Starfish are radially symmetrical marine invertebrates of the class Asteroidea of which there exist roughly 1,800 known types. Although the majority of them while away their earthly existence combing for mollusks on various ocean floors, a few synthetic varieties make for nifty awards. Golden Starfish Awards, for instance, are regularly given out by The Golden Retriever Club of America for outstanding contributions to salvaged canines, as well as by The Annual Hamptons International Film Festival for masterstrokes on the silver screen.
Upon learning that a project featuring PETA helmswoman Ingrid Newkirk captured a Golden Starfish, who would have guessed it had issued from the Film Festival and not the Retriever Club? Indeed, I Am an Animal, an unvarnished examination of Ms. Newkirk and her controversial organization, nailed the 2007 Golden Starfish Documentary Feature Film Award, while the jackpot for Best Narrative Feature, prized at over $185,000, went to a German production titled Valeria.
Hosted by Fox 5’s Jodi Applegate and Ron Corning, the Golden Starfish Award ceremony at the UA Cinema in East Hampton drew luminaries galore: the female cadre included Lisa Kudrow, Amanda Peet, Keri Russel, the timeless Lauren Bacall, Gretchen Mol, Blake Lively (The Sisterhood and the Traveling Pants), and Dirty Harry’s actress-playmate spawn Alison Eastwood; countervailing masculinity was furnished by the likes of Alec Baldwin, John Cusack, Harvey Keitel, director-producer Alex Gibney, Jeff Nichols, talk-show pioneer Phil Donahue—who bagged the Audience Award for Best Documentary for his Body of War—and directing legend Sidney Lumet.
Vanessa Redgrave scored this year’s Golden Starfish Career Achievement in Acting Award, yet in the spirit of her arresting portrayal of dubious British arms dealer Max in Mission Impossible, she may well have fashioned her Starfish into a ninja star and dumped it on the black market by now.
Following the awards conferment, New Line Cinema co-charioteers Michael Lynne and Bob Shaye hosted an exclusive invite-only dinner at Nick & Toni’s. Animal flesh was served. PETA has a long way to go.
