Five-time Oscar Nominee Glenn Close To Be Honored At Hollywood Film Festival’s Gala Ceremony

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Oct. 3, 2011 – The 15th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards, presented by Starz Entertainment, are pleased to announce that five-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close will be honored with the “Hollywood Career Achievement Award” at the festival’s Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony, which will take place October 24, 2011 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

The announcement was made today by Carlos de Abreu, Founder and Executive Director of the Hollywood Film Festival. “It is a privilege to honor and to celebrate Glenn Close’s extraordinary talent and remarkable career,” said Mr. de Abreu.

The Hollywood Film Awards Gala launches the awards season and in the past eight years a total of 73 Oscar nominations and 27 Oscars were given to the honorees of the Hollywood Awards.

The 2011 Hollywood Film Festival has also announced that they will honor Academy Award-nominated actress Michelle Williams with the “Hollywood Actress Award” for “My Week with Marilyn,” Academy Award-nominated actor Christopher Plummer with the “Hollywood Supporting Actor Award” for “Beginners,” actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt with the “Hollywood Breakthrough Actor Award” for “50/50,” actress Jessica Chastain with the “Hollywood Breakthrough Actress Award” for “The Tree of Life,” “Coriolanus,” “The Debt,” “The Help,” and “Take Shelter,” and actress Felicity Jones with the “New Hollywood Award” for “Crazy Love.” Other honorees include the cast of “The Help” (Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Chris Lowell, Ahna O’Reilly, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen, Cicely Tyson and Mike Vogel), Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, Editor Stephen Mirrione, Production Designer James Murakami, and Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Farrar at their annual Awards Gala. In addition, Gore Verbinski’s “Rango” will be honored at the Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony, along with additional honorees to be announced in the coming weeks.

About Glenn Close:

Five-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close enjoys a career that has spanned every medium from film to television to the stage. She next stars as the title character in “Albert Nobbs” alongside a distinguished cast that includes Janet McTeer, Mia Wasikowska, and Brendan Gleeson. A passion project of Close’s for nearly 20 years, “Albert Nobbs” is directed by Rodrigo Garcia with whom Close has worked two previous times (“Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her” and “Nine Lives”). In addition to writing the screenplay with John Banville, Close also served as producer of the film, which earned her raves at the 2011 Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals.

Close made her feature film debut in George Roy Hill’s “The World According to Garp,” for which she received her first Academy Award nomination. She was subsequently honored with Oscar nominations for her performances in Lawrence Kasdan’s “The Big Chill,” Barry Levinson’s “The Natural,” Adrian Lyne’s “Fatal Attraction,” and Stephen Frears’ “Dangerous Liaisons.”

Her other films include “Jagged Edge,” “Reversal of Fortune,” “Hamlet,” “Meeting Venus,” “The Paper,” “101 Dalmatians,” “102 Dalmatians,” “Air Force One,” “Cookie’s Fortune,” “The Safety of Objects,” “Le Divorce,” “Heights,” and “Evening.”

Close received the Donostia Award for career achievement at the 2011 San Sebastian Film Festival. She has been honored with Golden Globe Awards, Emmy Awards, and Tony Awards, as well as a Crystal Award from Women In Film, a GLAAD Media Award, a People’s Choice Award, the National Association of Theatre Owners’ Female Star of the Year award, and a Gotham Award for her contributions to the New York independent filmmaking community. She is a trustee emeritus of the Sundance Institute, having served as a board member for 16 years.

The festival and awards will mark their return on October 20 for a weeklong series of screenings and awards. The Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on October 24, 2011.

ABOUT STARZ ENTERTAINMENT, LLC:

The festival and awards presenter is Starz Entertainment, LLC, a premium movie and original programming entertainment service provider operating in the United States. The company offers 17 premium channels including the flagship STARZ® and ENCORE® brands with approximately 19 million and 32.9 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs in total more than 1,000 movies and original series every month across its pay TV channels. Starz Entertainment is recognized as a pay TV leader in providing HD, On Demand, HD On Demand and online advanced services for its STARZ, ENCORE and MOVIEPLEX brands. Starz Entertainment (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation and is attributed to the Liberty Starz tracking stock group (NASDAQ: LSTZA).

SOURCE: Hollywood Film Festival