Veteran Hollywood star Jamie Lee Curtis will be honoured with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 2021 Venice Film Festival.
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The decision was made by the board of theBiennale di Venezia, which embraced the proposal of the Festival DirectorAlberto Barbera, the organisers said in a statement posted on the official website.
Curtis will be presented with the award on September 8 in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema before the out-of-competition screening of her latest movie “Halloween Kills”.
The 62-year-old actor said she is “incredibly humbled” to be chosen for the award.
“It seems impossible to me that I’ve been in this industry long enough to be receiving ‘Lifetime Achievement’ recognition, and to have it happen now, with‘Halloween Kills’,is particularly meaningful to me,” Curtis said.
The actor credited the “Halloween” franchise, in which she plays the lead role of Laurie Strode”, for launching and sustaining her career.
“To have these films evolve into a new franchise that is beloved by audiences around the world was, and remains, a gift,” Curtis added.
Filmmaker John Carpenter’s 1981 slasher movie “Halloween” had launched Curtis in Hollywood. She later returned to the series for its follow-ups “Halloween II” (1981), “Halloween H20: 20 Years Later” (1998), “Halloween: Resurrection” (2002), and “Halloween” (2018).
“Italian Cinema has always honoured and heralded the genre that gave me my career, so I couldn’t be more proud and happy to accept this award from the Venice International Film Festival on behalf of Laurie and all the courageous heroines of the world who stand tall in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles and refuse to yield,” Curtis said.
The latest entry in the franchise “Halloween Kills” has been directed by David Gordon Green, who also helmed 2018’s “Halloween”.
The film, presented by Universal Pictures, Miramax, Blumhouse Productions and Trancas International Films, will release in the US on October 15.
Besides the “Halloween” franchise, Curtis is also known for featuring in blockbusters such as “A Fish Called Wanda”, “Trading Places”,” Freaky Friday”, “True Lies”, “Blue Steel”, “The Tailor of Panama” and “Knives Out”.
Barbera said Curtis belongs to a rarefied group of Hollywood actors who “best reflect the qualities that are the very soul of the global film industry and its legacy”.
“A direct descendant of America’s film aristocracy – she is the daughter of two unforgettable stars, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh – Jamie Lee Curtis is the natural embodiment of a star who knows how to play roles with versatility and amenability, all while infusing them with her peerless charisma and signature personality.
“All these qualities, combined with her work as an author of children’s books and her commitment to her charitable work have cemented her status as an indelible and enduring global artist,” he added.
The 78th edition of the Venice Film Festival will run from September 1 to 11.
