ACLU Honors ‘Betrayed’ Director : Award Is ‘Very Special,’ Costa-Gavras Says at Screening

“This is not a controversial film,” said an emphatic Tony Thomopoulos, chairman and chief executive officer of United Artists.

Sounding like a man who didn’t want a battle like the one over “The Last Temptation of Christ” on his hands, Thomopoulos added: “This is a very powerful, moving film. The first time I saw it I was emotionally drained. This is the kind of film that you go home and think about for a week.”

He was speaking of “Betrayed,” the latest issue film by director Costa-Gavras, screened Tuesday night as a benefit for the ACLU Foundation of Southern California.

Costa-Gavras was given the 1988 Torch of Liberty award in a brief pre-screening ceremony at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills. Before that, sponsors staged a lobby party where industry types and celebrities crowded around buffet tables. Oxygen was at a premium as the lobby quickly turned into human gridlock.

Not a Feel-Good Movie

The party was conducted before the $125-per-person screening because “Betrayed” isn’t a likely candidate for the feel-good movie of the year. Planners figured that after seeing the film few would be in a champagne and caviar mood.

Already touted as the film that will “change the way you think--forever,” it tells the story of white supremacists and the FBI agent who infiltrates their organization.

Costa-Gavras kept his cool through the requisite photography barrage and TV interviews. Dressed in a safari jacket over a striped shirt and bow tie, he called the American Civil Liberties Union award “more special, because when film makers get awards, it’s usually from other film makers. This is very special because it’s from people from the outside. I am profoundly moved.”

He added: “I think generally films must ask questions, not give answers. Someone who just gives answers--that’s a very totalitarian way of looking at things.”

Promoting Freedom, Justice

The ACLU gave Costa-Gavras the award because “(we) believe that people should be exposed to as many ideas and opinions as possible, because only then will we choose freedom and justice over bigotry and intolerance,” said Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU Foundation.

“I think the film exposes racial hatred,” she added, “and hatred of all different kinds of groups. I think that kind of hatred needs to be explored.”

Jack Lemmon--who starred in the director’s 1982 film, “Missing”--said he felt privileged to present the award to Costa-Gavras, whom he called a “humanist.”

“We never get too much (of thought-provoking films),” Lemmon said. “If a movie can provoke and move you and make you think, then that’s really accomplishing something. That’s taking a craft and moving it up to a work of art.”

Stars in Attendance

Debra Winger, the film’s star (co-star Tom Berenger did not attend), made a brief lobby appearance and succumbed to a few TV interviews before being whisked upstairs by Costa-Gavras.

“I think we approached this with a lot of responsibility,” she said. “It’s a responsible film.”

Other celebrities spotted in the crowd included: Raquel Welch (in sunglasses, at night, indoors) and husband Andre Weinfeld; Teri Garr; Howard Hesseman; Robert Klein; the new-and-improved Rose Bird; Deborah and John Landis; Oliver Stone, last year’s award recipient; Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy; Judd Nelson; Buck Henry, and Barney Rosenzweig.

Also on hand were ACLU Foundation chairman Danny Goldberg, president of Gold Castle Records, and Alan Bergman, chairman of the premiere.

There was much brow-furrowing and low-volume talk as guests filtered out. Some thought the film worthy of its promotion; others did not.

As entertainment reporters gave their comments by live remote (“No, I can’t hear a thing ,” David Sheehan shouted over and over), there was at least one happy man.

“It was a good night,” Goldberg said. “We did good.”