Sigourney
Weaver was doing the red carpet stroll at the Golden Globes last
weekend when she met Beyoncé and revealed she'd just downloaded the pop
star's hit "Single Ladies."

Well,
actually, her college-age daughter did it for her. "I don't spend a lot
of time downloading music," she admits the next day by phone, a twinkle
in her voice.

Weaver
sounds like an average mom who's happy to have a little tech support.
But the actress, who turns 60 this year, is anything but ordinary,
especially when it comes to her knack for keeping current.

Hollywood
usually doesn't rush to hire older actresses. Still, Weaver, who's
best-known for the "Alien" series, is on a roll. She was the voice of
the ship's computer in "WALL-E" and a surrogate agency boss in "Baby
Mama." She's playing a smart, capable scientist in the upcoming
"Avatar," a much-anticipated 3D epic by her "Aliens" director James
Cameron.

And on Saturday, she stars in the Lifetime network's premiere of "Prayers for Bobby."

The
cable-TV movie is one of several projects that have been filmed in
Michigan under the state's tax incentives program. And like Clint
Eastwood's "Gran Torino," another project done here, it gives a famous
screen icon with blockbuster credentials a chance to explore intimate,
emotionally compelling territory.

In "Prayers for Bobby," Weaver plays Mary Griffith, a deeply religious mother who goes on a journey of acceptance after her gay son commits suicide.

Based
on a true story and the 1995 book by Leroy Aarons with the same title,
the movie explores how Griffith disapproves of her son's sexual
orientation and tries to change him through prayer and psychiatry.
After his death, she questions her faith and eventually becomes an
advocate for gay rights. -
Photos by KANNIE YU/Lifetime
In
a town hall meeting, Mary Griffith (Sigourney Weaver) pleads with the
community to allow a gay pride parade to encourage tolerance.