The reason actress Virginia Madsen was recently honored with “An Evening with Virginia Madsen” is the Sundance Film Festival people, who own and operate the Kabuki Theater in Japantown, really, really like her. 

What’s not to like about this gifted woman?

Madsen, also a documentary film producer, has had a long affiliation with Sundance.
Chase Sapphire hosted a reception recently at the Sundance Kitchen, which is next door to the cinema. In this ghastly economic turmoil, it‘s unusual to encounter a party this opulent.

Madsen was gracious and open with her guests. She’s also very funny. When I observed that her filmography is remarkably expansive, she replied, “Yes, there was a lot of movies, but most of them were crap. Worse than that, they were cable TV crap.”

Not everyone agrees with her. She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2004 for Sideways, which was screened at the Kabuki after a Q&A session with San Francisco Chronicle writer Ruthe Stein. This followed the reception.

In March, Madsen stars with Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried in Catherine Hardwicke’s film based on Little Red Riding Hood, and later in 2011, she appears in The Art of Love with Aidan Quinn.