Emma Stone accepts the Desert Palm Achievement Award during the Palm Springs International Film Awards on Jan. 4, 2024.Photo:Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
Emma Stoneis speaking out about the power of women in Hollywood.
On Thursday, thePoor Thingsstar received the 2024 Palm Springs International Film Awards' Desert Palm Achievement Award for an actress, for her performance in theYorgos Lanthimos-directed film.
During her acceptance speech, Stone, 35, recalled some advice she got from a sexist studio executive early in her career, in which he said, in so many words, that women only had a limited time to have a career in the industry.
“When I first moved to L.A., I went to one of those general meetings that they sometimes send you to, and an executive told me that for male actors, it’s a marathon, not a sprint,” said the actress. “And in his eyes, for women, it was a sprint, not a marathon. And that was 20 years ago.”
“And I realize that advice is total garbage because the majority of the women that I look up to in this industry, many of whom are in this room, have proven that as time goes on, life and work only get more interesting and more fulfilling,” Stone added.
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Emma Stone at the Palm Springs International Film Awards on Jan. 4, 2024.Monica Schipper/WireImage
Monica Schipper/WireImage
Mark RuffaloandWillem Dafoe, two of Stone’s costars inPoor Things, presented her with the award.Cate Blanchettreceived the same award last year for her performance inTár; she went on to receive anAcademy Awardnomination at last year’sOscarsceremony.
“Emma Stone continues to exert influence as one of the most important actresses of this generation, whose performances are always exceptional no matter the role. In her latest filmPoor Things, Emma delivers a burning intensity and character bound for liberation,” the festival’s chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi said in a Novemberpress releaseregarding Stone’s award.
“There is no one better suited for this role," Chandi added at the time.
Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo inPoor Things(2023).Searchlight Pictures
Searchlight Pictures
“Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents,” anofficial synopsisfor the film reads. “Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.”
“This role was unlike anything I had ever read or anyone that I had ever read about,” Stone said in her speech Thursday. “She’s a woman who is immune to external expectations and impervious to judgment and shame and playing.”
“Bella was challenging because I had to try to unlearn those aspects in myself, and it’s also what made her an absolute joy to play,” she added.
Stone is also nominated forPoor Thingsat the upcomingCritics Choice AwardsandGolden Globe Awards; at the Globes, she is additionally nominated for her performance in the Showtime television seriesThe Curse.
Poor Thingsis in theaters now.
source: people.com
