Ellen Burstyn Cries Accepting Venice Golden Lion at 93 — SkimNews
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- Ellen Burstyn, 93, received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival on Monday, walking on stage with a walker after a recent fall that Maggie Gyllenhaal disclosed to the audience
- Burstyn broke into tears during a minutes-long standing ovation, telling the crowd the Venice honor is 'a lot' alongside her Oscar for 'Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore,' Tony for 'Same Time, Next Year,' and two Emmys
- Burstyn closed her speech by recounting a nighttime driving scene from Martin Scorsese's 1974 'Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore,' where she followed a white center line because the director blocked her view, then pivoted to plead: 'I hope — no, pray — that my own country will find its own white line'
- Burstyn has two projects premiering at Venice: Gyllenhaal's 20-minute short 'Flesh Impact,' a Marilyn Monroe tribute dedicated on what would have been Monroe's 100th birthday, and the dramedy 'Place to Be' co-starring Taika Waititi, Pamela Anderson, and Murray Bartlett
- Burstyn recalled a nightclub encounter with Marilyn Monroe — who nodded at her early in her career — and shared career advice from Bette Davis: 'anybody that tries to get in the way of you and your work, they're your enemy'
- Burstyn credited the late Gloria Steinem for advancing women in entertainment, saying the industry is 'close' to gender parity but 'not quite 50-50,' and revealed she still picks scripts by whether they make her laugh, cry, or both
Why it matters: For a 93-year-old Triple Crown winner still premiering two Venice titles, Burstyn converted a lifetime-achievement platform into a pointed civic message, praying America finds 'its own white line' — turning what could have been a nostalgic career retrospective into a political intervention.
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