Helen Mirren takes Best Actress honors at the Rome Film Festival:
Helen Mirren won Rome’s Silver Marc’Aurelio award for best actress for her performance as Leo Tolstoy’s devoted wife in Michael Hoffman’s The Last Station. Gabriele Muccino presented the honour to Mirren, who brought the house down with an acceptance speech in Italian in which she cited the inspiration of Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’Avventura and that of the iconic actresses Monica Vitti, Claudia Cardinale, Stefania Sandrelli, Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren. (Screendaily)
Sergio Castellitto won Best Actor for Alza la Testa, as a father who lives his dreams of a boxing career vicariously through his son.
The Danish film Brotherhood took the Best Picture prize. The film debut from Danish-Italian director Nicola Donato — a former fashion photographer — involves a gay love affair between two members of a violent neo-Nazi group.
Two more clips from The Last Station after the cut.
41 Responses for "Helen Mirren wins Rome prize for The Last Station"
Helen Mirren gets a boost and Hilary Swank is out.
This looks so different from her QEII role (and that’s only going to help her). This is much more familiar Mirren.
Let the battle of the old vs. the young begin.
here, her acceptance speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb9XI7rkij8
Well, the weekend box office numbers just came in. Paranormal wiped the floor with Saw VI. Perhaps this is a sign that the Saw movies will come to an end.
Now the bad news: Wild Things dropped 55% to 14.4 mil. A troubling sign indeed of it’s potential profits. Audiences are clearly puzzled with it and the box office was the deal breaker for a BP nod. Oh well. It’s destined for cult status in the coming years. If it doesn’t get a BP nomination, I don’t really mind. I’m just glad it exists.
sasha why do you post clips with spoilers? there’s no way I will watch those videos!!!!!!!
it’s a shame for the people who want wo watch the movie, i’m sure you wouldn’t post videos with spoilers of PRECIOUS.
I still can’t wrap my head around the audacity of some of these critics. They were so quick to invoke the spirites of Adurey Hepburn the second Carey M. wore a few clothes reminiscent of the old Hollywood glamour era and pinned up her hair. Makes you wonder if palms are getting greased behind closed doors.
So happy that the stunning/gorgeous and talented Mirren is getting the recognition she deserves. Next year’s Oscar race will be a gruesome battle between Mirren and Meryl but of course Meryl would emerge victorious.
I hope Meryl, Morgan, Moore and Waltz are already preparing their acceptance speeches because as we speak, their names are being engraved on the best actress, best actor, best supporting actress and best supporting actor trophies respectively.
I still can’t wrap my head around the audacity of that statement, Afrika…
I don’t think it was the wardrobe and hair department who did it for Carey Mulligan, I think she did it herself. I think Audrey Hepburn was a very fine actress, but I never once saw her give a performance like Mulligan’s. I’m not saying that Mulligan gave one of the greatest performances of all time, hell as far as leading actresses are concerned I think both Meryl Streep and Charlotte Gainsbourg have given even better performances than Mulligan this year. Just that if what you’re saying was the case, I’d be pinning up my hair right now. Who’s greasing palms?!? Dominio Cooper? Olivia Williams?
Also Afrika, I’m wondering if Mirren’s even going to be in for leading. On IMDb she’s billed fourth, behing MacAvoy, Plummer (who we already know iss going for supporting) and Giamatti. A gruesome battle? In two separate categories? And since when did Mirren need the recognition she deserves (and I do agree that she deserves a lot)? Not since The Queen, I can tell you that.
And I hope that Meryl, Morgan, Moore and Waltz are definitely not preparing their acceptance speeches because as we speak, it’s October and there are over four months until anybody’s coming close to having their names engraved on any trophies. And of those films, Basterds is slipping, A Single Man hasn’t opened yet and no-one’s even seen Invictus.
Well there was a screening of “Nine” in NYC and the buzz coming out on some of the other boards is incredible. Someone who attended the screening offered an awful lot of information and if that information is even accurate by 75 per cent the whole thing is about to be shaken up in a few weeks.
I think Helen is going lead along with MacAvoy. Plummer is going supporting because he has another movie this year.
Paddy M
You raise some good points. Firstly, Mirren winning best actress at the Rome film festival is definitely going to help her chances of getting a best actress nom, not best supporting. About the recognition comment, I was referring to this particular movie and not her career in general. I think she did a splendid job in this movie so I’m glad she’s getting recognition for it.
About the greasing palms statement, what do you think of Ebert calling Juno the best movie of the year (at the time of its release), his rave reviews for Jennifer’s body and his swiftness to invoke the spirit of Audrey Hepburn the second he saw An Education. Suspicious ain’t it? Are we seriously going to label Carey as Audrey Hepburn? seriously? didn’t that trick fade away when they tried it with Keira Knightley? smh
Let’s be honest, anyone playing a character named Nelson Mandela is going to win an Oscar. It’s as simple as that. The same law applies to anyone playing Martin Luther King Jr or Elizabeth Hurley etc etc.
Basterds might slip into the bottom of the sea but no one is going to top Waltz’s performance. Same goes for Meryl. Biopic + Meryl + outcry of Meryl being overdue + weak year so far for best actress category = Meryl Streep winning her third Oscar. I mean do you really think Carey or Sidibe is going to win over the great Streep? NO! not in this lifetime.
A Single Man has momentum and that’s all Moore needs to get her sympathy votes (not saying her performance in the movie won’t be award-worthy).
She has a great shot at a nomination.
Helen Mirren is in, apparently. Lead actress has at least 4 women already LOCKED. Mulligan, Streep, Sidibe and Mirren look like the stronger choices. I think another youth is going to complete the top 5 (Cornish or Ronan).Will Streep be transfered to supporting ? I think it will be great if that happened. It will make the supporting race more interesting and the leading less crowded.
I really hope Cornish doesn’t get a nom. There’s only room for one “depressed white female” and that’s Michelle Williams.
Streep will go lead with Julie & Julia.
Here are the reasons why Helen Mirren will not win this year’s Oscar: 1, she just won recently (beating the great Meryl for Prada, which is her best so far)2. this is the same role she had with the Queen, bitchy old woman, nothing new, no depth at all.
Meryl will win this year, coming from 15th nominations and coming from Prada, Doubt and of course Julie & Julia. We still need to see her in It’s Complicated. She has 2 strong performances this year and that will definitely give her the edge among these new actresses who have not established themselves yet as an actress. It will be the meanest move for the Academy members if they will not give it to Meryl this year. And by the way, she will not stop until she gets her third, I swear, she wo’nt! Just give it to her!, she more than deserves it! Meryl for Best Actress
Although, Afrika, Hepburn built her reputation up over many years. Who’s to say that Mulligan can’t do the same? Hell who’s to say that Knightley can’t?!?
And re: mirren, it is only Rome, after all. Not even winning at Cannes makes that much of a difference – acting awards at festivals are generally seen by AMPAS members as being reputable enough awards by themselves – a Golden Globe, SAG or BAFTA is, to these same voters, a sign that they ought to bestow their own even worthier gratitude onto the recipients.
And re: Freeman winning…no, just playing Nelson Mandela is certainly not enough. For one thing, you have to play him well. Now I have no doubt at all that Freeman will play him as well as anyone could be expected to, but there are always just too many contenders in the Best Actor category at this stage to call him a lock. With over four months left, not one category is locked, not even for nominations either.
Not going to jump into Best Actress fray…though I do adore Dame Helen.
Just wanted to say that a day with new James McAvoy clips is a very good day.
“sasha why do you post clips with spoilers?”
Blame me, not Sasha. There are actually 6 clips, and I chose the 3 that were least spoilery. In fact, I don’t see anything that these spoil at all — unless you don’t even want to know who’s playing who.
I would have noted ::: SPOILER ::: except they’re already clearly marked. I feel like the spoiler warnings pertain mostly to the 3 we didn’t post.
“i’m sure you wouldn’t post videos with spoilers of PRECIOUS.”
Seriously? Please try to relax. I guess you heard Precious is raped and abuse, right? Or every time you hear the word “Precious” do you stick your fingers in your ears? The trailer for Precious tells the whole story.
You guys need to stop thinking that Precious is so precious to me and Sasha. Personally, I’m looking forward to it with the same level of excitement I feel before a trip to the dentist.
“…critics were so quick to invoke the spirites of Adurey Hepburn the second Carey M. wore a few clothes reminiscent of the old Hollywood glamour era and pinned up her hair. Makes you wonder if palms are getting greased behind closed doors… So happy that the stunning/gorgeous and talented Mirren is getting the recognition she deserves.”
Critics aren’t allowed to praise Carey Mulligan, but Afrika wastes no time praising Helen Mirren? And based on what, Afrika? Have you seen either movie? Yet, you’re so certain “she’s getting the recognition she deserves.”
I thought that rabble-rousing idiot was banned? Someone can’t seem to take a note, huh?
Just curious, Afrika. You say about Mirren: “I think she did a splendid job in this movie so I’m glad she’s getting recognition for it.”
This movie has shown in the US exactly once. At Telluride, the week of Sept 4th. Did you have a press pass, or did you just stop by to see it between slalom runs down the mountain?
ryan,
I haven’t watched both movies so I’m basing my opinions on the trialers and clips. While both ladies look good so far, to go out of your way and brand Carey as “Audrey Hepburn” is a little too much if you ask me. What I saw in those An Education clips was a fine actress but definitely NOT Audrey Hepburn. I can, to some extent, get the Keira Knightley reference but Carey? common. She’s not even pretty. Her face looks rough and her lips lopsided. I think critics pick their favorite and then drum up mass hysteria for them in order to create intense buzz. The whole Hepburn comment was such an obvious trick for Oscar publicity especially when they said she looked like Hepburn in Roman Holiday. The Roman Holiday reference sealed the deal for me. That’s my take on the whole thing but I could be wrong.
“I think critics pick their favorite and then drum up mass hysteria for them in order to create intense buzz.”
Picking their favorites and then trying to drum up mass hysteria?
ah, well then, I can see why this bothers you. That’s your territory, right?
[off topic] Japanese poster of “Nine”:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Ol2yPttLEzI/Stx6oJVosGI/AAAAAAAAAt4/tu5vbmPSmLI/s1600-h/nine_poster.jpg
“…just playing Nelson Mandela is certainly not enough.”
Exactly, Paddy M. Dennis Haysbert played Nelson Mandela two years ago in a Billy August movie called Goodbye Bafana alongside Joseph Fiennes and Diane Kruger. No Oscar, that I can recall.
Howard Mungo played Mandela in Superhero Movie last year. I don’t think he was even nominated.
When I think of Nelson Mandela, and the many aspects of his life I’d love to see explored on film, his involvement with rugby is about #54 down the list.
BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Carey Mulligan declared ineligible for Best Actress Oscar due to lopsided lips!
In other news, Gabby Sidibe also ineligible due to being overweight, Charlotte Gainsbourg for not wearing make-up, and Meryl Streep for being over-50.
But at least Helen Mirren’s still in, huh?
Come to think of it, Afrika, maybe you should run the Oscars this year. There’d be no rough faces or, God forbid, Pe-no-talent Cruz. There’d only be Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep and you. Lovely, polite, considerate you.
@Afrika is in the building: Do you really think that Moore’s name is already engraved? I mean it would be fantastic to see her winning finally, but is there anyone able to beat Mo’nique?
Is this the same film that Meryl was going to do with Anthony Hopkins? Interesting. I am happy to see Helen Mirren doing something better than playing a female coot in the National Treasure franchise. And the posters above are correct, there is no Oscar race this year for best actress. Streep will win her share of the critics’ prizes and finally will win her deserved third Oscar.
Afrika,
both Michelle Williams and Abbie Cornish are amazing actresses.
You have a knack for making generalized, vague and ignorant statements.
Paddy M
that was actually funny. I could not stop laughing when I read it. However, I must correct you about your assertion on overweight black women. When AMPAS is feeling generous to black women, they prefer to hand out accolades to overweight/ non-conventional black women. Hattie Mcdaniel and that fat chick from dreamgirls come to mind. I can’t explain AMPAS’ fascination with overweight black women though. Maybe they find them less threatening but I could be wrong. Thus, Sibide’s weight is working in her favor. Just thought I should point that out. Everything else is stellar and of course HILARIOUS. Keep it up.
Before Streep is crowned unequivocally, you guys might try to remember that AMPAS rarely gives lead Oscars to comedy performances – they much prefer drama.
Not to say Meryl can’t win this year, but the odds would be much more in her favor if she’d hook up with a top director while playing a serious role. I mean, Shanley, Ephron, Frankel – these names do not shout Oscar. Too bad her venture with Altman was a musical/comedy and got ignored.
August: Osage County, Mike Nichols, fingers crossed, ladylurks.
“August: Osage County, Mike Nichols, fingers crossed, ladylurks.”
Ooh, yeah!! Thanks for reminding me, Ryan.
fingers crossed!
I have been dreaming of this ever since they announced the film plans.
Ladylurks, I think you are not taking into account that Meryl has not won since 1983. That was 26 years ago. Most members of the Academy will want to pat themselves on the back for recognizing her success and career – they are not so cold as to make her sit in the front row and lose for the millionth time! If they do, she may never come back and I would not blame her.
But once in a while the Academy embraces comic performances. After all, Jack Nicholson won his third Oscar for a comedy.
I’m just tired of everyone saying: they don’t give Oscars for comic performances. They give an Oscar when they want to give an Oscar. Kate Winslet won last year, because they wanted her to have the big moment. Meryl will win this year, because everyone’s talking about her being overdue and we all know that this buzz means a lot more than Mulligan’s critical praise. And after all, it could be just me, but I think that Mulligan and Meryl have pretty much the same critical acclaim.
About Mirren – just not her year. A lot know that this was Meryl’s role and they won’t actually insult her in such a big way. Mirren won just recently and unless the film is very big with the Academy (which it won’t be), she has no shot.
I’d say the nominees are:
COTILLARD
MIRREN
MULLIGAN
SIDIBE
STREEP
And the Oscar goes to MERYL STREEP.
everyone’s talking about Mirren, but
Christopher Plummer looks really good here.
talk about overdue!!!
he was blown off for THE INSIDER.
i actually thought he should have
won for NICHOLAS NICKLEBY.
Am I the only one who thinks Carey Mulligan looks nothing like Audrey Hepburn??
I dont want to get into the “Afrika Debate” but I really dont get why every single new upcoming young brunette actress must be labeled the new audrey. It has been done to Natalie Portman, Keira Knightley, Anne Hathaway,Emmy Rossum, Audrey Tatou,even Katie Holmes back in the late nineties…(poor Audrey, being compared to Holmes…good for her she was already dead, otherwise she would die of shame and embarassement).
Why dont we quit the never-ending “search for the new audrey”? And why dont the brunette “it girls” dont stop trying so hard to be audrey and focus in being themselves?
alice
Exactly my point. I’m not saying Carey is a bad actress but it gets tiring when hepburn’s name is flung around carelessly anytime people want to generate buzz for a young brunette actress. I mean Ebert went as far as saying that Carey looked like Hepburn in Roman Holiday. Common now, that is oscar-baiting at its finest.
I just stumbled upon “Audrey Hepburn” this morning LOL
http://justjared.buzznet.com/photo-gallery/2316672/hilary-swank-hollywood-awards-05/
LMAO
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