UK/FILE: Vanessa Redgrave given the first-ever European tribute to an actor by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)

Record ID: 707953

  • Title: UK/FILE: Vanessa Redgrave given the first-ever European tribute to an actor by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)
  • Date: 16th November 2011
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (NOVEMBER 13, 2011) (REUTERS) RALPH FIENNES POSING FOR PHOTOS / PHOTOGRAPHERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) RALPH FIENNES, ON WHETHER REDGRAVE WAS DEMANDING FOR HIS DIRECTORIAL DEBUT "CORIOLANUS", SAYING: "She's rightly, rightly concerned to get to the truth of something so, demanding of herself and by implication all of us around her who want to enable that to happen, but in the best creative sense."
  • Embargoed: 1st December 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany, United Kingdom
  • City:
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Arts,People
  • Reuters ID: LVA7FT8KK110OAL1W2PZ0XVDRWDH
  • Story Text: Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave was given a salute by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for her 50 year career on Sunday (November 13).
    It was the inaugural European tribute to an actor and fellow actors, directors, writers, family and friends helped give a salute to the iconic British actress.
    "It's a wonderful tribute, a wonderful tribute which means the world to me," Redgrave told reporters at the Curzon Soho in London, arriving with her husband, Italian actor Franco Nero.
    Amongst guests supporting her included her daughter Joely Richardson, herself an actress. She said her mother taught her many lessons about acting but one idea remained with her to this day.
    "The one that stood out with me the most is always share your insecurities with the audience, that way you keep the communication open. You don't create a barrier," Richardson told Reuters Television.
    The two are part of the Redgrave dynasty of actors in Britain, starting with Vanessa's parents Michael Redgrave and Lady Redgrave, Rachel Kempson. Vanessa had a young introduction to the world of theatre and cinema, being brought to the first-ever Royal Film Gala as a nine-year-old and meeting then Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret.
    Redgrave's other daughter Natasha Richardson was also an actress. She died of head injuries following a ski accident in 2009.
    Vanessa Redgrave remains as active in film and theatre despite her age, 74. She currently stars in Ralph Fiennes directorial debut "Coriolanus" and the actor-turned-director said Redgrave was demanding on set for all the right reasons.
    "She's rightly, rightly concerned to get to the truth of something so, demanding of herself and by implication all of us around her who want to enable that to happen, but in the best creative sense," he said.
    Fiennes admitted his boyhood crush on Redgrave never went away.
    "Yes of course, especially in 'Blow-Up' and 'Isadora'. I still have a bit of a crush,"
    Redgrave has also starred with James Earl Jones in a stage production of "Driving Miss Daisy" for the past seven months, first on Broadway and now in the West End at the Wyndham Theatre.
    "We actors have to learn how to be there on our own, on our own feet but it's so wonderful, to have something like that, like her, to work with," said Jones.
    Also arriving was Meryl Streep, who didn't answer questions on the red carpet.
    Redgrave has also been an outspoken political activist, from financially supporting a documentary about the Palestinian movement, to her Oscar-winning role for Best Supporting Actress in "Julia", where her character took on Nazi Germany and the anti-Fascist cause.
    "I think a lot of films are about human rights, which is the main thing that's concerned me all of my life from the time we were evacuated during the war," she said.
    Redgrave even campaigned for a seat in British parliament, several times, but lost out.
    Amongst other causes she's supported included helping call attention in 2008 to the plight of Iraqi children following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
    In August, she joined the protest against the evacuation of families at Dale Farm in Essex, outside of London. Despite her efforts, more than 80 families were evicted from the farm travellers' camp, ordered by the local council, following a decade-long row over unauthorised building plots.
    She has been nominated for other Academy Awards including "Morgan!", "Isadora", "Mary, Queen of Scots", "The Bostonians" and "Howards End".
    Redgrave is the only British actress to win an Oscar, Emmy, Tony, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Cannes Film Festival awards.

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