Tuesday, March 25, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
It was a triumphant night Monday for the 76-year-old Zaentz, whose latest effort, "The English Patient," won nine Oscars in addition to his honorary award.
"This belongs to the many with whom I have shared dreams and journeys. My cup is full," he said in accepting the Thalberg award.
The special award goes to "creative producers whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion picture production," according to academy rules.
When "The English Patient" won the Best Picture award later, Zaentz said: "I said my cup was full before. Now it runneth over."
Zaentz's cup has overflowed before. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Amadeus" won Oscars in 1975 and 1984, respectively.
The audience, filled with actors and other film professionals who have worked with Zaentz, gave him a standing ovation.
Zaentz is the 33rd winner of the award. Darryl F. Zanuck Jr. was the first, in 1937. The last time the academy conferred the award, in 1995, it went to Clint Eastwood.
Zaentz's other credits include "Three Warriors," "The Lord of the Rings," "The Mosquito Coast," "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" and "At Play in the Fields of the Lord."
The making of "The English Patient" was an epic in itself.
Zaentz entered a partnership with 20th Century Fox for film, but as it approached production, the studio insisted on big-name casting, with Demi Moore as the female lead.
Zaentz declined and found a willing backer in Miramax. Because of the size of the budget, Miramax was required to seek approval from its parent company, the Walt Disney Co.
The producer also persuaded the entire "English Patient" cast and crew to defer half their salaries until the film recouped its costs.
"The movement of passion is the most gratifying satisfaction in any moviemaker's life," Zaentz said. "This happens when you see and hear people all over the world share their laughter, their crying and their sudden gasps at identical screen moments."
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