USA: Clint Eastwood, Sydney Poitier, Rachel Weisz and others honored at the BAFTA / LA Britannia Awards in Los Angeles

Record ID: 203192

  • Title: USA: Clint Eastwood, Sydney Poitier, Rachel Weisz and others honored at the BAFTA / LA Britannia Awards in Los Angeles
  • Date: 9th November 2006
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) SIR SIDNEY POITIER, RECIPIENT OF THE CUNARD BRITANNIA AWARD FOR LIFETIME CONTRIBUTIONS TO INTERNATIONAL FILM, SAYING: "I think he is a quintessential American director, I think as an actor he need not be spoken of except in the highest of regard, and I am a fan and I call myself a friend."
  • Embargoed: 24th November 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA7S7IUXXVKUB8GSWNCSYS66215
  • Story Text: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts / Los Angeles (BAFTA / LA) honored such veteran acting heavyweights as Clint Eastwood and Sir Sidney Poitier in Los Angeles, California on Thursday (November 2). Celebrity Presenters and Attendees included Oscar winner Halle Berry, Oscar winner, Tim Robbins, Sydney Pollack, Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, and many others. Fellow award recipient Poitier had nothing but high praise for the great four-time Oscar winning actor and director of "Unforgiven" and Million Dollar Baby."
    "I think he is a quintessential American director, I think as an actor he need not be spoken of except in the highest of regard, and I am a fan and I call myself a friend," says Sir Sidney Poitier, Recipient of the Cunard Britannia Award for Lifetime Contributions to International Film
    "They were very nice to nominate me, to present me with a a lifetime achievement, I'm not always sure of lifetime achievement awards, you never quite know exactly if they're telling you to hit the road or hang around a while. But anyway, it's a nice event, and I'm happy to be here," says Clint Eastwood, the recipient of the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film.
    British actress Rachel Weisz is the recipient of the Britannia Award for Artist of the Year and fellow Brit Anthony Minghella is the recipient of the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in Directing.
    "Well, you know, Sydney Poitier and Clint Eastwood are receiving Lifetime Achievement Awards, and I'm just getting, I've just done a year of good stuff according to BAFTA, but you know, they're two leading forces in film," says actress Rachel Weisz.
    "Well, it's a fantastic evening to be here in LA, and as Minister for Film in the UK, it's great to be out here talking to the studios where obviously the UK and the US have a fantastic relationship, and it's great to be here with friends like Stephen Fry and others and really just celebrate the fantastic business of film," says Shaun Woodward, British MP Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism.
    Master of Ceremonies Stephen Fry and "Last King of Scotland" actor and award presenter Forest Whitaker also expressed their reverence for Eastwood and Poitier on the red carpet at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel ceremony.
    "People like Clint Eastwood can do that to Brits, and to Americans of course. He and Sydney Poitier, they are carved in the Mount Rushmore of our imagination when it comes to film stardom. There are very few people of that dignity around anymore," says actor Stephen Fry.
    "Sydney Poitier is someone that I remember saying my first lines in film, because as a kid, he was one of the only African people of color that I saw on the screen. I remember singing "Amen" and all that on my street and watching him play Mr. Tibbs, and watching 'Piece of the Action' and all these films, and through the years I've greatly admired him, I've greatly admired his life, and him as a person, so that's been amazing, it's amazing for me to see him tonight, because he deserves it," says actor Forest Whitaker.
    Eastwood's latest film "Flags of Our Fathers," about the six men who famously raised the flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima, is currently number four in the American Box Office. He won two Oscars each for 1992's "Unforgiven" and 2004's "Million Dollar Baby," picking up both Best Picture and Best Director for each film.
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