Charlize Theron used her time to accept the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at The Hollywood Reporter‘s annual Women in Entertainment event presented by Lifetime to recognize the women who have supported and inspired her, including the next generation of women leaders.
Seth Rogen introduced his Wild guess co-star with a joke-filled speech, riffs on the quiche served at the event (“these women deserve a better breakfast, I’m just gonna say it”) and called out scheduled host Kim Kardashian for not attending: “I’ve seen every episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians. I know she doesn’t do anything more important than this.’
When Rogen switched to Theron, he recalled feeling “incredibly intimidated to work with her, not just because of her talent.”
But, Rogen said of the action star, “I was literally, physically intimidated to be around her, because she kills people in every movie she makes.”
And he insisted they were true friends because “our movie bombed and we stayed friends.” We are sure that we cannot help each other career-wise.”
“I’m so glad we can keep meeting because Charlize is fun. She’s a fun person to hang out with, maybe too fun at times,” he added, suggesting he forgot about some of the times they hung out because they were having so much fun.
And Rogen praised Theron for being “incredibly charitable.”
“Her morality comes across so easily and clearly,” he said.
Set Rogen
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Theron took the stage after Rogen and began praising and mocking the award’s namesake, former Paramount Pictures CEO Lansing.
“You’re a powerhouse,” Theron said of the first woman to be studio president. “I mean, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, The Truman Showyour name has been behind some of the all time classics.
But then she joked, “So I just have to ask, Sherry, what did I do to piss you off for putting me in?” Centuries of Flux?!”
Made on a $62 million budget, the Paramount movie grossed just $53 million worldwide and has a dismal 9 percent freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Of the project, Theron recalled this week THR cover story that she “knew” the action movie was “going to be a goddamn flop.”
“I knew it from the start,” she said. “I was sure we were in trouble. I wasn’t a producer on it, and I didn’t really have the experience to say what I believe Tom Cruise may have been saying for the past 20 years, which is, ‘Stop this shit, get four more writers in and let’s figure this out.” Instead I say, ‘Oh God, I just have to get through this day, I have bronchitis, but let’s keep shooting.’ Now I imagine all these male actors saying, “Turn it off for six months!” And it’s like, damn it, no one told me that was an option.
After her Centuries of Flux barb, praising Theron Lansing and other female leaders for “kick[ing] the door to opportunity down.”
And, she said, “this next wave of women is tearing down the whole goddamn building.”
She stressed that she saw more and more female directors, producers, department heads and actresses opening their own production companies, checking out fellow honoree Issa Rae and presenter Margot Robbie by name.
But aside from the proliferation of female leadership in Hollywood, Theron said she was really inspired by her work with her eponymous Africa Outreach Project.
“When we talk about leaders, the young people involved in the community organizations we support in South Africa are some of the most inspiring people I have ever come across,” she said. “In the face of what we would consider adversity or concrete ceilings, they see opportunity and space for change, growth and inclusion.”
Reflecting on the origins of CTAOP, Theron said, “I believe it to the core, it’s our interconnectedness that makes us stronger, but we can’t really commit to solidarity if we don’t confront the brutal inequalities we , all of us , continue… If we really want to see change in this world, we must listen to and be guided by those closest to the challenges.”
And she said her honor encouraged her to keep striving for greatness.
“I don’t see this leadership award so much as a sign of achievement, but more as a challenge to keep doing the job,” she said.
She added, speaking to the other women in the room, “I want us to hold each other accountable, use each other as resources, and push each other to keep using our voices and platforms for something bigger than ourselves.”
She concluded by paying tribute to the women who “surround and support” her, citing CTAOP Executive Director Ashlee George who helped raise awareness and money during the COVID-19 pandemic “for the safety of women and children experiencing domestic violence”; her Denver & Delilah producing partner Beth Kono; and her mother, who co-parents her children and, Theron added, “isn’t afraid to tell me when she hates one of my movies. And that helps too! Sometimes we need to be told when we suck.
“Leadership is not a one-person game, especially for women,” she said. “We need community, not just to build each other up, but to pass the baton to the next generation of brave women who will undoubtedly be here one day and tell us how they solved the climate crisis or how they become American. President.”
THRThe Women in Entertainment gala was sponsored by Best Buy, Cadillac, Spotify, eOne, FIJI, Gersh and SAG-AFTRA and in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, Chapman University, College Access Partnership and Loyola Marymount University.
