Oscar-Winner Dukakis to accept Greek Film Festival Honor June 15, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in MoviesLife, MoviesLife Greek.trackback
Olympia Dukakis tapped for first LAGFF Lifetime Achievement Award
Veteran actress Olympia Dukakis is no stranger to receiving awards, including the Best Supporting Actress Honor for “Moonstruck”, but perhaps none is more sweeter than one she’s due to receive this weekend.
It’s the first Lifetime Achievement Award to be handed out by the organizers of the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival. Starting Thursday night, the LAGFF for four days will showcase 24 feature and short films, as well as celebrate industry people of Greek lineage. Dukakis will receive honor from Oscar-winning filmmaker Alexander Payne at Sunday night’s closing ceremonies.
“I’ve gotten awards from my peers, but this one is special because it is from Greek-Americans,” Dukakis said in a recent interview. “They perhaps understand my journey better than most people.”
And what a journey it has been for Dukakis. Born the daughter of Greek immigrants in 1931 in Lowell, Mass., Dukakis has long worked on stage and in front of the camera, starting in the early 1960s. She hit her stride in 1987 as Cher’s mother in “Moonstruck” and has since gone on to star in such hit films as “Steel Magnolias,” “Mighty Aphrodite,” “Mr. Holland’s Opus” and, most recently, “In the Land of Women.”
In addition, she’s guest-starred on such television shows as “Frasier,” “The Simpsons” and “Numb3rs,” and has starred in “The Librarian” television movies. But no matter what medium she’s worked in, Dukakis has always managed to keep her feet firmly planted on the stage.
“To me all are different, but are all totally engaging,” Dukakis said. “Films are different from the stage and certainly engage me. But if I didn’t do stage work, I wouldn’t know who I was. I’ve been doing it for 50 years.”
Dukakis said that the one thing she’s enjoyed about switching back and forth between the mediums is the variety. But the differences come not necessarily in terms of the material, she says, but how that material is presented.
“The mediums are so different,” Dukakis said. “The proscenium of the camera is very different in the way it defines the space. It’s very close to you and very intimate, as opposed to the theater, where intimacy has to be articulated so that it can be understood and experienced quite a distance away. So, it’s a different way of working and a different experience of yourself, and I like both of them.”
Once Dukakis accepts accepts the LAGFF Lifetime Achievement Award Sunday, she plans on keeping it in a safe place. After all, that other big award, the Oscar statuette, was stolen from Dukakis right out of her own kitchen.
“I got another one, though, but paid $70 for it,” Dukakis said with a laugh. “But at least they left the nameplate.”
Related Links > http://www.lagreekfilmfestival.org
grhomeboy
Comments»
No comments yet — be the first.