The night belonged to Joey King.
“I know! But I don’t know how to accept that,” she laughed, dressed in head-to-toe Max Mara.
Each year the Italian brand selects an actress to honor as part of Women in Film’s Max Mara Face of the Future Award as presenting sponsor. The award is given to a young woman “embodying style and grace” who’s experiencing a turning point in her career while contributing to the community at large.
On the eve of the WIF ceremony — celebrating the organization that works to advance equality in the screen industries — Max Mara throws a cocktail party for the occasion. Past recipients include Gemma Chan, Zoey Deutch, Kate Mara, Katie Holmes, Elizabeth Debicki, Chloë Grace Moretz, Zoe Saldaña, Maria Bello and Yara Shahidi, last year’s honoree.
“It’s funny, because I’ve been to other people’s ceremonies and cocktail parties for their award, and I just never truly thought, ever, that would be me,” said King, in the courtyard of Chateau Marmont, the location of choice in recent years. “It was never a thought in my brain.”
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She has been attending the WIF event since she was a teenager, she said. A child actress, now 25, she rose to fame as Ramona in the comedy “Ramona and Beezus” in 2010, but it was her role in “The Act” as Gypsy Rose Blanchard that brought her significant acclaim, nominating her for her first Emmy and Golden Globe.
“When I got the call, I was so flattered,” she went on. “It’s so difficult to comprehend, in a very happy overwhelming way. And even tonight, it’s not computing that everyone’s here for my thing.”
The evening brought out Elizabeth Banks, a past honoree, Lori Harvey, Justine Lupe, Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale, Sarah Hyland, Liza Koshy, Larsen Thompson, Kathy Hilton, Tina Craig, Olivia Holt — all wearing Max Mara.
“How did we go about picking my outfit tonight?” she turned to her fashion stylist, Jared Eng, for input when asked about her look. She had on a chocolate brown top and skirt with a caramel-colored jacket. “I was gonna say we wanted something fun and flirty that felt like the right amount of sexy, but casual enough to feel perfect for cocktails and versatile.”
“You got it all,” Eng chuckled.
A martini in hand while she was munching on a slider, King was in the mood to celebrate. But she had her WIF speech in mind, too, planning on “a tight three to five minutes,” she smiled.
“You know, you don’t want to be too much, too boring,” she continued. “But I really just wanted it to be conveyed how much gratitude I have for the success I’ve had in this industry, but also that who I am is more than an industry, and who we all are as women in film, it’s more than the industry. We are more than that, but also respecting that we have so much love and care and craft to give to this career. It’s my favorite thing to do in the world, is what I do for a living.”
She’s had a busy year of releases, including Hulu’s “We Were the Lucky Ones” with Logan Lerman, who also came out to the party in support, Netflix’s “A Family Affair” with Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron, and “Uglies” with Chase Stokes, Brianne Tju and Keith Powers.
What’s next?
“I don’t know if I can talk about too much, but I’m hoping and excited to have a busy year ahead.”
