Mia Farrow and Steven Spielberg share an AWKWARD encounter on the Time 100 Gala red carpet
Just over 16 years after Mia Farrow had some strong words for Steven Spielberg — comparing him to Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, they shared an awkward encounter on the Time 100 red carpet.
Farrow, 78, who wrote the Time 100 piece about honoree Jennifer Coolidge, took to the red carpet with her son Ronan Farrow at Lincoln Center in New York City.
Spielberg, 76, was also on hand to receive an award presented by Drew Barrymore and Ke Huy Quan.
Before taking the stage, he briefly met Farrow on the red carpet and shared an awkward hug with her.
The outing comes just a day after Spielberg admitted he deeply regretted censoring the guns from ET.
Awkward: Just over 16 years after Mia Farrow had some strong words for Steven Spielberg — comparing him to Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, they shared an awkward encounter on the Time 100 red carpet
Red carpet Farrow: Farrow, 78, who wrote the Time 100 piece about the honoree Jennifer Coolidge, took to the red carpet with her son Ronan Farrow at Lincoln Center in New York City
Spielberg – dressed in a classic black tuxedo – was photographed on the red carpet with Farrow, who gave him an awkward smile.
Farrow – dressed in a silver dress – gave the filmmaker a hug on the red carpet at the annual event.
16 years earlier, Farrow and her son Ronan wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal entitled The Genocide Olympics.
The piece drew attention to the Chinese government for funding and supporting the Darfur genocide in Sudan, which the Farrows had witnessed firsthand in the country.
She heavily criticized Spielberg for coming on board as an artistic advisor to the Chinese government for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, claiming that his involvement and other corporate sponsors sought to “clean Beijing’s image.”
“Is Mr. Spielberg, who founded the Shoah Foundation in 1994 to record the testimonies of Holocaust survivors, aware that China is financing the genocide in Darfur?” the Farrows wrote in the piece.
They also ask, “Does Mr. Spielberg really want to go down in history as the Leni Riefenstahl of the Beijing Games?”
Leni Riefenstahl directed the films Olympia and Triumph of the Will, which are considered the most effective propaganda films ever made.
Hug: Farrow – dressed in a silver dress – gave the filmmaker a hug on the red carpet at the annual event
Riefenstahl would later deny any knowledge of the Holocaust, despite becoming close friends with Adolf Hitler himself, which seriously tarnished her image.
Nearly a year after the Farrows’ op-ed, Spielberg resigned in February 2008 as artistic consultant to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“I find that my conscience does not allow me to continue with the normal course of events,” Spielberg said in a statement.
“At this point, my time and energy should not be spent on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing everything I can to end the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur,” he added. .
The filmmaker sent a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao in April 2007, opposing Chinese involvement in the Sudanese civil war and even requesting a meeting with the president, though Hu did not respond, leading Spielberg to withdrew.
Spielberg accepted an Image Award at the Time 100 gala, which was presented by two of its iconic stars: Drew Barrymore and Ke Huy Quan.
The filmmaker directed a 7-year-old Drew Barrymore in the iconic 1982 film ET and a 12-year-old Quan as Short Round in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
The director shared a hug with the stars on stage before accepting his award from the Time 100 Gala.
Accepted: Spielberg accepted an Image Award at the Time 100 gala, which was presented by two of its iconic stars: Drew Barrymore and Ke Huy Quan
Cuddles: The filmmaker directed a 7-year-old Drew Barrymore in the iconic 1982 film ET and a 12-year-old Quan as Short Round in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Hugs: The director shared a hug with the stars on stage before accepting his award from the Time 100 Gala
Trio: Ke Huy Quan and Drew Barrymore share a hug with Steven Spielberg
Spielberg comes from his Best Picture nominee The Fablemans, inspired by his own childhood upbringing.
He is in pre-production on an unnamed Bullitt project based on the Frank Bullitt character played by the late Steve McQueen in the 1968 classic Bullitt, starring Bradley Cooper.
The filmmaker also plans to revive the late Stanley Kubrick’s passion project about Napoleon Bonaparte in an HBO miniseries.
Kubrick originally planned to direct Napoleon after 2001: A Space Odyssey, even having his eye on Jack Nicholson at the time.