Event: 2018 Variety 10 Actors to Watch & Newport Beach Film Festival Fall Honors
Date: Sunday, November 11, 2018
Location: The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Coast, CA
On a very warm, late Sunday morning, the blue carpet was rolled out for Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) and Variety’s First Annual Fall Honors Event. During the blue carpet, actors and actresses were being shuffled through the press line as the sun beat down mercilessly on many of the warmly dressed actors/actresses. Those who are familiar with a Southern California autumn day, even in November, the weather is as unpredictable as some Hollywood scripts.
NBFF and Variety’s First Annual Fall Honors Event is by far one of the swankiest events I’ve attended. The Resort at Pelican Hill is stunning. The special honorees of the event were Robert Forster (What They Had) with the ICON Award. And there were three Artist of Distinction Awards going to Colman Domingo (If Beale Street Could Talk), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (All About Nina), and Topher Grace (BlacKkKlansman).
Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch celebrates its 20th anniversary. And this event is also the kick off to NBFF’s year-long celebration in anticipation of its 20th anniversary next April. The 20th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival will take place from April 25th – May 2nd, 2019, presenting hundreds of films to over 50,000 attendees.
The view from here… The Resort at Pelican Hill
Variety’s 10 ACTORS TO WATCH Honorees include:
Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2), Gemma Chan (Mary Queen of Scots), Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians), Anthony Ramos* (A Star is Born), Cailee Spaeny (On the Basis of Sex), Marina de Tavira (Roma), John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman), Letitia Wright (Black Panther) and Russell Hornsby (The Hate U Give). *Anthony Ramos was unable to attend the event due to his filming schedule.
L-R: Letitia Wright, John David Washington, Marina de Tavira, Cailee Spaeny, Russell Hornsby, Henry Golding, Elsie Fisher, Gemma Chan, Zazie Beetz (missing is Anthony Ramos) — Photo©2018 Your Entertainment Corner/Judy Manning.
While many of the actors and actresses were whisked away before reaching the end of the press line due to the warm weather and various other reasons, a few stopped by Your Entertainment Corner’s corner, if you will, and gave us brief but memorable interviews.
Robert Forster is one of the kindest actors I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. Photo©2018 Your Entertainment Corner/Judy Manning.
ICON Award recipient Robert Forster stopped by first. He’s currently starring in the film, What They Had, opposite Blythe Danner, Hillary Swank, and Michael Shannon. He can also be seen in Fox’s Last Man Standing as Bud Baxter. Forster is one of the kindest actors I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. He’s funny, charming, and he made it a point to ask me my name and remembered it at the end of our conversation. His answer to my question regarding what he would like to do for his next film role had me laughing out loud. I also had the honor of seeing him after the awards ceremony to snap a quick photo.
ROBERT FORSTER – ICON Award Recipient
Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Photo©2018 Your Entertainment Corner/Judy Manning.
Next, I spoke with Mary Elizabeth Winstead who received one of the Artist of Distinction Awards. She can be seen in her latest film All About Nina, and upcoming Gemini Man directed by Ang Lee and also starring Will Smith, Clive Owen, and Benedict Wong. Winstead will also play Huntress in the DC Comics/Warner Bros Birds of Prey set to release in 2020. A spin-off from Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey follows Harley Quinn after her split from The Joker. Margot Robbie is back as Harley Quinn with Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Helena Bertinelli (aka Huntress) and Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Dinah Lance (aka Black Canary).
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD – ARTIST OF DISTINCTION AWARD
Russell Hornby. Photo©2018 Your Entertainment Corner/Judy Manning.
My final interview is with Russell Hornsby whose latest film The Hate U Give is receiving outstanding critical praise. Many of you know Hornsby from his time as Det. Hank Griffin on NBC’s Grimm and other television series such as Showtime’s The Affair. Hornsby is a talented and versatile actor, and will be seen next in Creed II this Thanksgiving. He also has a new show on Fox premiering in Feb 2019 called Proven Innocent with Kelsey Grammar and Rachelle Lefevre. I’ve always enjoyed chatting with Hornsby having attended many round tables at San Diego Comic Con for Grimm. Hornsby gives an impassioned answer to my question about preparing for his role in Proven Innocent. This recognition as one of the 10 Actors to Watch is well deserved.
RUSSELL HORNSBY – VARIETY 10 ACTORS TO WATCH
Zazie Beetz is humble, kind, and so down to earth. I truly enjoyed meeting her and look forward to her upcoming projects.
While I didn’t get to actual interview Zazie Beets, I did get a chance to say hello and get a quick photo. She is humble, kind, and so down to earth. I truly enjoyed meeting her and look forward to her upcoming projects. Beetz can be seen on FX’s Atlanta and will reprise her role as Domino in the upcoming feature film X-Force reuniting her with Deadpool 2 co-stars Ryan Reynolds and Josh Brolin. I’m sure she’s dreading that. (insert sarcastic eye roll).
Notable mentions to Henry Golding who appeared to be having a tough time in his warm weather coat on the blue carpet. He did apologize for not being to chat and shook my hand.
This photo isn’t in focus – my hand was shaking. Gemma Chan is even more stunning in person!
I also met with Gemma Chan after the awards ceremony (more like stalked her but that’s neither here nor there). It may sound silly, especially with the success of Crazy Rich Asians (and being of Asian decent myself) and her upcoming period drama Mary Queen of Scots being much more relevant and appealing films to talk about, I went a completely different route with my compliment. I am a huge Transformers fan (from the cartoons way back in the 80s and the films – all of them) and I loved Chan as Quintessa in Transformers: The Last Knight. Call me coo-coo, but that’s what I said to her. Perhaps not my finest moment. Oh well.
Check out more photos from this event on our Instagram @Team_YEC
Videos and Photos ©2018 Judy Manning for Your Entertainment Corner. All Rights Reserved.
Judy Manning
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