Stars gather for fun, awards

Ken Miller

Friday, March 26, 2004 | 8:26 a.m.

A multitude of Hollywood's biggest stars swooped into Las Vegas on Thursday night to honor and be honored at this year's ShoWest Convention.

A few of the presenters and recipients -- including Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Garner, Ryan Gosling and Forest Whitaker -- discussed their upcoming projects at a news conference prior to the awards ceremony at Paris Las Vegas, the final event of the nation's largest motion picture industry convention.

Politics, usually part of any awards ceremony, were conspicuously absent; these celebrities came to Vegas to have fun and dish about movies -- mostly their own.

Gosling, who won the convention's male star of tomorrow award, noted he has only made a few films, some of which weren't even released in theaters (such as his controversial film, "The Believer," which nevertheless garnered much critical acclaim).

"I don't need the pressure" of an award, Gosling joked. He'll be seen next in Nick Cassavetes' "The Notebook."

Reeves came to ShoWest to give the director of the year award to Nancy Myers, who directed him in the box office hit "Something's Gotta Give."

The couple showed mutual admiration.

"She writes real personal work. What is that? The Nancy Myers je ne sais quoi?" Reeves said laughing. "She's someone who has real insight into what she wants to see. She won't move on until she gets 'it.' "

Myers, whose projects include "Baby Boom" and "What Women Want," said "Give" has been her favorite movie experience, adding co-stars Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton "loved working with Keanu. He's fantastic. He's perfect."

Garner, accepting the female star of tomorrow award, spent as much time talking about her movie work as her starring role on ABC's "Alias," one of that network's few hits.

Still, Garner said she is prepared to move on if and when the show is over.

"Very few shows make it to 13 years," she said. "As complex as the show is, I don't see it running that long."

She begins shooting "Elektra," the spinoff movie featuring her character from last year's "Daredevil," in a few months, and looks forward to the premiere of "13 Going on 30," a fantasy in the vein of Tom Hanks' "Big."

" 'Alias' is the best job, but '13 Going on 30' is a job that has made me smile every day for the last two years," she said.

Producer of the year recipient John Davis, whose latest film is "I Robot," starring Will Smith, said the film industry is increasingly facing higher movie-making costs, with no end in sight. Latest figures show the average cost of a studio film in 2003 was $64 million, a nearly 9 percent increase over 2002.

"Every time I get a movie made, I feel like a minor miracle has happened," he said. "Keep your head down and hope for the best."

Whitaker, on hand to present the award to Davis, took the opportunity to promote the upcoming "First Daughter," a movie he directed and Davis produced.

Djimon Hounsou, accepting the supporting actor of the year award, said receiving his first Academy Award nomination this year for "In America" hasn't quite sunk in, but added, "If anything it's been a blessing. Maybe (it means) better work."

Hounsou, a frequent visitor to Las Vegas, said he enjoys playing poker, but quickly added, "I'm mostly here to get my award."

Andrew Stanton, recipient of ShoWest's animator of the year award for his work on "Finding Nemo," said the recent decision by Pixar to break off its partnership with Disney and seek ownership of its own projects hasn't affected him.

"We've always been left alone to do what we do. We make our movies and then hand them out."

He also said that computer animation used to create characters in live-action films is moving so rapidly, "In the next four to six years the lines are going to blur."

Moderator Bob Jeswald, meteorologist for KTNV Channel 13, kept the proceedings light, even going so far as to deliver an impromptu weather report during a delay when a celebrity was late in arriving for the news conference.

Notably absent from the evening was actress Halle Berry (she was sick, explained Jeswald). In attendance but not meeting the media were Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law. Black was comedy star of the year, Paltrow the recipient of the distinguished decade of achievement in film honor, and Law the winner of the male star of the year award.