Sigourney Weaver Thanks Venice for ‘Jet Fuel of Encouragement’ as She Accepts Golden Lion, Jokes Husband Will Have to ‘Get Used to Having It in Bed’

Sigourney Weaver took center stage on the opening night of the 2024 Venice Film Festival.

Ahead of the world premiere of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” the iconic star of films such as “Alien,” “Avatar” and “Gorillas in the Mist” was awarded the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement in honor of her work spanning 45 years.

“I’m sure I’m dreaming,” she said on receiving the award. “Thank you for this jet fuel of encouragement.” She later said that her Golden Lion was “the most astonishing honor I can imagine,” adding that the statue would be “sitting next to me on the plane, it will be next to be in the gondola and my husband will have to get used to having it in bed with us.”

Before being handed the award, there was a surprise video message from Weaver’s “Avatar” director James Cameron, who noted that she was “way over due for that Oscar.”

Earlier in the day, Weaver got emotional during the festival press conference when a reporter suggested that her groundbreaking work as Ripley may have laid foundations of female empowerment on screen that helped give rise to Kamala Harris potentially become U.S. president.

Weaver said she was “so excited about Kamala and then appeared to tear up at the thought of her having any influence. “To think for one moment that my work would have anything to do with her rise makes me very happy, actually, because it’s true,” she said. “I have so many women who come and thank me.”

Of Harris, she added, “It’s been difficult since 2016, and we’re all very grateful about her.”