Barbie director Greta Gerwig was cheered with applause at the Will Rogers Motion Pictures Foundation 2024 as the actress-filmmaker was honored with the Pioneer of the Year award.

Apart from being present at the event, Gerwig also helped the foundation raise nearly $1.4 million for those in need of help from the motion picture industry. As the Three Little Women director stepped up on the stage to receive the award, she was evidently overwhelmed with all the attention from the audience. 

As Gerwig received the award, which expressed her gratitude to the fans and her well wisher. During her speech, the actress claimed that she always wanted to be a “little wild” in terms of achieving things in her life. 

The No Strings Attached actress said on the podium, “I love the work that you do for caring for this community. It’s just so extraordinary, and it makes me so proud to be part of an industry where people spend their time and money and talents to figure out how to look out for each other and to lift each other up.”

She further spoke about Will Rodgers as a person, after whom the name of the foundation has been placed. Gerwig mentioned, “So I wanted to speak about Will Rogers, the person. And he is exactly the kind of person that I love, the kind of person who made me want to be part of this world, from rodeos to vaudeville to movies to newspapers to radio.”

Ana de Armas takes on the action with guns and knives in the upcoming John Wick spinoff Ballerina. The trailer begins with Armas’ younger self looking at a glass piece, wishing to be a dancer. Finally, she dances to the tunes of gunshots and bloodshed. The Blonde actress will don the suit of an assassin who will walk in to take revenge for her father’s death.  

As the trailer progresses, Armas’ character is recruited by  Ian McShane, who takes her to the academy for training, and she learns the tactics under the guidance of an intense instructor, the character portrayed by Sharon Duncan-Brewster.

The film is brought to the audience by the makers from the world of John Wick, and the events occur against the backdrop of John Wick Chapter 3. The lead actor of the franchise, Keanu Reeves, will also appear in the film, extending a helping hand to Armas’ character to fight her mission. 

At the end of the teaser, the actress Macarro presents Reeves as “the one they call Baba Yaga,” setting up the scene. Apart from Armas and Reeves, the cast of Ballerina also includes Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, the late Lance Reddick, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Norman Reedus.