Lifetime Achievement Award honours screen legend

15 April, 2016

At the Thursday night gala dinner in the beautiful grounds of Churchill Island Heritage Farm, the AWG and Foxtel presented the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award to Laura Jones, writer of Oscar and Lucinda, The Well, Angela’s Ashes, Portrait of a Lady, Possession, An Angel at My Table and High Tide.Following clips from the films, the inimitable Sandy George introduced a glittering list of speakers including Claudia Karvan, Sandra Levy, Bridget Ikin, Samatha Lang, Barbara Masel, Laura’s agent Kate Richter and Jane Campion. Alice Addison thanked Laura for mentoring her early career and Gillian Armstrong captured the love in the room with her delightful tales about working with Laura on Oscar and Lucinda.Film Producer, Scott Rudin, paid tribute to “the inventiveness, diligence and passion that Laura brought to Angela’s Ashes – “which I have learned, is simply a way of life for her”.Carly Heaton spoke for Foxtel and Roger Simpson for the Guild, recalling battles fought in the formative days when Laura served on the Management Committee.“I’m so honoured to receive this award from the Guild”, wrote Laura. “It means an enormous amount to me to be given it by my fellow writers. What a great night! Three hundred screenwriters, in a marquee, in a paddock, on an island, on a hot and drizzly night. Sounds like a great opening scene for a film. It was a night where I felt so much gratitude for all the years of work and friendships I’ve had. I loved the messages and videos, the wonderful MC Sandy George, my friends and colleagues who made the trek to the island and spoke. The marquee looked fabulous and the Guild organised the whole night to perfection. Even the shaggy cow who interrupted my speech from the paddock outside was on cue”.It was truly a fabulous evening. by Roger Simpson