Penélope Cruz was honored Tuesday night by the Museum of Modern Art in New York as part of a career tribute featuring frequent collaborator Pedro Almodóvar alongside fellow stars Lupita Nyong’o, Rebecca Hall and singer Rosalía.
The 14th annual Film Benefit opened with Rajendra Roy, MoMa’s chief curator of film, and counted Cruz’s friend, singer and benefit co-chair Ricky Martin among its presenters. The evening also included Anne Hathaway, Diane Kruger, Kristen Wiig, Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann among its guest list, with a performance by Grammy-nominated artist Giveon closing out the night.
The annual event helps raise funds to ensure works of cinema can continue to join the MoMa’s collection. Cruz shared that she finds the preservation work done by the MoMa an “extremely important” element of the movie industry. “Many generations after us wouldn’t be able to enjoy the work of many geniuses, of many brilliant films,” she explained to The Hollywood Reporter on the event’s carpet. “Unless they do that, it would, at some point, get lost.”
A byproduct of Cruz following her childhood dream of becoming an actor — something she spoke to during the evening while accepting her honor — is that she too exists as a part of cinematic history, where she will be known and remembered long after her final picture rolls. When it comes to how she hopes future audiences see her and her artistry, the actress told THR, “I would want to be remembered as someone that tried to keep learning every day and never got too confident about it.”
During her acceptance speech, Cruz addressed the shifts the film industry has seen in the last few years, and how it’s radically changed from the time when she was young, living in a neighborhood with no movie theater, instead, watching movies on Betamax videotape.
“It’s a very interesting time for film and filmmakers for audiences. With so many distribution platforms, and devices on which to watch, access to film is everywhere. We all have the ability to carry a cinema in our hand, and to watch films wherever we go,” she said. “The last few years have taken their toll on film productions. Some shutdown. Theaters closed. Cinema is changing. And we all wonder what the future of cinema looks like.”
“I think we’ve realized that in our world that seems hurting and scared and divided, we need all forms of art,” she continued. “Maybe more than ever to touch our hearts, influence our choices, spark our imagination, or sometimes just provide escape or company.”
Cruz also praised director Almodóvar’s impact on her career: “I would not be here tonight, being honored by MoMa, if I had not had the privilege of working with brilliant directors who have inspired me, taught me, helped me grow as an artist and as a person. I want to thank them all tonight, and especially my Pedro.”
Among the night’s many speakers, Almodóvar was last but not least, acknowledging his long history with Cruz on and off the screen in a speech that was equal parts heartwarming and hilarious. “You told me that when I get old you will take care of me. I’m not that old yet, but I hope you keep your word,” he said, to audience laughter. “When I am an old man, I hope you come and become, in this case, my mother. It would be a reflection of all the mothers that you have been for me throughout these seven films.”
Ahead of Cruz taking to the stage, actress and Passing director Rebecca Hall began the night’s celebrity praises of Cruz, who Hall called “the definition of a movie star” due to her grace and a “real actor’s actor” thanks to Cruz’s perception and her willingness to surrender herself to a scene.
“From the moment I met her, she made me feel welcome and included. My time offsets turned into a fantastical wonderland of good food, good wine, and dancing. So much dancing,” Hall said of her time with Cruz filming Vicky Cristina Barcelona. “And leading all of these adventures was Penelope. It seems woven into her ethos as a performer that to act well, you must live well, and I believe that because of her philosophy of our set changed.”
During the ceremony, Spanish singer Rosalía called the actress and night’s honoree “an icon” and a “legend” while recounting a warm and supportive on-set experience she had working with Cruz on A Tu Vera. Martin also kept his speech short and sweet, recalling how he had initially met Cruz while the two were part of a humanitarian effort to assist girls living on the streets of Kolkata, India, before touching on filming The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story with Cruz, adding to the night’s general theme of honoring the star’s warmth and generosity. “You’re an incredible mother, incredible actress, an incredible citizen of the world,” he said.
Nyong’o served as the opener for a video presentation of Cruz’s career, featuring scenes from Broken Embraces, Volver and Parallel Mothers. After recalling having used Cruz as an accent model for one of her theater courses and how she turned to Cruz’s work as a younger artist, Nyong’o spoke fondly of her time filming 355 alongside the actress, whose “radical presence” helped focus her on set.
“She has no airs about her, at least not any that I witnessed, and that’s something that I really admire and value. Because God knows she is on a different stratosphere to a lot of us,” Nyong’o said in her pre-recorded speech. “She’s very collaborative, and she gives people around her space to be themselves without compromising her own self. Her way of loving is fierce and tender at the exact same time. And I deeply admire those qualities in her.”
This year’s event — which will see proceeds benefit the Black Family Film Center of The Museum of Modern Art’s Department of Film — saw Chanel return as the night’s lead sponsor. In addition to the company’s long dialogue with cinema through fashion, as well as more contemporary endeavors like the “Through Her Lens” series with New York’s Tribeca Film Festival, Chanel has been an avid supporter of cinema specifically at the MoMa, including screening and restoring the museum’s vast archive of cinematic works and producing special series like Documentary Fortnight and The Contenders.
“I feel like we’ve been walking hand by hand,” the Chanel ambassador said of the French luxury fashion house’s relationship to her film career. “I met them in ’92 — that was the first show I visited. That’s when I met many of the people that are still working there. And for the last few years, I have been an ambassador of the house, but before that, I had a strong relationship with them. I am like their number one fan.”
Cruz’s own honor comes just a decade after Almodóvar, who has worked with the Spanish actress on seven films, was similarly honored by MoMa. On Monday, their latest movie, Parallel Mothers, received two Golden Globe nominations and opens in the U.S. on Dec. 24. Other previous recipients of the MoMa Film Benefit honor include Baz Luhrmann, Tim Burton, Kathryn Bigelow, Quentin Tarantino, Tilda Swinton, Alfonso Cuarón, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hanks, Julianne Moore, Martin Scorsese, Laura Dern and George Clooney.
Source: HollyWood
