KARLOVY VARY – The 2019 Karlovy Vary Film Festival has been bookended by “Far From Heaven.” Both Julianne Moore and Patricia Clarkson, who starred in Todd Haynes’ 2002 classic, have been honored with the festival’s Crystal Globe for Outstanding Achievement in World Cinema. Moore received hers at the opening ceremony last week, and Clarkson will be honored at the closing ceremony tomorrow. The former sat down with the media for a press conference (broadcast on Czech television, no less) to discuss her career and other honors potentially down the road.
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Earlier this year Clarkson already won a Golden Globe and earned a SAG Award nomination for her performance in “Sharp Objects.” A two-time Emmy winner for her work on “Six Feet Under,” I asked Clarkson what earning an Emmy nod for the HBO mini-series would mean to her.
“A tremendous amount. It’s a very competitive field. There are remarkable actresses this year as there are every year,” Clarkson says. “I’m slightly superstitious, so I won’t talk too long about it. And I’m not quite sure when the nominations are. I’m not kidding. I’m gonna have a period of days where I have to leave my phone on early in the morning.” [Laughs.]
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She continues, “I had such a glorious time. It was a consummate experience working on ‘Sharp Objects.’ It’s the darkness, the lightness, the brutality, the glamour and working with Amy Adams was one of the highlights of my career and Jean-Marc Valle. It would mean so very much.”
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The longtime New York City resident also noted that she comprehend how much winning a Globe meant until after the ceremony. And she added it’s why she hopes she’s not too jaded to appreciate any award in her honor.
“I didn’t realize how much until after I won it that everyone I have ever known in my life saw that ceremony,” Clarkson says. “So, it was a beautiful moment in my career to let people all over the world that I’ve worked with get a kick and be thrilled about it. But most of all for my parents, my friends and my loved ones it was a wonderful moment that I cherish.”
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Many believe there has been a change in Hollywood after the #MeToo movement began, and Clarkson is one of them. She believes industry executives realize that women in leading roles can make them money, and it’s no longer an “obligation” to greenlight female-led projects. There’s an energy or excitement that was missing previously. She notes, “I think it’s a priority. Before it was not the rule, it was the exception.”
Clarkson also thinks the increase of streaming players has been incredibly beneficial for women.
“Thank you Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Warner streaming,” Clarkson says. “I think they have single-handedly lifted women of a certain age. Women over 40, over 50, over 60. It has given them a vibrant complex, fertile field. And they are now ‘woke.’ I think independent film has already celebrated women to the best they can. Studio films? It’s a complicated time right now, and Netflix is really burring the lines. Maybe we don’t need lines anymore. Maybe the world is just one big laptop.”
After taking a year off, Clarkson admits she has nothing “in the can,” but is excited about what’s next.
“I have a beautiful film; it hasn’t been announced. It’s with a European director that will shoot in the states,” Clarkson says. “I took a little bit of downtime this past year, which is rare for me. And I’m going to the spa on Sunday which is rare for me.”
