By Bianca Betancourt, CNN
New York City (CNN) — Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg, who at 79 remains the highest grossing director of all time, was honored on Thursday night at the Museum of Modern Art’s glitzy annual Film Benefit, an event to raise money for the institution’s film department, while also celebrating some of the most influential names in moviemaking.
Spielberg’s close friends, including comedians Martin Short and Steve Martin, and industry peers such as Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese, along with beloved collaborators Drew Barrymore, Emily Blunt, and Zoe Saldaña attended to toast the director’s hugely successful five-decade career. The night even kicked off with a surprise speech from actor Tom Cruise (who starred in both Spielberg’s “Minority Report” and “War of the Worlds”).
“Wow, Steven Spielberg. The very name evokes wonder, adventure, suspense, excitement, the anticipation of going to a theater and knowing that you are going to experience something extraordinary,” Cruise said.
Chanel has served as the event’s head sponsor since 2011 and has been an official film partner with the museum since 2021. The french fashion house dressed a number of the evening’s VIP guests including Spielberg. Saldaña wore a sheer, jade-hued, floral embellished set with a peek-a-boo turquoise bra. Supermodel Christy Turlington was sighted in a bold black and red knit gown, and Drew Barrymore channeled the early aughts with her chunky tweed penny coat and a preppy newsboy cap.
On the event’s red carpet, Spielberg recalled an early memory as a budding filmmaker.
“If you look at ‘The Fablemans’ and you look at the last scene with David Lynch playing the great director John Ford, you’ll see a scene word for word, verbatim, that actually happened to me when I was in high school,” Spielberg told CNN, referencing his 2022 Oscar nominated — and semi-autobiographical — film. “When someone introduced me to John Ford and he taught me a lesson about the placement of the horizon in the frame — that’s something I never forgot.”
Even those who haven’t worked with the director were quick to praise the Hollywood giant. Actor Riley Keough, a Chanel brand ambassador, said she appreciates “the way he world-builds and creates totally different universes.”
“He’s an incredible filmmaker and we need incredible movies,” she added.
Two musical performances helped bookmark the benefit. Ariana DeBose, who starred in Spielberg’s adaption of “West Side Story” and won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance, sang a stripped down version of “Somewhere (There’s a Place for Us)” from the musical. Bruce Springsteen, who is a longtime friend of the director, closed out the evening with a rollicking rendition of “Dancing in the Dark.”
In a speech on stage, Spielberg told the audience that he couldn’t have achieved all his success without the help of others. “Even though I’m the grateful and well-dressed one tonight, standing alone up here feels wrong. Filmmaking is collaborating, and when I get singled out on a night like this, it reminds me that I have never stood alone on any set, on any location, on any soundstage,” he said.
“Every big production of mine has about as many people backing me up as are here tonight in this room. Imagine, please, that I am actually standing up here with every single person who ever helped me to reach this point in my career — starting with the writers, actors, and producers…making movies is making choices, and I’ve never made many choices by myself — except maybe what I eat at the craft service table. That’s about it.”
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