Gena Rowlands Receives Honorary Oscar at The Governors Awards
When this year’s honorary Oscar recipients were announced by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts was overjoyed that alum Gena Rowlands was selected to receive the prestigious award.
Known for her recent role as Allie in the gripping, undaunted love story The Notebook directed by her son, Academy alum Nick Cassavetes, Rowlands has been delivering powerful, riveting screen performances since the 70s when she captivated audiences as Mabel Longhetti in A Woman Under the Influence. In fact, it was this very performance that garnered her an Oscar nod and has been labeled by many as one of the single greatest screen performances of all time.
What makes her involvement in this project even more compelling is that it was one of the first films that Rowlands and her late husband, Academy alum John Cassavetes, set out to produce independently – a practice that was foreign to much of the industry at that time.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Rowlands said of the early independent movie scene: “There wasn’t anybody doing it. Everything was done through the studios. But we did it on our own. When we ran out of money, we paid for our own pictures by acting for others or mortgaging our home. It was a struggle, but it was a wonderful struggle.”
Rowlands and Cassavetes, regarded as the pioneers of the Indie Film movement, met while studying at The Academy in 1951. Rowlands called it love at first sight, and the two married four months later and started a family. Together, they produced and acted in roughly ten films over the next 30 years – many filmed in their own home, and it’s no wonder their children followed in their footsteps.
“Every time they stepped out of their bedroom, they stepped or tripped over a cable or bumped into a camera or something,” Rowlands told Stina Dobrowski in her Stina Meets web series. “They didn’t feel shut out of it, and I think they were happy, too.”
With an undeniable passion for self-producing film, Rowlands and Cassavetes established their family legacy, passing the torch to their children and grandchildren, many of whom have also attended The Academy and became celebrated directors, actors and screenwriters, themselves.
Through her award winning productions and performances, Rowlands has captured the true essence of being an honest, truthful actor – often bringing to the forefront meaningful female-focused topics and women’s to overcome in society. In honor of these powerfully depicted roles and her meaningful impact on women’s issues, Elle Magazine featured Rowlands on its November cover this month.
Rowlands will be accepting her Oscar at the Governors Awards ceremony on November 14, 2015.
Thank you, Ms. Rowlands, for the positive impact you’ve made not only on the industry, but the inspiration you’ve given to so many of The Academy’s graduates. We sincerely admire your dedication to the craft and are honored to call you one of our own.
Known for her recent role as Allie in the gripping, undaunted love story The Notebook directed by her son, Academy alum Nick Cassavetes, Rowlands has been delivering powerful, riveting screen performances since the 70s when she captivated audiences as Mabel Longhetti in A Woman Under the Influence. In fact, it was this very performance that garnered her an Oscar nod and has been labeled by many as one of the single greatest screen performances of all time.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Rowlands said of the early independent movie scene: “There wasn’t anybody doing it. Everything was done through the studios. But we did it on our own. When we ran out of money, we paid for our own pictures by acting for others or mortgaging our home. It was a struggle, but it was a wonderful struggle.”
Rowlands and Cassavetes, regarded as the pioneers of the Indie Film movement, met while studying at The Academy in 1951. Rowlands called it love at first sight, and the two married four months later and started a family. Together, they produced and acted in roughly ten films over the next 30 years – many filmed in their own home, and it’s no wonder their children followed in their footsteps.
“Every time they stepped out of their bedroom, they stepped or tripped over a cable or bumped into a camera or something,” Rowlands told Stina Dobrowski in her Stina Meets web series. “They didn’t feel shut out of it, and I think they were happy, too.”
With an undeniable passion for self-producing film, Rowlands and Cassavetes established their family legacy, passing the torch to their children and grandchildren, many of whom have also attended The Academy and became celebrated directors, actors and screenwriters, themselves.Through her award winning productions and performances, Rowlands has captured the true essence of being an honest, truthful actor – often bringing to the forefront meaningful female-focused topics and women’s to overcome in society. In honor of these powerfully depicted roles and her meaningful impact on women’s issues, Elle Magazine featured Rowlands on its November cover this month.
Rowlands will be accepting her Oscar at the Governors Awards ceremony on November 14, 2015.
Thank you, Ms. Rowlands, for the positive impact you’ve made not only on the industry, but the inspiration you’ve given to so many of The Academy’s graduates. We sincerely admire your dedication to the craft and are honored to call you one of our own.