As befitting its name, the American Cinematheque keeps the art form of film running in theaters. The non-profit, founded in 1984, showcases 1,500 films a year, programming year-round at three Los Angeles theaters (the Aero, the Egyptian and the Los Feliz 3), and its annual awards show helps raise money to keep those films in front of an audience. This year’s honorees (who will be feted at the Beverly Hilton on Dec. 6) have had extraordinary careers and share a passion for cinema.
Jessica Chastain, the 38th recipient of the American Cinematheque Award, follows in the footsteps of Eddie Murphy, who was its first honoree, and other Hollywood royalty like Steven Spielberg, Martin Scor-sese, Denzel Washington and Al Pacino.
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The star of films like “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Interstellar” and “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Chastain is no stranger to accolades, having earned an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a Drama Desk and three SAG Awards. She is also an Emmy and two-time Tony Award nominee.
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Chastain grew up in poverty but loved acting, and after she discovered Shakespeare at 15, she managed to earn a scholarship to Juilliard. She has built a career by consciously defying expectations, recently telling the Standard, “The second that a studio or some kind of … system tries to tell me what I am or what I should be doing, I’ll do the opposite.”
Outspoken on union issues in Hollywood and on union rights overall, Chastain attributes her willingness to speak out to the way she was raised. “We struggled a lot,” she told the Standard, so “you need to make sure if you have a platform, that you use it to amplify the voices of others that aren’t being listened to or are being ignored.”
Roven is being honored with the Power of Cinema Award, which celebrates those whose actions through storytelling have advanced the significance and social relevance of film in today’s modern culture.
“I’m humbled,” Roven says of the honor, “especially since I’m a huge cinema fan but also a huge theatrical fan and believe that the theatrical experience is unique.”
Roven’s first producing credit dates back to 1983’s “Heart Like a Wheel,” which starred Bonnie Bedelia as racecar driver Shirley Muldowney. Although he’d made student films, he says, “there’s nothing like producing your first movie. I was fortunate that even though there were bumps in the road on that movie, Jonathan Kaplan, the director, and Ken Friedman, the writer, were a team, and I was able to learn a lot from their collaboration.”
The learning has never stopped for Roven, who says that’s part of the thrill of producing. “Every experience — when you’re developing a project, on the set or in post-production — is unique,” he explains. “You work with so many different personalities doing so many different jobs. There’s nothing cookie-cutter, really, about producing a movie.”
Among Roven’s numerous credits, he’s particularly proud of “12 Monkeys” — “Terry Gilliam is a brilliant director, and that film had a great legacy” — and “Three Kings,” the “Dark Knight” trilogy and “American Hustle.” “And obviously, ‘Oppenheimer’ and winning the Oscar,” he adds. “I’ve been incredibly lucky and have worked with some incredibly talented individuals.”
Making movies is ultimately subjective and up to an individual’s taste, Roven says, so he believes the key to succeeding is to believe in your own instinct. “The most important thing is to still trust your gut,” he says.
Tipsheet
WHAT: The 38th Annual American Cinematheque Award Show
WHEN: Dec. 6
WHERE: The Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills
WEB: americancinematheque.com
