Editor's Letter January 2012

The Stars are Shining on Palm Springs

STEVEN BILLER

Sometimes, celebrities appear exactly as you expect when you meet them. And we meet many — especially when the Palm Springs International Film Festival (Jan. 5-16) draws the eyes of the entertainment industry. More on the festival later.

First, I spent some time with a wonderfully unguarded Jim Carrey, who exhibited his paintings and sculptures at a private event at Heather James Fine Art in Palm Desert. In “Something to See Here,” Carrey reveals the narratives behind his fledgling artwork — stories about his alcoholic grandfather and his depressed mother, his sixth-grade teacher who confiscated the sketches he made in class, and his never-ending mission to not only entertain, but also heal people through his art and filmmaking.

“When I’m involved in creation, whether it be a movie, a painting, a joke, a song, or a sculpture, it stops the world for me,” his artist statement says. “At best, I think an artist’s work also stops the viewer from thinking, worrying, or dressing what they are looking at with their mood or interpretation, bringing them into presence as well.”

Carrey, who also collects contemporary art, might return in March with an exhibition that will be open to the public.

Anthony Massucci, who interviewed Glenn Close for this month’s cover story, “(Cross) Dressing for Success,” found the actress passionate about her new film, Albert Nobbs, and humble about receiving the film festival’s prestigious Career Achievement Award. Also at this year’s festival gala on Jan. 7, George Clooney will receive the Chairman’s Award for The Descendants and The Ides of March and French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) will receive the Sonny Bono Visionary Award for his bold decision to make a black-and-white, essentially silent film in this day and age.