00:00Eek! Okay. I still got to get comfortable with this, so I'm very good at having a script,
00:10not so good at giving speeches, but I'm going to do my best right now. In front of my daughter,
00:16who is here. Firstly, thank you, Laura Dern, who is my girlfriend, but also my confidant,
00:29who has been privy to so much in my life and has supported me and shown me incredible sisterhood.
00:40And off we go. We've got things in our future together. Also, thank you to the Hollywood Reporter
00:47team, to Mare and Rebecca and Curtis, and welcome, Shirley. And now to Sherry Lansing.
00:56Yes, because this is an extraordinary full circle because, let me get this here. When
01:07I first came to America, I stepped off the plane and I came into the office of Sherry Lansing.
01:16The first executive I met was Sherry. And it was extraordinary because I was nervous,
01:27intimidated, wondering what my future was as a young actress coming over from Australia. And
01:31suddenly there was this woman who was real and interested and had seen my work, which was minimal
01:40at that time, but had seen it. And talked to me just like I was, that I had, that I deserved to be
01:48there. And that is what she is capable of. It's why she's existed in this industry for so long and
01:55continues to give, give, give. So can I just say, Sherry Lansing, we love you.
02:01She has been this industry's mentor and she has helped us and shown us that we can do it and we
02:15will and we need not stop because it hasn't been done before. So I think what I'm interested in
02:23talking about today is that, yes, this is a leadership award, but it's really important to
02:29acknowledge that this is about mentorship, good mentors and being mentored. And that's what Sherry's
02:36given all of us. It's what she gave me. And I remember Kevin and I were talking about this,
02:43Kevin Huvane, my agent, 30 years and counting. But he said to me, we've worked together many times,
02:51Sherry, but he said, remember when the hours was going to not, was meant to be getting made and then we
02:58lost a lot of the money. And Sherry was like, no, I'm standing by you and I'm going to make this film
03:04with three female leads. That was not a sure thing. It was a small film about unusual subject matter.
03:12And she stepped up to the plate and she did it. So it's not talk, it's doing this. And the hours for me
03:20changed my life. So that's mentorship in action. So I also want to acknowledge the previous winners of
03:35this award. Adele, Charlize, Reese, Viola, Meryl, Barbara, Oprah, none of these women. You have to
03:44use their last names, none of them. So they are definitely leaders. And the women that I have
03:54been lucky, some of those women on that list, I've been lucky to share a set with, a makeup trailer with,
04:01or see them from afar. But some of them have become my dearest and closest friends. And I have sought
04:09them out when I've been grieving. I've sought them out when I have been struggling. I've sought them
04:16out when I am depressed. And they have shown up for me and continue to guide me and push me and say the
04:23future is bright and the future is there. So I want to say thank you to them. And then I've had the
04:28privilege to work with some of the young, young, young emerging talent. And I've also had the ability
04:37to be able to use whatever power I've been given now through the generosity of people in this room
04:44and pass it on. And Helena Rain here is one of those emerging powerful voices. She directed Baby Girl
04:52and she's standing here today. And I am lucky to have worked with her, but I'm just happy I get to share
05:00some of the power that I've been given and I can pass it forward. So now I'm also going to say my daughter
05:12is here. And last night, in the name of trying to do it all, I was at the choir concert watching her sing.
05:21We then got on a plane and we came here. And I started crying because my mama loved choir and she
05:33loved education. And so suddenly it was three months down the track from losing her, but I'm seeing my
05:42daughter stand there with her whole future ahead of her. And then she's getting on a plane coming with me.
05:47And she was my mentor because I broke down with her and she said, it's okay, mama, you're going to be
05:54okay. And she's showing up with me here today. And even though I don't have my mama anymore, I have my
06:00daughters. And I know I'm talking about all the devastation, but I'm sure everyone in this room
06:06knows that's probably when you need your friends and your mentors the most. And he has encouraged me to
06:11move forward, to believe in my talent. And he has believed in me when I never believed in myself.
06:17So thank you, because I'm still standing and moving forward.
06:25So, so importantly, reach out today when you leave this room and mentor someone. Because you have no
06:36idea what it means when you get that support and that guidance from somebody else. And there's so many
06:44powerful people in this room. So reach out, show that support, mentor someone well, because the world
06:51will reap the benefits and share it. And you may impact a life in the same way that Sherry Lansing impacted
06:58mine. Thank you.
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