Posted by Larry Gleeson

LAURA DERN TO RECEIVE CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AT 31^st ANNUAL PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FILM AWARDS GALA

Palm Springs, CA – The 31^st annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Laura Dern with the Career Achievement Award at its annual Film Awards Gala. The event, presented by American Express, sponsored by AT&T and Entertainment Tonight and hosted by Mary Hart, is scheduled for Thursday, January 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The festival runs January 2-13, 2020.   

“Laura Dern is one of the most outstanding and talented actresses of her generation. Over her 40-year acting career she has brought to the screen so many memorable performances including three from this year alone in Big Little Lies, Little Women and Marriage Story,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “In Marriage Story she gives yet another career-defining and effortless performance as a successful lawyer leading her client through a divorce from her husband. It is our great honor to present the Career Achievement Award to the phenomenal Laura Dern.”

Past recipients of the Career Achievement Award include Annette Bening, Kevin Costner, Bruce Dern, Clint Eastwood, Sally Field, Morgan Freeman, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, and Spike Lee. Dern joins this year’s previously announced honorees Antonio Banderas (International Star Award, Actor), Zack Gottsagen (Rising Star Award), Jennifer Lopez (Spotlight Award), Joaquin Phoenix (Chairman’s Award), Martin Scorsese (Sonny Bono Visionary Award), Charlize Theron (International Star Award, Actress) and Renée Zellweger (Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress).

From Netflix, Marriage Story is Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Noah Baumbach’s incisive and compassionate look at a marriage breaking up and a family staying together. Marriage Story debuted earlier this year at the Venice Film Festival and was awarded the Film Independent Spirit Awards’ ‘Robert Altman Award’, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, ensemble cast, and casting director. Dern was recently honored with the Actress Tribute at the IFP Gotham Awards where the film picked up an additional four awards including Best Feature, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, and the Audience Award. Marriage Story stars Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver. Laura Dern, Alan Alda and Ray Liotta co-star.

From Sony Pictures, writer-director Greta Gerwig has crafted a Little Women that draws on both the classic novel and the writings of Louisa May Alcott and unfolds as the author’s alter ego, Jo March, reflects back and forth on her fictional life. In Gerwig’s take, the beloved story of the March sisters-four young women each determined to live life on her own terms-is both timeless and timely.  Portraying Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth March, the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, and Eliza Scanlen, with Timothée Chalamet, Laura Dern, and Meryl Streep. The film makes its way to North American theaters on December 25.

Laura Dern is an actress, producer, and activist, who has received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards nominations for Rambling Rose and Wild, as well as been awarded four Golden Globe awards and an Emmy Award for her work. She was honored as Best Supporting Actress for her work in both Little Women and Marriage Story at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards. Dern began her acting career with stand-out roles in the dramas Foxes, Mask and Smooth Talk. Additional credits include Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Inland Empire, Afterburn, Enlightened, Citizen Ruth, A Perfect World, Jurassic Park, October Sky, Dr. T & the Women, I Am Sam, Recount, The Master, The Tale, The Fault in Our Stars, Twin Peaks, Big Little Lies and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In 2017 she established Jaywalker Pictures, a Los Angeles-based production company founded with partner Jayme Lemons. She also serves on the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors.

About The Palm Springs International Film Festival

The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 136,000 attendees last year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also known for its annual Film Awards Gala, a glamorous, black-tie event attended by 2,500, presented this year by American Express and sponsored by AT&T and Entertainment Tonight. The Film Awards Gala honors the year’s best achievements in cinema in front of and behind the camera. The celebrated list of talents who have been honored in recent years includes Javier Bardem, Cate Blanchett, Mary J. Blige, Sandra Bullock, Jessica Chastain, George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Gal Gadot, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Regina King, Rami Malek, Matthew McConaughey, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Roberts, Saoirse Ronan, Meryl Streep, Charlize Theron and Reese Witherspoon. Call 760-969-7533 for Gala tickets or tables, 760-778-8979 or 800-898-7256 for the Film Festival information or visit http://www.psfilmfest.org.

(Source: PSIFF Press release)

Posted by Larry Gleeson

LOS ANGELES, CA – (December 10, 2019) — Variety will honor director Todd Phillips at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on Friday, January 3^rd as part of the annual 10 Directors to Watch brunch at the Parker Palm Springs. The brunch is presented by AT&T.

The Joker director/co-writer/producer will receive the annual Creative Impact in Directing Award. Previous recipients of this award have included Ryan Coogler, Patty Jenkins, David O. Russell, Charlie Kaufman, Jeff Nichols and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The award celebrates his work on the groundbreaking Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures and BRON Creative drama starring Joaquin Phoenix, which was recently named one of AFI’s Best Films of the Year and received the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.  The film also garnered four Golden Globe nominations on Monday for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director – Todd Phillips, Best Performances by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, Joaquin Phoenix, and Best Original Score, Hildur Guðnadóttir.

“Todd Phillips’ ‘Joker‘ is one of the most provocative, celebrated films of the year, with an extraordinary lead performance by Joaquin Phoenix,” says Claudia Eller, Variety Editor-In-Chief. “Todd’s unique vision and masterful creativity showcases iconic Artisan work, from the memorable stairs sequence to the re-imagining of Gotham as 1980s New York City.”

About Variety

Variety has been the seminal voice of the entertainment industry for 114 years and counting. Featuring award-winning breaking news reporting, insightful award-season coverage, must-read feature spotlights and intelligent analysis of the industry’s most prominent players, Variety is the trusted source for the business of global entertainment. Read by a highly engaged audience of industry insiders, Variety’s multi-platform content coverage expands across digital, mobile, social, print and branded content, events and summits.

In May 2019, Variety’s “Actors on Actors” on PBS took home a Daytime Creative Arts Emmy award  and has been awarded the Emmy for best entertainment programming at the 67^th and 68th Emmy Awards. “Actors on Actors,” an interview special that features pairings of prominent actors discussing their craft, was produced by PBS SoCal in partnership with Variety Media, LLC. Follow Variety on Facebook facebook.com/variety; Twitter, @variety; Instagram, @Variety The Variety Group – Variety, Variety.com, Variety Insight, Indiewire,- is owned by Variety Media, LLC, a division of Penske Media Corporation.

About The Palm Springs International Film Festival

The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 136,000 attendees last year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also known for its annual Film Awards Gala, a glamorous, black-tie event attended by 2,500, presented this year by American Express and sponsored by AT&T and Entertainment Tonight. The Film Awards Gala honors the year’s best achievements in cinema in front of and behind the camera. The celebrated list of talents who have been honored in recent years includes Javier Bardem, Cate Blanchett, Mary J. Blige, Sandra Bullock, Jessica Chastain, George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Gal Gadot, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Regina King, Rami Malek, Matthew McConaughey, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Roberts, Saoirse Ronan, Meryl Streep, Charlize Theron and Reese Witherspoon. Call 760-969-7533 for Gala tickets or tables, 760-778-8979 or 800-898-7256 for Film Festival information or visit www.psfilmfest.org.

About Parker Palm Springs

Situated on 13 lush acres, the Parker Palm Springs is an estate where luxury is fun. Designed by Jonathan Adler, the property boasts 131 rooms, 12 villas and the 2 bedroom Gene Autry Residence.  There are 4 restaurants – Norma’s (of NY fame), mister parker’s a dark and seductive French bistro, Counter Reformation a hidden wine bar and the Lemonade Stand, perfect for an afternoon bite or cocktail.  The Palm Springs Yacht Club spa at over 18,000 sq. feet is well-known and a place to indulge in a treatment, take a yoga class or even lounge at the Deck. Additionally the hotel has 4 red clay tennis courts, grounds consisting of games such as croquet and petanque as well as outdoor firepits and fountains.  The perfect desert escape!  4200 East Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92264. (760) 770-5000, www.theparkerpalmsprings.com.

(Sourced from psfilmfest.org)

Posted by Larry Gleeson

By KESQ News Team

It started as a dream, then a vision for Sonny Bono,  a man with big Hollywood ties and a love of Palm Springs. It’s what helped lead him to be elected mayor of Palm Springs in 1988.

Bono floated the idea for a major film festival in Palm Springs in the early 80s, but it took years of hard work for that to come to fruition.

In 1990, Bono’s vision became a reality and Palm Springs launched its first film festival, with the backing of major corporate sponsors like American Airlines and Wells Fargo and the help of local deep pockets.

The first festival drew over 17,000 filmgoers and was received positively by industry trades live variety. In the following years, the festival quickly grew and by its fifth year, it welcomed more than 42,000 visitors and became an economic force within the community.

To honor the 30 years of great movies and galas, the festival is offering a retrospective, re-screening films from previous years that were chosen by the audiences as well as the programmers along with other festival favorites.

“So this year we’ve actually planned something really special. We’re doing like 30 films that have played the festival in the past, so we’re doing retro screenings of them,” said Lilly Rodriguez, festival programmer.

“For us, all of it is the films. So like, remembering that this festival once showed cinema parodies on the first year, being able to kind of honor that is an interesting thing,” said Michael Lerman, the festival’s artistic director.

Stay tuned for more on the 30th edition of the Palm Springs International Film Festival!

Until then, I’ll see you at the movies…

(Excerpted from kesq.com/news)

Posted by Larry Gleeson

VARIETY TO HONOR JENKINS AND “10 DIRECTORS TO WATCH” AT THE
2018 PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Variety will present director Patty Jenkins with its annual Creative Impact in Directing Award at an intimate brunch at the Palm Springs Film Festival on January 3rd. Jenkins will be the first female director to ever receive the honor, and the award will celebrate her career, from her award-winning first feature, Monster, to her most recent work directing Warner Bros. Pictures’ Wonder Woman. Among that film’s many accolades, it was recently named one of AFI’s Best Films of The Year, and Jenkins and the film’s star, Gal Gadot, will receive the National Board of Review Spotlight Award.

“Patty Jenkins has directed one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films of the year with Wonder Woman, said Variety Co-Editor in Chief, Claudia Eller. “The film grossed $820 million worldwide and has inspired women-and men-old and young, to feel as empowered as the superhero at its center. Patty also scored a big one for female directors, which are in short supply in Hollywood.”

Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot will be presenting Patty the award at the brunch. Gadot will receive the Rising Star Award at the PSIFF Film Awards Gala the evening before.

Previous recipients of this award have included Jeff Nichols, Charlie Kaufmann, David O. Russell, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

“10 Directors to Watch”
“10 Directors to Watch” debuted in 1996 and the annual event moved to the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January 2011. “10 Directors to Watch” was the first of Variety’s “10 to Watch” series spotlighting the most exciting new talents in the fields of directing, writing, producing, acting, cinematography and comedy.

This year’s “10 Directors to Watch” include:
Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah – Gangsta
Augustine Frizzell – Never Going Back
Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird
Joseph Kahn – Bodied
Xavier Legrand – Custody
Carlos Lopez Estrada – Blindspotting
Anthony Maras – The Palace
Samuel Maoz – Foxtrot
Claire McCarthy – Ophelia
Chloe Zhao – The Rider

Past “10 Directors to Watch” honorees have included Ben Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket), Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart), Ava DuVernay (Selma), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Christopher Nolan (Memento), Sam Matt Ross (Captain Fantastic), Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer), Taylor Wood (Nowhere Boy) and Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild), among others.

“As always, we’re thrilled to work with Variety on their 10 Directors to Watch brunch,” said Michael Lerman, PSIFF Artistic Director. “It’s been a fantastic time for up-and-comers, as evidenced by both this list and our particularly strong 2018 New Voices New Visions section, and we’re excited to play a role in celebrating that work.”

The festival will screen Bodied, Custody and Foxtrot from the 10 Directors to Watch list.

About Variety
Variety remains the seminal voice of the entertainment industry for 111 years and counting. Featuring award-winning breaking news reporting, insightful award-season coverage, must-read feature spotlights and intelligent analysis of the industry’s most prominent players, Variety is the trusted source for the business of global entertainment. Read by a highly engaged audience of industry insiders, Variety’s multi-platform content coverage expands across digital, mobile, social, print and branded events and summits.

In 2015 Variety’s “Actors on Actors” on PBS SoCal was awarded the Emmy for best entertainment programming at the Television Academy’s 67th Los Angeles area Emmy Awards. “Actors on Actors,” which is an interview special that features pairings of prominent actors discussing their craft, was produced by PBS SoCal in partnership with Variety Media, LLC. Follow Variety on Facebook facebook.com/variety; Twitter,@variety; Instagram, @Variety; Pinterest and Snapchat. The Variety Group – Variety, Variety.com, Variety Insight, IndieWire, LA 411, NY 411 – is owned by Variety Media, LLC, a division of Penske Media Corporation.

About The Palm Springs International Film Festival
The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 135,000 attendees last year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also known for its annual Film Awards Gala, a glamorous, black-tie event attended by 2,500, presented this year by American Express® and sponsored by Cadillac and Entertainment Tonight.  The Film Awards Gala honors the year’s best achievements in cinema in front of and behind the camera.  The celebrated list of talents who have been honored in recent years includes Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, Julianne Moore, Brad Pitt, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, and Reese Witherspoon.

About Parker Palm Springs
Situated on 13 lush acres, the Parker Palm Springs is an estate where luxury is fun. Designed by Jonathan Adler, the property boasts 131 rooms, 12 villas and the 2 bedroom Gene Autry Residence.  There are 4 restaurants – Norma’s (of NY fame), mister parker’s a dark and seductive French bistro, Counter Reformation a hidden wine bar and the Lemonade Stand, perfect for an afternoon bite or cocktail.  The Palm Springs Yacht Club spa at over 18,000 sq. feet is well-known and a place to indulge in a treatment, take a yoga class or even lounge at the Deck. Additionally the hotel has 4 red clay tennis courts, grounds consisting of games such as croquet and petanque as well as outdoor firepits and fountains.  The perfect desert escape!  4200 East Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA92264. (760) 770-5000, http://www.theparkerpalmsprings.com.

(Source: PSIFF Press Release)