Still stinging after all these years

YOUNG CHANG

NEWPORT BEACH -- Actors Sally Kirkland and James Sloyan say they

haven’t seen each other in “forever.” It’s been awhile, not quite as long

as the 28 years since they made “The Sting,” but time enough that

Kirkland needs Sloyan’s new phone number.

Actor Harold Gould, actress Dimitra Arliss and Oscar-winning

screenwriter David S. Ward -- all members of the once-tight movie

ensemble -- eventually trickled into the mix Thursday to celebrate old

friendships and, most of all, pay tribute to the 1973, seven-time Academy

Award-winning film, “The Sting,” at the Newport Beach Film Festival’s

opening night.

Packed tight in a festive crowd at Fashion Island’s Marriott Hotel,

they ushered each other even closer for photo-ops beckoning from every

angle. They formed a small circle and talked in diagonals.

For these celebrities of yesterday’s generation, the festival’s

opening gala was a time to catch up.

“It’s wonderful to see everybody again,” Ward said. “Often, you’re in

intense participation with people while you’re making a movie, and then

you may never see them again. It’s very nice. It sort of motivates me to

get in touch with everyone else.”

For gala organizers, Thursday night’s festivities were indication

enough that the film festival has more than revived itself from the

bankruptcy-slump that made last year’s festival an almost no-show.

Reels of film dropped from the ceiling in the hotel’s VIP lounge like

opaque streams of chandeliers. Guests chatted, exuding polite whiffs of

alcohol, and festival organizers bustled about, tending to last minute

touches.

Kicking off seven days of 56 feature film screenings, more than 100

short films, post-screening galas and a weekend seminar series with

industry experts, sponsors and celebrities refreshed themselves with

company and drinks before rolling off in limos to the nearby Edwards Big

Newport for a tribute screening of “The Sting.”

“My feeling was that Newport is a very special place, one where there

could be a cultural flowering,” said local sponsor Leigh Steinberg. “And

this tradition really goes back to the 20s and 30s, when [Newport Beach]

was a home for the arts.”

Kirkland said it was an honor to be part of the festival. Gould added

that he was happy to catch up with old friends.

Ward, looking relaxed in a dark suit and sipping a drink, said a

writer never expects quite this much recognition -- throughout three

decades at that.

“When you’re a writer, you’re basically sitting alone in your room

with your ideas,” he said. “It’s always nice to have this kind of

validation.”

Steinberg’s wife, Lucy, offered a reminder that this is only the

beginning.

“I think the opening night is always festive and people are always

very enthused about the beginning of the festival,” she said. “But it

looks like the rest of the festival is going to be very substantive, and

everyone should feel like they can participate if they want to.”