Pioneering Director Lina Wertmuller Earns Walk Of Fame Star

HOLLYWOOD, CA — A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled Monday honoring pioneering filmmaker Lina Wertmuller, the first woman to receive a best director Oscar nomination.

Wertmuller spoke briefly in Italian to accept the star.

Steven Zaillian, who won a best adapted screenplay Oscar in 1994 for his script for "Schindler's List," Pascal Vicedomini, secretary general of the Capri in the World Institute, director Eli Roth and Los Angeles City Councilmen Mitch O'Farrell and Joe Buscaino preceded Wertmuller in speaking at the 11:30 a.m. ceremony on Hollywood Boulevard, near La Brea Avenue.

Wertmuller has been the honorary chair of the Capri in the World Institute since 1995. The nonprofit organization conducts the annual international festivals "Capri, Hollywood" and "Los Angeles, Italia."

The ceremony came one day after Wertmuller received an honorary Oscar, which are presented "to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the academy," according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which administers the Oscars.

The star is the 2,679th since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the first 1,558 stars. The ceremony will be live-streamed on walkoffame.com.

Wertmuller received best director and best original screenplay Oscar nominations in 1977 for "Seven Beauties," which starred Giancarlo Giannini as an Italian man sentenced to prison for killing a pimp who turned one of his sisters into a prostitute, is released to serve in the Italian Army during World War II, deserts, is captured and sent to a German concentration camp.

The best director Oscar went to John G. Avildsen for "Rocky." The best original screenplay Oscar went to Paddy Chayefsky for "Network."

Wertmuller directed her first film, "The Basilisks," in 1963 about impoverish people in Southern Italy. Known for focusing on political and social issues, Wertmuller has written and directed other films, including "The Seduction of Mimi," "Love and Anarchy" and "Swept Away."

"The Seduction of Mimi" and "Love and Anarchy" both premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Wertmuller was the first female director to have films premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

Wertmuller was born in Rome on Aug. 14th, 1928. After completing her education she worked in theatre productions and became an assistant director. She was hired by the famed Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini in 1962 to be his assistant director on the surrealist comedy-drama "8 1/2," considered by experts to be one of the greatest films ever made.

City News Service