Emma Stone Slams This 'Garbage Advice' She Got From A Hollywood Exec 20 Years Ago

Emma Stone is one of the most celebrated and lauded actresses of her generation — and that's no thanks to some really awful advice she got early in her career.

Stone received the Desert Palm Achievement Award at the 2024 Palm Springs International Film Awards, and during her speech, she took the opportunity to talk about something an executive once told her that inspired her — sort of.  "When I first moved to L.A., I went to one of those general meetings that they sometimes send you to, and an executive told me that for male actors, it's a marathon, not a sprint," Stone recalled (per IndieWire). "And in his eyes, for women, it was a sprint, not a marathon. And that was 20 years ago."

"And I realize that advice is total garbage because the majority of the women that I look up to in this industry, many of whom are in this room, have proven that as time goes on, life and work only get more interesting and more fulfilling," Stone (correctly) concluded. Certainly, Stone, who has been working steadily since getting her breakout roles in projects like "Superbad" and "Zombieland," can prove that her career is a marathon, not a sprint. Not just that, but it should go without saying that this executive's "advice" is quite obviously sexist, indicating that only male actors can experience longevity in their careers. Wherever that executive is today, he has definitely been proven dead wrong by Stone's career alone.

Luckily for audiences around the world, Emma Stone — who has been nominated for multiple major awards throughout her career and took home the Academy Award for best actress in 2017 for "La La Land" — also told the audience at the Palm Springs International Film Festival that she has no intention of stopping her marathon any time soon.

"I have so much gratitude genuinely for this moment," Stone said during her speech. "I'm grateful that I get to keep trying new things and for the opportunity to make choices when it comes to work because I know how rare and fleeting it could be to choose what you wanna do or who you wanna work with as an actor. I am really so thankful for that. I hope for many more years of the chance to take swings and to try new things and to keep this marathon going."

IndieWire also notes that Stone devoted a portion of her speech to director Yorgos Lanthimos, with whom she's worked on two films, plus a third on the way in "Kinds of Kindness." The actor lavished praise upon her frequent collaborator, calling him her "true creative soulmate."

Not only is Emma Stone's career not slowing down, 2023 might have been one of her strongest years to date ... and 2024 is shaping up to be just as great for the actress. Speaking of Yorgos Lanthimos, Stone is currently racking up nominations and awards for her role in their latest project, "Poor Things," winning the Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy on January 7.

Stone takes on one of the most unusual and challenging roles in her career thus far in "Poor Things" as Bella Baxter, a woman reanimated by surgeon Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) whose brain isn't quite in sync with her adult body. In this lascivious and unflinching film, Bella makes her way through Europe with sleazy lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) before striking out on her own to learn about the world, and Stone's performance as a new creature adapting to her environment is fascinating, lived-in, and expertly crafted.

"Poor Things" isn't Stone's only recent triumph; she also leads the Showtime series "The Curse" alongside Nathan Fielder. The show features Stone as would-be home improvement and lifestyle guru Whitney Siegel, with Fielder playing her hapless husband, Asher. Where "Poor Things" allows Stone to tap into her most scandalous side, "The Curse" allows Stone to show off just how uncomfortable she can make audiences, playing Whitney as a clueless yet vile, entitled brat who will stop at almost nothing to become a star.

"Poor Things" is in theaters now, "The Curse" is available to stream on Paramount+, and Stone's marathon of a career is still going strong.