Often considered one of the greatest performers of our time, Helen Mirren was recently honored at the American Cinematheque Awards with the Lifetime Achievement accolade. Presented with the honor by her 1923 costar Harrison Ford at the Beverly Hilton gala, Mirren took the opportunity to look back at some of the most memorable moments in her illustrious career.
However, the most memorable moment from her acceptance speech occurred at the very beginning after she took shots at AI, which has been a major talking point in media in recent years.
Helen Mirren Got a Roaring Applause After Tearing AI to Shreds
With AI growing at a rapid pace, it was one of the focal points in the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strike last year, as writers and actors shared concerns about losing their jobs to AI in the coming years. And being the queen she is, Helen Mirren decided to rip AI into shreds during her acceptance speech, taking a dig at its bland writing.
Mirren began her acceptance speech by reading from a piece of paper (via X),
“Ladies and gentlemen and esteemed guests and dear friends, I am deeply humbled, profoundly honoured to stand before you today accepting this extraordinary award. To be recognised for a lifetime devoted to the craft of acting is a privilege beyond words. First and foremost, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the industry and the individuals who have supported me throughout this incredible journey. It has been a life filled with passion, challenges and above all, an unyielding love for the art of storytelling.”
She then added, “And that was written by AI,” as she proceeded to tear the paper to shreds, and the moment was met with roaring applause from the audience present in the room.
Helen Mirren Finally Spilled the Beans on Her Canned Cameo in Barbie
Helen Mirren, who voices the narrator in the biggest film of 2023, Barbie, was supposed to have a live-action cameo in the Greta Gerwig-led film, which never came to fruition in the end product. While she refused to spill the beans at the time, the Oscar winner finally detailed the scene in an interview with Variety. She said,
“It was a very funny scene with Olivia Colman sort of playing drunk and us clashing about who is the real grande dame of British actresses. She comes in and tries to take over the role of the Narrator and I had to fight her off.”
Apart from ripping AI apart, during her Red Carpet appearance, The Queen Star expressed her want to star in musicals, naming Caroline, or Change, Oklahoma!, Carousel, and West Side Story, her favorites. However, she gleefully stressed that she is terrible at singing, which is the reason the Golda Star has never been asked to headline musicals so far in her career.
