Maggie Gyllenhaal delivered a message on behalf of Ellen Burstyn before the 93-year-old acting legend took the stage at the Venice Film Festival to receive the prestigious Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. Burstyn cried and wiped away her tears with a tissue as she was greeted with a heartfelt, minutes-long standing ovation. I don’t know how to recover from that generous greeting.” Burstyn has achieved a lot in her seven-decade career in Hollywood, which she was quick to remind the crowd, but she puts the Venice award among the top honors.
So all I have to do is look up to the left, and follow the white line. And that’s how I managed to not kill Martin Scorsese.” She then drew a parallel between the story and the state of the U.S. right now, saying: “I wanted to close out saying how deeply appreciative I am of this Golden Lion and I hope — no, pray — that my own country will find its own white line.” Taika Waititi, Pamela Anderson and Murray Bartlett, her co-stars in “Place to Be,” a comedic drama that premieres Wednesday on the Lido, attended the ceremony. The trio were among the first to lead another standing ovation when Burstyn exited the stage and went to sit in the audience.
Burstyn was awarded the Golden Lion on Monday afternoon during the premiere of Gyllenhaal’s short film “Flesh Impact.” Dedicated to Marilyn Monroe on what would be her 100th birthday, the movie portrays Dakota Johnson as the actress at the height of her fame and Burstyn as the version of Monroe the world never got to see. The star died on Aug. 4, 1962 at age 36 from an acute barbiturate overdose. The short’s title, “Flesh Impact,” comes from a phrase once used to describe the aura of Monroe — “that she looked so real and luminous on camera that viewers felt they could touch her through the screen,” according to the synopsis.
Prior to the ceremony, Burstyn sat on Monday morning for a press conference and spoke about a fleeting encounter with Monroe way back when. We went to a nightclub, and she was sitting across from me,” Burstyn recalled. She was such a magical creature.
And then she looked at me and nodded at me. And I was very early in my career, and I thought, was I just recognized by Marilyn Monroe?” She had another connection to Monroe, through Ralph Roberts, an actor-turned-masseur to the stars. My favorite one was that her whole persona was a construction.” Burstyn was asked if she had any other memorable encounters with other Hollywood luminaries, to which she responded, “When I met Marlon Brando briefly, and I almost fainted.
That was pretty spectacular.” Then, she cracked, “I can’t think of anyone else — it mustn’t have impressed me too much.”She also recalled the early career advice she received from Bette Davis, who was 24 years her senior. I met [Davis] and she said, ‘Let me tell you one thing, honey. At the beginning of your illustrious career, the only thing that’s important is your work.
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