On October 24, the legendary actress Amy Irving made an appearance at the revered Jacob Burns Film Center in celebration of the iconic horror movie Carrie‘s 50th birthday. The special event came as part of an ongoing retrospective dubbed “Starring Amy Irving.” Throughout the evening at the Burns, Irving couldn’t have been more lovely: Not only did she speak beautifully and answer every question as informatively as possible, but she kindly signed and posed for fans. Located in Pleasantville, NY, the Burns has been championed by everyone from Ron Howard to the late Jonathan Demme, so it was great that this fine institution was able to welcome Irving back. Irving’s husband, Kenneth Bowser, actually sits on the Board of Directors.
The Burns’ screening of Carrie gave viewers an opportunity to appreciate Irving’s mastery of her craft, as she triumphed in the role of Sue Snell. In addition, attendees were moved by the remarkable performances of Irving’s co-stars, as Sissy Spacek, who will forever be remembered for playing the lead. With its outstanding cinematography, artful lighting, and dazzling colors, Carrie, which many of us have seen only at home, was a joy to behold on the big screen. The film remains refreshing in its charm, which is of a rare, human breed that has since become more or less extinct. Of course, this artistic yet organic milestone proves as relevant as ever in its exploration of bullying and overall themes.
‘Carrie’ Star Amy Irving Reveals the Surprising Story Behind the Movie’s Iconic Ending
After the screening, rock-star writer and curator Eric Hynes joined Irving for a fantastic Q&A. As always, Mr. Hynes served as the ideal moderator, steering the conversation in all the right directions and later kindly opening the door to audience questions when the time came. Upon taking the stage, Irving, who looked gorgeous, revealed that seeing her very own mother, Priscilla Pointer, who played her parent in Carrie and five other films, brought her to tears. Pointer passed away in 2025, and Irving broke hearts when saying, “I just miss her so much.”
De Palma had wanted Pointer for the part; Irving emphasized that the director really took her under his wing. Although she was clearly born into an incredible acting family, made her stage debut as a baby, and studied the art form, Irving stated that De Palma taught her all she needed to know to move forward in the business while collaborating on Carrie and The Fury (1978) — her first and second motion pictures. She reflected, “He’s a real teddy bear, so he was really sweet with all of us. He held our hands.” De Palma actually volunteered himself to coach Irving for a Star Wars (1977) screen test, despite her initial objection that she had already committed to Carrie — auditions for Carrie and Star Wars had been held together, as De Palma and George Lucas are famously friends. While Irving wasn’t cast in Star Wars, she was the Princess Leia actress Carrie Fisher’s “date for the first time she ever saw Star Wars.” Irving continued, “She nearly broke my hand she was holding it so tight.” Star Wars wasn’t the first time that De Palma tried to help Irving win over his friends — Irving amusingly described how he set her up with her now-ex-husband Steven Spielberg twice.
In an ultra-cute anecdote about Spielberg and Lucas, Irving shared how the pair coped with the stress of releases, as box office numbers were important to both men, “Every time Steven’s or George’s movies opened, we would have to go to Hawaii so they weren’t there for the opening, and they would build sandcastles, and that was their way of avoiding it.” When speaking about the camaraderie between these revolutionary filmmakers, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Ford Coppola, it became apparent that the old canonical works were great due to the genuine spirits of those involved; authentically fabulous people like Irving made Carrie the classic it is.
In regard to the grave scene toward the very end of Carrie, Irving, who became irradiant and angelic in her white dress, recalls De Palma having her walk backwards down the street to achieve a subtly otherworldly quality and adds, “And then, he said I had to walk into this pit of rocks, and they were very sharp… He goes, ‘Amy, you have to glide. This is a dream.’ And I’m like, ‘But it really hurts.’ So, I’m pretending it doesn’t hurt as I walk out of there. And then, Sissy insisted on it being her arm [that reaches up from the ground]. She has very specific arms. And she had us bury her alive, literally. The thing about that ending is it wasn’t written in the film; we had no ending… They hadn’t decided who was going to survive, so everybody wanted to survive. I remember Betty Buckley campaigning like crazy. She actually told Brian, ‘I’m the more expressive actress. I should live.’ It was crazy.” Surprisingly, Irving harbored some doubt as to whether the killer scene worked until she saw the amazing crowd reaction once it hit theaters.
As one audience member at the Burns pointed out, the complexity of Carrie‘s characters really enriches the film. Irving commented, “I’m the nice girl. Some people didn’t get that, because I’m not very nice in the beginning. That was a really ugly moment in all of our lives, but then she’s the one that has a conscience and does right by it all.”
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