Academy to Host Tribute to Sophia Loren

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences will celebrate the life and career of Sophia Loren with a gala evening of film clips and personal remarks from her friends and colleagues, concluding with an onstage conversation with the Oscar®-winning actress on Wednesday, May 4, 2011, at 8 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

In 1961 Loren earned the first Academy Award® presented to a lead performer in a non-English speaking role, for “Two Women,” directed by Vittorio De Sica. Prior to her win, Loren had already made an indelible impression on film audiences both in her native Italy and throughout the world.

De Sica directed Loren to another Oscar nomination in “Marriage Italian Style” (1964) opposite her most frequent co-star, Marcello Mastroianni. The two starred in “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” (1964), the winner of that year’s Foreign Language Film Academy Award for Italy, and “A Special Day” (1977), which was also nominated in that category.

Adept at dramatic, comedic and romantic roles, Loren traveled effortlessly between Hollywood and international productions, delivering memorable performances opposite many great leading men, including Cary Grant (“Houseboat,” 1958), Clark Gable (“It Started in Naples,” 1960), Charlton Heston (“El Cid,” 1961), Gregory Peck (“Arabesque,” 1966), Marlon Brando (“A Countess from Hong Kong,” 1967, directed by Charles Chaplin), Peter O’Toole (“Man of La Mancha,” 1972), and Richard Burton (“The Voyage,” 1974).  Her long marriage to producer Carlo Ponti yielded many roles for the actress, as well as two sons.

Loren’s career and peerless beauty remain impressive today, with memorable turns in such films as Lina Wertmuller’s ”Saturday, Sunday and Monday” (1990), Robert Altman’s “Ready to Wear (Pret-a-Porter)” (1994), again with Mastroianni, and Rob Marshall’s musical “Nine” (2009).

In 1990 the Academy presented an Honorary Award (an Oscar statuette) to Loren in acknowledgment of her status as “one of the genuine treasures of world cinema who, in a career rich with memorable performances, has added permanent luster to our art form.”

Tickets to “An Academy Tribute to Sophia Loren” will be available for purchase beginning Friday, April 1st. There is a two ticket limit for this event. Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets may be purchased by mail, at the Academy box office (8949 Wilshire Boulevard, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), or online at www.oscars.org. Doors open at 7 p.m. All seating is unreserved.

The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at the 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.

ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

FOLLOW THE ACADEMY:

www.oscars.org
www.facebook.com/TheAcademy
www.youtube.com/Oscars
www.twitter.com/TheAcademy

Photos: Courtesy of AMPAS