam War (in the 1970s reactionary parties in the U.S. referred to her as 'Hanoi Jane'). She met the ire of then-President Richard Nixon who derided her in one of the infamous tape recordings of his Oval Office conversations. More recently, she has devoted her energy to climate activism, repeatedly getting arrested at the U.S. Capitol, where she has engaged in civil disobedience. Fonda's speech evoked Martin Luther King Jr.'s words: 'The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.' She talked about the entertainment industry's role in resisting the oppression and cultural violence of McCarthyism in the 1950s. And she connected this political moment to other significant moments of political resistance as a call to take Trump's agenda seriously. 'Have any of you ever watched a documentary of one of the great social movements, like apartheid or our Civil Rights Movement or Stonewall, and asked yourself: Would you have been brave enough to walk the bridge? Would you have been able to take the hoses and the batons and the dogs?' she asked. 'We don't have to wonder anymore, because we are in our documentary moment. This is it. And it's not a rehearsal.' She concluded on a fiery, optimistic note, calling on people to 'not isolate': 'We must stay in community. We must help the vulnerable. We must find ways to project an inspiring vision of the future — one that is beckoning, welcoming, that will help people believe,' she said. 'To quote the novelist Pearl Cleage, 'On the other side of the conflagration, there will still be love. There will still be beauty. And there will be an ocean of truth for us to swim in.' Let's make it so.' Fonda's indefatigable commitment to activism is a profound example in how to leverage one's privilege in service of a more just world. This article was originally published on
The Hill
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hill
Jane Fonda defends ‘woke,' saying it ‘means you give a damn about other people'
Jane Fonda defended 'woke' while accepting an award Sunday from the Screen Actors Guild Awards, a speech largely aimed at President Trump and the current American moment. Fonda, 87, accepted a Life Achievement Award and detailed her acting career, which she said began when women were forced to subdue their anger. She praised the fellow actors in the crowd for their ability to create empathy through complex characters. 'While you may hate the behavior of your character, you have to understand and emphasize with the traumatized person you're playing, right? I'm thinking Sebastian Stan in 'The Apprentice,'' Fonda said. 'Make no mistake, empathy is not weak or woke.' 'And by the way, woke just means you give a damn about other people,' she added. While the actress didn't explicitly call out Trump, she highlighted Stan's performance in 'The Apprentice,' in which he depicted Trump's rise to fame. Fonda's remarks earned applause from the crowd. Her statements follow Trump's in regard to the Kennedy Center. In an unusual and unprecedented move, the president named himself the chair of the performing arts center and told reporters that he took over the center because he didn't like what they were showing, saying it's 'not going to be woke' because there is 'no more woke in this country.' Fonda referenced Trump's recent policies, and she called on her fellow actors to protect vulnerable Americans and build one another up. 'A whole lot of people are going to be really hurt by what is happening, what is coming our way. And even if they're of a different political persuasion, we need to call upon our empathy and not judge, but listen from our hearts and welcome them into our tent because we are going to need a big tent to resist successfully what's coming at us,' Fonda said.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jane Fonda Favors Nude-illusion Glamour in Armani Dress on SAG Awards 2025 Red Carpet for Life Achievement Award
Jane Fonda married refined glamour with a healthy dose of sparkle for her 2025 SAG Awards red carpet look on Sunday in Los Angeles. The venerated Oscar-winning actress and longtime activist is this year's recipient of the Life Achievement Award, which will be presented to Fonda during the ceremony. For the special occasion, Fonda wore a custom look courtesy of Armani. The actress' dress featured a unique stripe pattern in muted black against a soft pink base tone. The pattern was replicated on the skirt of the dress in smaller form. More from WWD Selena Gomez Marries Old Hollywood Glamour With Dramatic Details for SAG Awards 2025 Red Carpet SAG Awards 2025 Red Carpet Host Sasheer Zamata Shines in Metallic Sheer Gown by Temperley London Anna Sawai Shines in Crystalized Red Armani Privé Gown With Sculptural Bustier on 2025 SAG Awards Red Carpet The long-sleeve, floor-length dress featured a bevy of sparkle and a fringe skirt, with layers of the material stacked in a column style. Fonda added further sparkle to her look with shoes featuring a shimmering buckle on the toe. As for her accessories, the actress styled pieces courtesy of Pomellato Jewelry, including a pair of rose gold with moonstones and diamonds earrings, a choker necklace in 18K rose gold with diamonds and a ring with 18K white gold with white quartz and white diamonds. Fonda's glam featured her hair in voluminous waves, which perfectly framed her face. The actress' makeup included soft brows, bold eyes and a neutral lip to complete the entire look. Fonda joins an impressive list of artists awarded the Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild. Last year's recipient was 'Funny Girl' Oscar winner Barbra Streisand. Other recipients from the 2020s include fellow Oscar winners Sally Field and Helen Mirren. The 2025 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, held on Sunday at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles and hosted by Kristen Bell, honor the best performances in film and TV from 2024. 'Shōgun' and 'Wicked' lead the nominees with five nods each. Jane Fonda will receive the Life Achievement Award. View Gallery Launch Gallery: SAG Awards 2025 Red Carpet Arrivals Photos, Live Updates: Anna Sawai, Elle Fanning and More Best of WWD Patrick Schwarzenegger's Model Career Before 'The White Lotus': Tommy Hilfiger, Tom Ford Eyewear and More Fashion Campaigns The Best Dressed Stars in NAACP Awards History Cate Blanchett's SAG Awards Style Evolution: Vintage, Maternity and Sustainable Looks From the '90s to Now
