emily   –   May 17, 2015

VARIETY.COM – Julianne Moore and Variety’s Steven Gaydos were on hand to honor rising stars Jack O’Connell (“Unbroken”) and Lola Kirke (“Gone Girl”) at the elegant Chopard Trophy ceremony that took place on the rooftop of the Martinez Hotel on Friday night.

“When you start out all you know is that you want to do it, it feels good to do it and you would do it for free but what you don’t know if you’re any good. But when you see a good actor, you can see it right away. And we saw Jack O’Connell and Lola Kirke immediately the minute they burst onto the screen, they’re beautifully alive on camera, it’s palpable their talent,” said Moore. “We’re so happy to have you, we’re excited to see your work and we know we’re going to see your work for many years to come,” added the Oscar-winning actress.

Gaydos concurred, “At Variety we have a great time introducing new talent, celebrating new talent because films become regenerated by them, and the Cannes Film Festival is the centerpiece of this regeneration. Masters leave us and new masters arrive — and it’s especially true in acting.”

Kirke was visibly moved by the honor and quipped that she hadn’t realized the turn that her career had taken until two days ago when she found herself on the red carpet at a Cannes premiere.

The Chopard Trophy ceremony, for which Variety is the exclusive media partner, drew Cannes Film Festival’s president Pierre Lescure and general delegate Thierry Fremaux, as well as actress Lupita Nyong’o, Colin Firth and wife Livia Giuggioli, Emmanuelle Beart and Emma Watson, among other stars.

The Chopardd Trophy jury comprised Elizabeth Banks, “The Imitation Game” helmer Morten Tyldum, Gaydos, producer Jerry Weintraub, Amazon Studios’ head of production Ted Hope, and Chopard’s artistic director Caroline Scheufele, who announced the creation of a Chopard Foundation to support movies during the ceremony.

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