BY MARK CERULLI
On
Wednesday night, Hollywood took a step back in time and it was a beautiful
thing. Italy’s most glamorous export,
the lovely Sophia Loren, made a rare visit to screen two of her films to an
adoring crowd at the Dolby Theater. The
movie legend was greeted with a standing ovation when she walked out in a
shimmering gown, escorted by director Rob Marshall who was clearly in awe of
the star he cast in Nine, her last Hollywood
film. Settling into two plush seats
separated by a mountain of roses, Marshall introduced her as “A woman with a
heart as big as all of Italy.†Loren
opened up about her life, career and leading men in a 45 minute Q&A,
punctuated by frequent laughter and some poignant moments when she remembered how
movies offered an escape from the misery of post-WWII Italy.
Loren
came across as the most humble of stars – illustrated the moment she stepped
onstage when a fan approached from the audience and began speaking directly to
her! Loren told the audience she felt
she “owed†her fans so much and that she never forgot where she came from, “…
Naples and the war and terrible things.†Marshall deftly got the program back on track and Loren was off, talking
about starting off as an extra in Quo
Vadis, connecting with director Vittorio De Sica who cast her in a number
of films which made her a huge star in Italy – attracting the attention of
Hollywood (and a 1962 Best Actress Oscar for her role in Two Women, making her the first actress to win for a foreign
language performance).
At
age 80, Loren showed the style, charm and humor that captivated audiences for
over five decades. When Marshall queried
her about her leading men, she remembered Cary Grant (her Houseboat co-star) as being “a special person†and Daniel Day
Lewis, who worked with her on Nine,
as “one of the best aliveâ€. Marlon
Brando’s name elicited a dramatic pause – which had the audience laughing. She related how Brando pulled a diva move on
the first day of production of A Countess
From Hong Kong, showing up hours late to the set. The film’s writer/director, the legendary
Charlie Chaplin had some strong words with Brando and from that point on he
behaved. She also enjoyed making It Started In Naples with Clark Gable,
but remembered he had a watch that would ring at exactly 5 PM every day and
then he’d leave. Done. No late hours for him!
Thankfully,
Marshall also brought up the world-famous photo of Loren ogling Jayne
Mansfield’s generous cleavage. Loren’s
rationale? “I thought everything was
gonna fall out.â€
One
of Loren’s two sons, Edoardo Ponti, came out to introduce The Human Voice, a 26-minute short he directed and co-wrote, based
on the 1930 Jean Cocteau play. Ponti’s version features his mother in virtually
every scene, delivering a rambling, heartfelt monologue to an unseen lover
about to marry another woman. This tour
de force would be daunting for a young star, but for a woman on the cusp of
80? Loren crushed it, as they say,
exhibiting a wide range of emotion from desperation to giddy delight, proving
her acting chops are still gloriously intact. Ponti noted that, “In an age when we idolize the wrong person, tonight
it’s the right person.†The crowd
agreed.
The
short was followed by a restored print of Loren’s 1964 film, Marriage Italian Style, directed by
fellow Napolitano, Vittorio De Sica. Loren’s performance earned her a 1965 Oscar nomination for Best
Actress. The film was also nominated for
an Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film in 1966.
After
more than three hours of film and conversation, Ms. Loren wisely skipped the
after-party, no doubt preferring to get her beauty sleep. Who can blame her? Molte Grazie!