APRIL 16—Radha Mitchell’s busy workload prevented the Melinda and Melinda star from being honored in person by the Palm Beach International Film Festival, but her absence was barely noticed.

With Mitchell unable to pick up her award for enjoying a career on the rise, the PBIFF’s long association with Rush Hour director Brett Ratner once again paid dividends. On Saturday, at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, the Miami Beach native attended the PBIFF’s 10th Anniversary Gala with his After the Sunset pals, Woody Harrelson and Salma Hayek.

“This is proof I will travel a continent for an award,” Harrelson joked after receiving the Golden Palm Award.

The Cheers barkeeper also hoped he would be remembered for more than Natural Born Killers to The People vs. Larry Flynt.

“Somebody asked me, ‘What would you most like to be known for?’ I said, ‘Well, for being a great dad,’” he said. “So I am honored to be the father of two of the greatest little girls on the planet. That is it’s own reward, as well being able to do this job. Being an actor is it’s own reward, so it’s almost like I don’t deserve something like this.”

Hayek took a break from shooting her new film, Lonely Hearts with John Travolta and James Gandolfini, to collect the Marquis Award.

“You have a very strange life sometimes,” said the Mexican-born Frida Oscar nominee. “This morning I was shooting Lonely Hearts here in Florida, in Jacksonville, and they electrocuted me today. I play a psychopath killer in the ’40s, and today I had to do this horrible scene where I’m sitting on the chair and they got to fry me. I was so excited to get here, I couldn’t wait and to celebrate with friends and get this wonderful award all on the same day, all in Florida.”

This is not Hayek’s first visit to the PBIFF.

“I have been to this festival before,” said Hayek. “I feel very at home. Not because I’ve been here before, but because Brett Ratner’s a very close friend of mine [and] he doesn’t stop talking about [the PBIFF]. It’s his favorite topic of conversation.”

Ratner, who in 2002 brought with him his Red Dragon stars Anthony Hopkins and Edward Norton to the PBIFF, received the Founders Award for his commitment to the festival. Hayek described Ratner as a “magnificent representative” of the PBIFF here and overseas.

“I was asked why I support this film festival: It’s the only film festival that invites me. No other film festival’s invited me anywhere,” kidded Ratner, who attended with his girlfriend, tennis champ Serena Williams, and had the room buzzing when he described Venus Williams as his “future sister-in-law.”

On a more serious note, Ratner praised the PBIFF for channeling its net proceeds to film and TV programs run by local schools.

“This is probably one of the best film festivals. Why? Because it’s the only film festival that I know of that is supportive of students,” said Ratner, echoing sentiments made throughout the night by other honorees.

“It’s supportive of the arts in high school. I think it’s imperative that we, as filmmakers and as people who really care about the arts, enable students at a very age. When I was in high school, I didn’t have film class, I had to skip school and shoot my own Miami Vice-exploitation films. My mom would act in it, my grandmother, my friends. So if there is an opportunity or an outlet for me in high school, it would have helped me.”

Ratner confirmed before the gala that he will shoot Rush Hour 3 this year for a summer 2006 release.

“In the first one, Jackie Chan was in L.A. He was a fish out of water,” Ratner said. “In the second one, Chris [Tucker] was in Hong Kong; he was the fish out of water. in this one, they’re both going to be in Paris, so they’re both going to be fish out of water.”

Other honorees included:

Radha Mitchell, the Horizon Award:

The Finding Neverland star was in Australia shooting a film, so she extended her thanks via a letter.

Leslie Nielsen, the Lifetime in Entertainment Award:

“When I first got the invitation to come here, I was a little befuddled by it,” admitted the Airplane! and The Naked Gun practitioner of pratfalls. “What does that mean, a lifetime achievement award? Does it mean it’s over now?”

Nielsen, who also starred in Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure, recalled how he initially felt about landing the role of The Naked Gun’s slowwitted sleuth, Det. Frank Drebin.

“Several years I was given the script to The Naked Gun to read and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw how funny it really was and that they were writing the script for me,” he said.

“Frank Drebin is really dumb and stupid ... I’ll just act really dumb and stupid. I remember talking to David Zucker about something I was concerned about in the movie. He said, ‘Don’t worry about it. Just do what whatever it is you’re going to do because you’re Frank Drebin.’ I said, ‘Yes, but Frank Drebin is dumb.’ He said, ‘Yes, but whatever you do, you’ll be fine.’ Of course then I started thinking, Does he mean that I’m dumb and stupid? Because he didn’t qualify it. I used to leave the set of The Naked Gun, I’d go to my home and pretend I’m a renaissance man ... Right as the work continued I realized that Frank Drebin was me, and that I’m as dumb and stupid as Frank Drebin.”

Louise Fletcher, the Legend Award:

“The danger [an award] like this is that it could be encouraging,” said Fletcher, who won an Oscar for playing the dreaded Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Peter Boyle, the Showmanship Award:

“I almost didn’t make it because of some unfavorable press,” the Young Frankenstein star said in reference to a column critical of the PBIFF by Palm Beach Post gossip columnist Jose Lambiet. “That guy is now sleeping with the manatees.”

Boyle felt “a little astounded” after receiving the award, he said prior to the gala. He ranked Young Frankenstein and the TV sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond among his career highlights.

Patricia Heaton introduced the veteran actor who plays her grouchy father-in-law on Everybody Loves Raymond.

“Peter is an actor who can make you love him, hate him and drive you absolutely crazy all at the same time,” said Heaton, a producer of the PBIFF entry The Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania.

“There is nobody like Peter. They broke the mold when they made him. Unless you know someone who was once a monk in the Christian Brother order and had John Lennon as his best man and turned down the lead role in The French Connection.”

Bai Ling, the International Shooting Star Award:

“I’m grateful [to the PBIFF] to honor me,” said the Chinese-born star of The Crow, Anna and the King and the upcoming Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith, “and I’m grateful to life, because life gave me the opportunity to work, to love, to give, to share, and to smile ... I’m happy.”

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