Julianne presenting her award: “Well, listen, you know, I’m happy to have the opportunity to talk about Kristen. I always like to mention that I have known her since she was 12 years old. You know, this is a way to state my primacy as an actor, and my own importance. Like you say, “Oh, yeah, I’ve known Kristen since she was 18,” and I’m like, “Yeah? Yeah? I’ve known her since she was 12.” But it’s also a way to give me a frame to talk about her tremendous abilities and how obvious they were, so very early on. My husband, Bart Freundlich, cast a 12-year-old Kristen in his film [Catch That Kid] and would come home every day, telling me how amazing this little kid was and how she was going to be a giant star. No kidding, that’s what he’d say. And then he’d show me the dailies so I could see for myself, the emotions that she had at her fingertips, and her inability to be anything less than completely authentic and alive onscreen.
And this authenticity extends to her personal self as well. Kristen brings an intensity and a truthfulness to absolutely everything in her life, her work, her friendships, and her relationship with the world. She has managed to become a global star while remaining very much herself, with her talent intact. And I’ve been very, very close to that talent, and that’s when you can tell whether or not somebody’s faking it or not, and believe me, she’s not. I’ve seen her skin flush with emotion; I’ve wiped tears off her face and experienced the sheer pleasure of connecting with her as an actor, all the while knowing that that’s the connection everyone in the audience is feeling as well. In Clouds of Sils Maria, the movie she’s being honored for tonight, Kristen is achingly alive, palpably emotional, utterly practical, totally normal, and incandescent onscreen. In short, she is nothing less than what I expected of her when she was 12 years old. She is my friend, and I love her, and I thank you for acknowledging this beautiful performance.”
Kristen: “Hey, guys … That was very sweet, thank you, Julie. Um, it means a lot to receive this from you [the NYFCC]. I’ve received a lot of popcorn, MTV Popcorns [at the MTV Movie Awards], stuff like that, but this is a little different. No, really. Thanks. Uh, this movie, it’s really lovely. I worked with this director, Olivier Assayas directed this. Charles Gillibert produced On the Road, which I did a couple years ago, and got involved with us, and he’s just put me in contact with people who I should be spending my time with, really incredible vision and that’s what I love him for … This movie is really thoughtful and quiet and kind of diagonal and not extreme in any way. And it came out like a year ago! So this is nuts. And thank you so much, it really means a lot, and our crew was incredible, and when you get the right people together who want to tell a story, good things happen. Thank you so much. Bye.”
