Academy Winner Helen Mirren and Academy Award Winning Director, Taylor Hackford

Energies were high as Academy Award winner (The Queen), Dame Helen Mirren and Academy Award winning director (Ray), Taylor Hackford, who is also her husband, graced the red carpet of Cinema Chicago’s Spring Gala. Mirren received the prestigious Gold Hugo Award for her Career Achievement in Acting and Hackford received the same for his Career Achievement in Directing. In a rare moment of “communal red carpeting”, Mirren and Hackford walked the carpet together, his arm tightly around her waist, and her holding his hand firmly there, never more than an inch from each other’s side. The two have been married for over 20 years and together for almost 35. With the elegance and sophistication that we have come to know from Mirren, in the video below, she discusses how she chooses roles and why she decided to get married after so many years. In the same video, in a light hearted and off-the-cuff response from Hackford, we learn if directing means being a best friend or being a bastard.   Cinema/Chicago, the parent organization of the Chicago International Film Festival, is a year-round non-profit arts and education organization dedicated to fostering better communication between people of diverse cultures through the art of film and the moving image. For more information, visit chicagofilmfestival.com and http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .