Napa film fest guest Travolta: Career has stayed alive 4 decades
There’s a scene near the beginning of “Saturday Night Fever” in which Tony Manero — hardware store worker by day, disco dancer by night — preens himself in front of a mirror in his bedroom.
By the time I did ‘Welcome Back, Kotter,’ I was already established as an American TV icon, if you will, really, so I got to the movie end of it.
Travolta will be among those given awards at a Celebrity Tribute on Friday, Nov. 13, and then on Saturday, Nov. 14, Travolta will present the world premiere of his film “Life on the Line,” in which he plays a lineman working with his crew to fix an electrical grid as a powerful storm approaches.
There are more than 100 films screening, including short films as well as features, and screenings take place in venues in what the festival calls “walkable villages” in Napa, Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga.
Wine from the 50 or so nearby wineries will be available at nearly every screening, and more than 30 chefs have been enlisted to create a unique culinary experience at special events, including the festival’s Gala Event on Thursday, Nov. 12, which features live music from 10 bands.
Travolta said he is appreciative of an award that recognizes his long career, which has famously been through several peaks and valleys.
Aside from “Life on the Line,” he’ll be seen in the coming months in “Criminal Activities,” directed by Jackie Earle Haley, and “In a Valley of Violence,” a Western by one of his favorite young directors, Ti West; and he’ll star as Robert Shapiro in an F/X miniseries about the O.J. Simpson murder case, “American Crime Story.”
Weathering the down years careerwise is something that was instilled in him by his mother, Helen, a singer and actress who became a high school drama teacher, and his siblings, especially his older sisters, Ellen and Margaret.
Tarantino “was dead set on it only being me, but it took me a while — even though I needed to do a role like that — to get my head around doing things like murdering people and taking heroin,” Travolta said.
Travolta got his second Oscar nomination for “Pulp Fiction,” and his career was instantly revived.
Into the Bottle documentary about sommeliers, at the Uptown Theatre in Napa, followed by VIP after party at Napa’s Riverfront Promenade.
Honorees are John Travolta, Bruce Dern (career achievements), Keegan-Michael Key (trailblazer), Lydia Hearst, Evan Peters, Zoe Kazan and Finn Wittrock (rising stars).
Awards ceremony: 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15 at Uptown Theatre in Napa, followed by wrap party at City Winery in Napa.