AFI Fest Honors Sophia Loren, Actress, Fashion Icon, Mistress of Throwing Shade
Friday, November 14, 2014 at 12:32PM Anne Marie from the AFI Fest on an International Legend...
At age 80, Sophia Loren is still magnetic. When the Academy Award-winning actress appeared onstage at the Dolby Theatre on Wednesday night for an AFI Fest tribute to her career, she received a two-minute long standing ovation. The audience whooped and yelled "Bellisima" before Loren, elegant in a black gown studded with crystals, could do more than walk onstage and smile. Once the furor died down, Rob Marshall, her director for Nine, interviewed Sophia Loren about her career, co-stars, and controversies.
“When I saw the movies, I forgot the war, forgot hunger. It was possible to believe there was another life than the one I was in.”
Despite her glamorous image, Loren's description of her early life growing up poor in the slums of Italy was bleak. When she met her husband, producer Carlo Ponti (who passed away in 2007), he took an active role in shaping her career. Ponti was the one who brought her to America after a successful Italian film career and encouraged her to learn English (“you have to learn English, because movies are in English"). Of course, we all know how that turned out. She had a hugely successful international film career, starring in films by some of the best American and Italian directors (not Fellini, of whom she said “I was not his kind of actress"), and an Oscar in 1961 for Two Women, a movie to which she felt deeply connected, since it reflected her own impoverished childhood.
Besides an illustrious film career, Sophia Loren also has a wicked sense of humor. She was happy to dish on her various famous co-leading men. Here are some scattered observations:
On Cary Grant: "...a great actor, absolutely incredible as a person, as a man.”
Peter Sellars: “very melancholic person. He would light up only when the director said action.”
Clark Gable: "He had a watch and it rang every evening at 5. When it rang, he would leave without saying goodbye."
Daniel Day Lewis: "One of the best alive."
Marlon Brando: <shrug> "Eh."
But of course, nothing could top her most famous moment of shade, the immortal side-eye she gave Jayne Mansfield at a Hollywood party. Rob Marshall showed Loren the picture, and asked her exactly what was going through her mind. Here, for a brief moment, Loren was at a loss for words.
"I was afraid that everything would... come out!"
The tribute concluded with two films starring the legendary actress: her son Edoardo Ponti's short film, The Human Voice, and Marriage Italian Style, the 1964 film for which Loren earned her second Academy Award nomination. As Sophia Loren rose to leave the stage before the movies began, she received another standing ovation. She paused briefly, clearly touched, and then swept away.
AFI, Italy, Rob Marshall, Sophia Loren
Reader Comments (16)
Love her. I wish "Two Women" was easier to find as I still haven't seen it.
I have a canvas print above my kitchen door of her photo with her quote, "Everything you see I owe to spaghetti." I think i found that through a link on this site a few years ago.
Thanks for the post! One correction: La Loren grew up in Pozzuoli, outside Naples. She would throw shade at anyone who would mistake her for a Roman.
I'm also curious as to why De Sica's TWO WOMEN hasn't been picked up by Criterion or some other reputable home video company. Sophia could do a wonderful commentary. She's brilliant in the role originally intended for Anna Magnani. Although both won Oscars (Magnani for The Rose Tattoo), Sophia was the first to win for a foreign language role. It was so fitting that she was able to announce Benigni was the Best Actor winner for his foreign language performance in Life Is Beautiful (surely not a coincidence...).
davide - Thanks, fixed! I don't know why TWO WOMEN hasn't been picked up for a Criterion or BluRay release yet either. Fingers crossed it ends up on somebody's list.
Love this post (and that clip), though Loren was the 1961 Best Actress, not 1966.
I couldn't quite tell if Loren actually knew who Vergara was, but I remembered watching that episode of Modern Family and just screaming "it's the Sophia Loren picture!"
Queen. She did the Pirelli calendar in 2007 (in her 70s!!!!) and it was the sexiest thing I'd ever seen.
Interesting comment regarding Fellini. On other occasions, she has said that they had frequently come close to sealing deals and that they were in talks to do a film together but Fellini's death nixed the deal that time. They certainly admired each other as is evident in their reactions when Sophia presented him with his honorary Oscar and in her comments to Larry King while promoting the Fellini- inspired musical film NINE.
KING: Sophia in Geneva, how did you get to do "Nine?"
SOPHIA LOREN, ACTRESS: Yes?
KING: How did you come to do the part?
LOREN: Well, I got a phone call from Rob Marshall -- one phone call. And I said yes right away. So it's very short, my story.
But -- no, no, no. There is also another -- there is also another reason, is that the film was involved, of course, the life of Fellini. And many times before, of course, before he died, I was very, very close to do a film with him. But as it happens in films, it never happened.
So I was very happy to be involved in the life of Fellini. And beside the phone call from Rob -- which I adore -- it's because I was very moved to be closer to my dear friend, Fellini, which I think is the best -- that he was the best director in town, in -- in -- in the world, you know?
For the longest time I hated Sophia Loren for winning Natalie Wood's Oscar. But having just seen Yesterday Today and Tomorrow I may finally forgive her and start investigating her Italian films more thoroughly. Never loved her HOllywood films.
Nathaniel: Sophia in TWO WOMEN is incredibly good. Perhaps one of the first cases where a sex goddess dirtied up and glammed down to win the gold. Absolutely riveting and raw. Especially when you consider that she had been scarred by the war as well. Interesting factoid: her sister married Mussolini's son. Natalie ' s loss was a more than honorable one. Also check out A SPECIAL DAY where an aging Sophia plays a frustrated and lonely housewife who bonds with a persecuted gay neighbor (a brilliantly melancholic Mastroianni). Loren was always at her best when she was freed from having to play the sex diva.
According to the Italian film scholar Tullio Kezich, Fellini, apparently did write a script for her, but Loren was unavailable.
Anne Marie: did you see the film directed by Sophia's son. Curious to hear more about it: she plays a role that both Magnani and Bergman brought to the screen in earlier incarnations of the Cocteau play. Sounds like a triple bill would be fun given that all 3 versions are short. Since Loren has always been a great actress, I wish she had more chances to shine now that her body isn't as overpowering compared to her talent.
She was fun and gorgeous in "Grumpier Old Men", and that might be the only thing I've seen her in. I do remember the coincidence of that Best Actor presentation. Poor Nick Nolte!
Sophia Loren didn't present Benigni's acting Oscar (that was Helen Hunt), she announced the Best Foreign Film that year and of course that was no coincidence since everybody knew who would win that one.
You're right! I assumed it was the actor award because in my memory all I remembered was her saying "And the Oscar goes to...ROBERTO!" http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n1WEN99hFFY. Classic Oscar moment!
Great post, she looks amazing at this new AFI tribute. I am reading her new autobiography which is a great read and has great comments on those she worked wth. I love her Chimene in EL CID where she is as magisterial as Charlton Heston, but she dismisses it in one line, and Heston was not one of her favourites - but she has great stories on working with Burton and O'Toole, Newman and Brando etc. TWO WOMEN should be better known these days, and MARRIAGE ITALIAN STYLE is still marvellous too.
Her best work ever was in some of her italian movies ,like "Two women " ,"Marriage ,Italian Style " or "Una giornatta particolare " but her american movies were quite mediocre . Most of her films were a flop and none of them would be considered a classic . She was basically a beautiful young woman showing off her body . Garbo ,Dietrich ,Bergman and Hepburn were more lucky in their career choices in Hollywood . I mean Queen Christine , Ninotchka , Casablanca ,Notorious , Roman Holiday and Breakfast at tiffanys are all -time classics ,that is more that you can say about any Loren's film .She didn't deserve that honorary Oscar either , of course she is a good actress but she isn't Jeanne moureau , Liv Ullman or Isabelle huppert .She was mostly a star ,but not a great actress . I'll never understand why she is so celebrated .
Ah, I'm a sucker for HOUSEBOAT with Cary Grant. Maybe it's the back story that intrigues me,
Her performance in Two Women is one of greatest Oscar wins ever. One of the rare times a performer wins for their best work. And probably in the top 5 greatest performances to win the award.
Also, everyone please watch A Special Day. What an incredible actress.