Us actress Sigourney Weaver will get
a career achievement Golden Lion at the 81st Venice Film
Festival at the Lido from August 28 to September 7, organisers
said Friday.
The fest called Weaver an "iconic" American actress and noted
that she was a three-time Academy Award nominee for Alien,
Gorillas in the Mist, and Galaxy Quest.
Weaver, in accepting, said, "I am truly honored to receive the
Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement from La Biennale di
Venezia. To be gifted this award is a privilege I share with all
the filmmakers and collaborators I have worked with throughout
the years. I proudly accept this award in celebration of all who
have helped bring these films to life."
Venice International Film Festival Director Alberto Barbera
declared: "An actress of the caliber of Sigourney Weaver has few
rivals. Strengthened by her significant theatrical training, she
won over the great film-going public with Alien, directed by
Ridley Scott, soon becoming an emblematic figure of the 1980s.
During the course of that decade, she forged the image of a
heroine unprecedented in the action film genre, able to
victoriously rival the male models who, up to that point, had
dominated epic and adventure movies. Not satisfied with having
blazed the trail for powerful female actors, the actress
ceaselessly continued her search for a personal identity. She
constantly challenged her persona through choices that ranged
from genre movies to comedies, art-house films, and children's
movies, side-stepping labels that sought to restrict her to the
role of a triumphant icon of the Reagan era. As an authentic
collaborator, rather than simply a malleable instrument in the
hands of a director, she has contributed to the success of
movies by James Cameron, Paul Schrader, Peter Weir, Michael
Apted, Roman Polanski, Ivan Reitman, Mike Nichols, Ang Lee, and
many others, each time imposing the mark of a complex
personality -- at times contradictory but always authentic --
onto her own charismatic presence. Endowed with a remarkable
temperament, able to move with delicacy yet without fragility,
she has created the image of a woman who is self-assured and
determined, dynamic and resolute; at the same time, with
endlessly different shadings, she allows her intensely magnetic,
feminine sensitivity to filter through.
The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement is just recognition for
a star who has built bridges between the most sophisticated
art-house cinema and movies that engage with the public in a
frank and original way, all the while remaining true to
herself."
Three-time Academy Award nominated and BAFTA and Golden Globe
winning actress Sigourney Weaver has created a host of memorable
characters, both dramatic and comic, in films ranging from
Ripley in ALIEN to Dian Fossey in GORILLAS IN THE MIST to
Gwen/Tawny in GALAXY QUEST. Over the years, she has captivated
audiences and won acclaim as one of the most versatile actresses
on both stage and screen.
Born and educated in New York City, Weaver graduated from
Stanford University and went on to receive a master's degree
from the Yale School of Drama. Her first professional job was in
Sir John Gielgud's production of The Constant Wife working with
Ingrid Bergman.
Weaver made her motion picture debut in Ridley Scott's 1979
blockbuster ALIEN. She later reprised the role of Warrant
Officer Ripley in James Cameron's 1986 ALIENS; her performance
earned her Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best
Actress. In 1992, she again brought Ripley back to life in David
Fincher's ALIENS 3, which she also co-produced, and in 1997 she
starred in and co-produced ALIEN RESURRECTION for director
Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
In 1988, Weaver portrayed primatologist Dian Fossey in GORILLAS
IN THE MIST, and Katharine Parker in the Mike Nichols comedy
WORKING GIRL. Both performances earned her Academy Award
Nominations and she was awarded the Golden Globe for Best
Actress and Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. Next,
she starred in the 1989 hit GHOSTBUSTERS II directed by Ivan
Reitman alongside Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. Other films
include THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY (1982) with Mel Gibson
and Linda Hunt, EYEWITNESS (1981) with William Hurt, HALF MOON
STREET (1986) with Michael Caine, Ridley Scott's 1492: CONQUEST
OF PARADISE (1992), ONE WOMAN OR TWO (1985) with Gerard
Depardieu, Roman Polanski's gripping film adaptation of DEATH
AND THE MAIDEN (1994), the thriller COPYCAT (1995), Paul
Rudnick's comedy JEFFREY (1995). Weaver also starred in
Showtime's live-action film SNOW WHITE (1997), based on the
original Grimm's fairytale, which earned her an Emmy nomination
and a Screen Actors Guild nomination.
In 1997 Weaver joined the ensemble of Ang Lee's critically
acclaimed film THE ICE STORM alongside Kevin Kline, Joan Allen,
Elijah Wood and Christina Ricci. Her performance garnered her a
BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe nomination and a Screen Actors Guild
nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She later gave a
galvanizing performance in A MAP OF THE WORLD (1999), Scott
Elliott's powerful drama based on the novel by Jane Hamilton,
which earned her universal critical praise and a Golden Globe
nomination for best actress. Also in 1999, Weaver appeared in
the science fiction comedy GALAXY QUEST directed by Dean Parisot
alongside Tim Allen and Alan Rickman. She delighted audiences
with her flair for comedy and the film proved to be a hit of the
1999 holiday season. She followed this with the popular comedy
HEARTBREAKERS (2001), opposite Gene Hackman and Jennifer
Love-Hewitt.
In 2002, Weaver starred in the film version of THE GUYS, with
Anthony LaPaglia, directed by Jim Simpson, and in 2003 she
portrayed the cold-blooded, red-headed warden in the hit comedy
HOLES, directed by Andy Davis. The next year, Weaver appeared in
M. Night Shamalyan's THE VILLAGE and received rave reviews for
her performance in IMAGINARY HEROES written and directed by Dan
Harris.
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