Palm Springs: The place to be during Oscar season. The California town”s annual film festival is a hotbed of potential nominees, actors and actresses wrangled for speciality honors that amplify existing buzz. Currently receiving accolades from Palm Springs International Film Festival: Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”), Julianne Moore (“Still Alice”), and J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”). Time for another name: Rosamund Pike.
She costarred in “Die Another Day,” “Pride & Prejudice,” The Rock's “Doom,” “An Education,” “Jack Reacher,” and “The World's End,” but it took “Gone Girl” to finally come into her own. At least according to the PSIFF, who will honor the Breakthrough Performance Award, Actress at its annual Awards Gala.
“Rosamund Pike perfectly taps into Gillian Flynn”s complex character from the novel 'Gone Girl”bringing to life the privileged, manipulative and calculating Amy Dunne. It”s hard to imagine anyone else in the role,” said Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner in a statement. “For this outstanding performance it is an honor to present her with the 2015 Breakthrough Performance Award, Actress.”
Previous winners of the Breakthrough Performance Award include Marion Cotillard, Lupita Nyong”o, Carey Mulligan, Felicity Huffman, Jennifer Hudson and Jeremy Renner. In the years they were honored, Cotillard, Hudson and Nyong”o went on to receive Academy Awards, while Huffman and Renner received nominations.
Rosamund Pike has yet to set another major project in the wake of her “Gone Girl” success. But none of her feature work matters because next up, the actress will lend her voice to Weta Workshop”s new take on the marionette action series “Thunderbirds,” where her character will likely breakthrough gravity.
The PSIFF Awards Gala will be held Saturday, Jan. 3.