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Douglas Serves as Foreign Ambassador At France's Cesar Awards


1998 César Awards
28 February 1998

The 23rd edition of the César Awards took place in the Champs-Elysées Theatre in Paris Saturday night, February 28, 1998. Juliette Binoche presided the ceremony while Michael Douglas and Clint Eastwood, the foreign ambassadors, along with Jean-Luc Godard were the honored guests.

Canal + has taken over the position of host and producer of the ceremony hoping to give the French Oscar-award version a new life. In the words of its founder Georges Cravenne, General Secretary of the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, "when I created the "César" to award French cinema in 1975, I drew my inspiration from the American version, the Oscars. They are celebrating their 70th edition while this is our 23rd. I assure you that amongall those I have met and talked with in France and abroad, the Césars maintain international recognition."

The first César awards, presided by Jean Gabin, were in 1976 and bestowed 13 awards. The statuette was designed by the sculptor César and thus bears his name. Today, the Academy members are nearly 3000. "The Césars are above all a way for professionals of the 7th art to bestow honors upon works according to their own criteria and tastes. It is the artists that vote for other artists, far from the bitter critics and the public's bad judgement."

The triumphant winner this year was Alain Resnais with seven awards for his latest film On Connaît la Chanson (Same Old Song). He certainly has the French right stuff as he also won seven Césars for Providence in 1978 and five for Smoking-No Smoking.






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