Academy Award-winning actress Mira Sorvino charmed El Paso fans with audition anecdotes and growing up with talented veteran actor and father Paul Sorvino on the second night of the Plaza Classic Film Festival Friday, July 19. About 300 festival fans filled the Plaza Theatre's Kendle Kidd Hall.
Sorvino, in a black cocktail dress and her signature blond locks, participated in a Q&A with Turner Classic Movie's Scott McGee before the showing of Woody Allen's "Mighty Aphrodite." She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1995 film.
Sorvino also appeared at one of her most popular movies, "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion," at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, July 20.
Aside from Sorvino, another celebrity guest will be Sissy Spacek on July 27 for the showing of "Coal Miner's Daughter". The El Paso Community Foundation's Plaza Classic Film Festival continues through July 28.
Sorvino shared she was probably the only elementary school actor who got "notes" rather than just the typical parent adulations.
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"As a child, dad gave me my first and best acting instruction from about the age of 8 to 17. ... He worked with me on my technique, my reality. .... other parents would come to their kids' performances with 'that was great,' and he would say, 'that was wonderful. I just have two notes," she said, as the audience erupted in laughter.
"And we would sit backstage in an area where the students did their hair and makeup and sit there for two hours; he would break down the entire performance, scene by scene, line by line," she said.
Sorvino said she knew nothing about the role of Linda Ash before auditioning for Woody Allen's comedy.
"I got the audition in New York through my agents, and they wouldn't tell me anything about the role except that she was unfiltered," she said. "That was the note."
"I got the pages when I got there. They didn't send them to you. You had like eight minutes in the waiting room to look them over, and it was the 'Are you my 3 o'clock?' scene. And so I thought is she a massage therapist, a call girl?"
Sorvino said she didn't get the part initially because the directors thought the role was too far of a stretch from her personality. But Allen had her audition again after he saw her acting chops in a private screening of her in "Barcelona."
The second time she auditioned, Sorvino said she worked extra hard on her look for the role.
"I got the message, and I remembered I memorized the first audition lines. I worked on them and made sure I knew them by heart. I went shopping in London and I found a Gaultier dress, which was like black fishnet over neon yellow straps, and I found sandals that had flowers coming out of my toes and I made my hair really curly and kinky and wore a ton of makeup," she said. "And then I came to the door ... and said 'Mr. Allen's room, please' ... and they looked at me, like, 'who is this?'"
Sorvino said she did not expect to win the Academy Award and was more concerned with preparing her face for the camera when they would announce the winner. She did end up jotting down a few notes on an index card the night before.
However, what she most remembers of that evening is being able to acknowledge her father in her acceptance speech.
"I said, 'when you give me this award you honor my father, Paul Sorvino, who has taught me everything I know about acting," she recalled, adding that she knew it would touch her father who never got an Oscar for his wonderful work. The actor broke into tears when she said those words.
María Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com, @EPTMaria on Twitter; eptmariacg on TikTok.
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