Hollywood still isn't sure whether it's ready to forgive Elia Kazan. In an appearance that was considerably less dramatic than the controversy leading up to Sunday's Academy Awards, the 89-year film titan received a mixed reaction as he took the stage to receive his honorary Oscar at the 71st annual Academy Awards ceremony.
Demonstrators had noisily protested the acclaimed director's lifetime achievement award outside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion earlier in the day, urging Oscar-goers to sit on their hands during Kazan's appearance. According to eyewitnesses at the ceremony, many in the audience stood and applauded, but an almost equal number stayed seated and did not applaud.
Television cameras caught Warren Beatty, Helen Hunt and Meryl Streep standing and applauding. Steven Spielberg remained seated, although he applauded; actors Nick Nolte, Ed Harris and Amy Madigan made a point of staying in their seats and not applauding.
Noting the applause he received as he slowly walked out on stage on the arm of his wife, Frances, Kazan said, "I really like to hear that. I want to thank the Academy for its courage and generosity. I'm pleased to say what's best about them--they're damned good to work with."
Kazan gave a big hug to director Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, who introduced him, then added: "Thank you all very much. I think I can just slip away."
Producer Mark Johnson, who won an Oscar for "Rain Man" and supported Kazan's award, said, "It was a nonevent, wasn't it? Watching it on TV, you wouldn't have known there was such a big controversy. The big disappointment was that Kazan didn't address it one way or another."
Even Kazan's foes agreed that his appearance seemed anticlimactic. "I was more overwrought over [Roberto] Benigni getting the best actor award, because I didn't like the movie," said Walter Bernstein, who wrote "The Front" about his days as a blacklisted writer in the 1950s. "The only good thing is that it may have made more people aware that there once was a blacklist."
About 500 protesters gathered outside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Sunday afternoon, armed with placards adorned with such slogans as "Elia Kazan: Nominated for the Benedict Arnold Award," "Don't Whitewash the Blacklist" and "Kazan--the Linda Tripp of the '50s."
Across the street, pro-Kazan protesters, numbering about 60, carried yellow signs saying "Kazan: Defender of Freedom in America" and "Hollywood Communists Should Apologize."
