Bigelow, Portman and Tucci Among Gotham Tributees

More steam for Tucci's road ahead

By: Brad Brevet
Published: Thursday, September 24th 2009 at 3:23 PM

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) are making me happy today announcing today that director Kathryn Bigelow, actors Natalie Portman and Stanley Tucci, and producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, will each be presented with a career Tribute at the 19th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards on Monday November 30th in New York.

Earlier today I made note in my latest Oscar predictions I was feeling Stanley Tucci was something of a hot property following his fantastic performance in Julie and Julia and my anticipation for his upcoming role in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones and this just adds fuel to the fire.

Michelle Byrd, executive director of IFP released comments on each honoree with the following notes.

Natalie Portman

From a young age it has always been obvious that Natalie was a unique talent… Her maturity was evident from the beginning, both in the roles she chose and the quality of her performances. IFP is excited to salute her still young but already full career this year as she shows off her directing, producing, and acting talents in three different films this winter.

Stanley Tucci

Stanley Tucci is one of the most versatile stage and screen actors of his generation… He has been a longtime favorite in independent film but his recent successes in TV and more mainstream films have revealed his great talents to an even wider audience. With a new production company we look forward to more great films with Stanley in front of and behind the camera.

Kathryn Bigelow

Kathryn Bigelow's unparalleled ability to portray thrilling action and stomach churning suspense have been a mainstay of her work as a director… What sets her apart, however, is her ability to bring those talents to bear on films of any budget while also presenting characters with emotional gravity.

Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner

Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan have a long-standing tradition of producing a variety of quality films covering a diversity of genres, topics and historical periods… Their impressive roster of seminal titles is a testament to their commitment to nurturing directors and talent.

Bigelow and Portman are also part of my predicted Oscar contenders with The Hurt Locker and Brothers part of the conversation respectively. You can get more on that in my "The Contenders" section.