Good ol' days have just begun for Sundance honoree

The prime of Ms. Julianne Moore

Julianne Moore is this year's receipient of the Piper-Heidsieck Tribute to Independent Vision Award at the annual Sundance Film Festival

In this story: Staying busy Anticipated sequel Going for laughs Controversial 'Hannibal' RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Paul Clinton
Special to CNN Interactive

(CNN) -- For the last decade, an actor or actress has received the Piper-Heidsieck Tribute to Independent Vision Award at the annual Sundance Film Festival. The award honors an individual who has made a significant and unique contribution to independent film, and the ranks of recipients is impressive.

Recent past honorees include Kevin Spacey (2000), Laura Dern (1999) and Frances McDormand (1998).

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This year the honor goes to actress Julianne Moore at a ceremony Saturday night at the festival in Park City, Utah.

Moore is currently in production in Los Angeles for her upcoming movie, "Evolution," co-starring David Duchovny. The actress, who plans on attending the event, took time to talk about the honor between takes.

"I never imagined I would be in a place in my career where people were congratulating me on my choices," Moore said in an interview earlier this week. " I mean, that's kind of what the award is, really. They're sort of recognizing the choices you've made in your career and celebrating them, and it's a great honor. It's really lovely."

Moore's current project is "Evolution," co-starring David Duchovny

Moore has an amazing amount to celebrate, especially considering her brief on the screen.

Over the last four years Moore has gone from journeyman actress to major stardom, moving fluidly between the world of big studio productions such as "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" (1997) to small, critically acclaimed independent films such as "Myth of Fingerprints" and "Boogie Nights" (both in 1997).

Then she stumbled a bit, making a few forgettable films in 1998 -- the dreadful Gus Van Sant remake of "Psycho" comes to painful recollection. But she also scored bigtime that year with her role in the Coen brother's whacked-out "The Big Lebowski."

The next year, 1999, she poured on the creative juices and filmed "Map of the World" and "Magnolia," then squeezed in "End of the Affair," "Ideal Husband," and "Cookie's Fortune" before greeting the year 2000.

That's not even a comprehensive list, either. There were quite a few other films Moore acted in during that same period, but you get the picture.

Moore's memorable roles have included, from top, "The End of the Affair," "Magnolia," and "Map of the World"

Next up is "Hannibal," the highly anticipated sequel to "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991). For anyone who's been living under a rock, she's playing FBI agent Clarice Starling, the role that won Jody Foster an Academy Award, the part that she refused to reprise. The sequel again features Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter and opens on February 9.

At the age of 41, Moore is hitting her stride, and she is smokin'.

"The last couple of years I've worked a lot -- I guess because there were things that I didn't want to miss," she said, laughing. "But it's very easy to say 'no' if the script is bad. Believe me if it's something I don't want to do, if it doesn't appeal to me one way or the other, then I don't do it."

"Evolution" is Moore's first straight-up American romantic comedy, and recognizes the challenges of trying to make viewers laugh. She's a firm believer in the showbiz adage, "Dying is easy; comedy is hard."

"It's ridiculously hard," she said. "It really, really is, because when you're working in a drama, the thing you have to go for is an emotional truthfulness.

"In comedy, that has to be present, but there's an unbelievable amount of technique that you put on top of that, and if the rhythm is not right, if the music of the line is not right, it's not funny," Moore said. "So you have to go back to the beginning and try it again."

Now, with Ridley Scott's $70 million "Hannibal," she's back on firm dramatic turf.

The sequel has been a long time coming. Ten years ago, when "The Silence of the Lambs" swept the Oscars, everyone involved talked eagerly about a doing a followup. But no one was ready for how slowly "Hannibal" author Thomas Harris works -- failing, apparently, to notice that he's published only four novels in the last 26 years.

"Hannibal" has been controversial since its 1999 publication. The author seemed determined to alienate some fans with an ending that was, to say the least, surprising. The book also also reportedly cost the production its star, Foster, plus the original director, Jonathan Demme, and "Lambs" screenwriter Ted Tally.

When asked if the film stays true to Harris' novel, even down to its conclusion, Moore has a standard six-word answer:

"You have to see the film," she always replies. And she always smiles.

"It was a great, great experience," Moore answered when pressed. "I loved working with Ridley and Tony (Hopkins), and it was a wonderful summer."

Plenty of nice Chianti and a few fava beans, no doubt...

The controversial "Hannibal" opens February 9

With "Hannibal" in the can, Moore is set to star in two nonstudio projects. She's co-starring with Kevin Spacey in director Lasse Halltstrom's dark drama, "The Shipping News." Director Bart Freundlich (her longtime partner and the father of her 3-year-old son Cal), has tapped her to appear with Billy Crudup in "World Traveler," another drama. Both films are set to open in 2001 and both have an independent edge.

The two movies also help explain again why Moore is the darling of the independent film world and why she is receiving a prestigious award during Sundance, arguably the most important independent film festival in the world.

Still, Moore admitted, the lines between independent and studio films are getting blurrier everyday.

"In the early 90's I think it was a sort of time when people were really taking chances with material, and the idea was if you could make it for nothing, you would be able to do whatever you wanted," she said. "I think that things have changed a little bit.

"It's not quite as free as it used to be."

It may sound like Moore is already lamenting the good ol' days, but don't be fooled. Her good days have just begun.

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Sundance

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