91-Year-Old Lina Wertmuller Steals the Show at Oscars Governors Awards

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made statements about inclusion, diversity, gender equity and creative risk-taking on Sunday night at the 11th annual Governors Awards, but it also learned a big lesson as it was making those statements. The lesson: Sometimes, it doesn’t matter what else you do, because somebody is going to come along and steal the whole damn show. In this case, that somebody was Lina Wertmüller, the 91-year-old Italian director who was given an Honorary Academy Award for provocative, groundbreaking films became the first woman ever nominated for Best Director. On a night that also bestowed honorary Oscars on director David Lynch and actor Wes Studi and gave the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to actress and gender-parity activist Geena Davis, the diminutive and spunky Wertmüller became almost everybody’s highlight. Read More…