Moore the Merrier at Awards Ceremony

By Stephen M. Silverman

Friday September 27, 2002 11:00 AM EDT

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Hollywood has its Oscars, but Manhattan has the Independent Film Project's Gotham Awards, which held its 12th annual ceremony Thursday night by honoring actress Julianne Moore and director Ang Lee, reports PEOPLE.com.

With jokes at the expense of Winona Ryder and Ben Affleck's romance with Jennifer Lopez, the evening opened with a well-received comic routine starring the ceremony's hosts, Rosie Perez and John Turturro. Parodying the opening of "The Godfather" (in which an embalmer asked a favor of Don Corleone), Perez played an independent producer pitching her new movie and asking a favor of Turturro, who did his best Marlon Brando imitation -- complete with cotton stuffed in his cheeks.

Her wish: "Do away with (Miramax chief) Harvey Weinstein."

The line brought down the house, which was packed with actors (Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Sandra Bernhard), directors (Todd Haynes) and more production executives than you can shake a platinum American Express card at.

"Hannibal" star Moore, 41, graciously accepted her award after a series of her film clips was shown. "Talk about your life flashing before your eyes," she said, "and all I could think of is how I look like my mother."

The North Carolina native recalled coming to New York "when I was 21, and wanting to be a repertory stage actor." She soon found out there were no New York repertory companies, "especially for a 21-year-old without any range."

She did find work in soaps, though, and eventually in movies for directors Robert Altman ("Short Cuts"), Louis Malle ("Vanya on 42nd Street") and "the love of my life," she said, Bart Freundlich ("World Traveler").

Said Moore: "We have two children who wouldn't exist if it weren't for independent film."