Kim Novak to Be Honored at Venice Film Festival With Golden Lion

The Venice Film Festival will honor legendary “Vertigo” star Kim Novak with a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

Novak, 92, became the world’s top box office draw during the late ‘50s and early ‘60s thanks to films now considered classics such as Joshua Logan’s “Picnic” (1955); Otto Preminger’s “The Man with the Golden Arm” (1955); George Sidney’s Pal Joey (1957); and, of course, Alfred Hitchock’s “Vertigo” (1958) in which she plays dual characters in the role of her lifetime. 

But Novak is also known as “a star who was emancipated; a rebel at the heart of Hollywood who illuminated the dreams of movie lovers before retiring to her ranch in Oregon to dedicate herself to painting and to her horses,” as a Venice fest statement put it.

As part of the tribute, Venice will world premiere the documentary biopic “Kim Novak’s Vertigo,” directed and written by Alexandre O. Philippe. The doc blends rare archival footage with personal reflections from Novak and glimpses into her reclusive life along Oregon’s wild Rogue River, and traces her path from mid-century cinema icon to fiercely private artist.

Indeed Novak was a fiercely independent star, who left Hollywood behind to live life on her own terms.

“Inadvertently becoming a screen legend, Kim Novak was one of the most beloved icons of an entire era of Hollywood films, from her auspicious debut during the mid-1950s until her premature and voluntary exile from the gilded cage of Los Angeles a short while later,” said Venice chief Alberto Barbera. Barbera went on to add that Novak “Never refrained from criticizing the studio system, choosing her roles, who she let into her private life and even her name.”

“Forced to renounce her given name, Marilyn Pauline – because it was associated with Monroe – she fought to conserve her last name, agreeing, in exchange, to dye her hair that shade of platinum blonde which set her apart,” Barbera went on to point out.

Commented Novak: “I am deeply, deeply touched to receive the prestigious Golden Lion Award from such an enormously respected film festival. To be recognized for my body of work at this time in my life is a dream come true. I will treasure every moment I spend in Venice. It will fill my heart with joy.”

As previously announced, Venice is also honoring iconoclastic German director Werner Herzog with a lifetime achievement award this year. 

The fest’s upcoming 82nd edition of Venice will run Aug. 27-Sept. 6.