Hollywood Film Festival Honors Carey Mulligan, Berenice Bejo, Jean Dujardin, Elle Fanning, Amber Heard, Andrea Riseborough, Shailene Woodley, & Anton Yelchin

 

Academy Award-nominated actress Carey Mulligan will be honored with the “Hollywood Supporting Actress Award,” Berenice Bejo, Jean Dujardin, Elle Fanning, Amber Heard, Andrea Riseborough, Shailene Woodley and Anton Yelchin will receive the “Hollywood Spotlight Award” at the Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Oct. 10, 2011 – The 15th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards, presented by Starz Entertainment, are pleased to announce that Academy Award-nominated Carey Mulligan will receive the “Hollywood Supporting Actress Award,” and Berenice Bejo, Jean Dujardin, Elle Fanning, Amber Heard, Andrea Riseborough, Shailene Woodley and Anton Yelchin will receive the “Hollywood Spotlight 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 Carey Mulligan, Berenice Bejo, Jean Dujardin, Elle Fanning, Amber Heard, Andrea Riseborough, Shailene Woodley and Anton Yelchin for their great talent,” said Mr. de Abreu.

The Hollywood Film Awards Gala launches the awards season. 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 five-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close with the “Hollywood Career Achievement Award,” 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,” and actress Felicity Jones with the “New Hollywood Award” for “Like Crazy.” Other honorees include the cast of “The Help” (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), Director Michel Hazanavicius, Producer Letty Aronson, Screenwriter Diablo Cody, Film Composer Alberto Iglesias, 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 CAREY MULLIGAN

Mulligan can currently be seen in FilmDistrict’s action thriller “Drive,” opposite Ryan Gosling, Bryan Cranston, and Oscar Isaac. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, “Drive,” is based on the James Sallis novel. Mulligan will next been seen in “Shame,” directed by Steve McQueen. The film stars Michael Fassbender, who plays a thirty-something man living in New York who is unable to manage his sex life. Mulligan plays his troubled younger sister. “Shame” will be released in the U.S. by Fox Searchlight in December.

This fall, Mulligan began production on director Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” in Sydney, Australia. The film is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. Mulligan plays Daisy Buchanan. The film will be released by Warner Brothers in 2012.

In September 2010, Mulligan starred in Fox Searchlight’s “Never Let Me Go,” based on the award winning novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. Also in September 2010, Mulligan appeared in Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” from 20th Century Fox, starring alongside a cast including Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Frank Langella, and Susan Sarandon.

Mulligan received an Academy Award nomination, a Golden Globe nomination, a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination and garnered critical acclaim for her starring role in the Sony Classics film “An Education,” written by Nick Hornby and directed by Lone Scherfig. Also, she received the British Independent Film Award for “Best Actress,” was named “Best Actress” by the National Board of Review, and was named “Best Actress” by the Orange British Academy of Film (BAFTA). Additional film credits include “Public Enemies,” “The Greatest,” “Brothers,” “Pride and Prejudice” and “And When Did You Last See Your Father” with Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth.

ABOUT AMBER HEARD — “The Rum Diary”

As stunning as she is talented, Amber Heard is making waves with her captivating performances on the big screen. She will next be seen in “The Rum Diary” starring opposite Johnny Depp and Aaron Eckhart. The dramatic adventure film is an adaptation of the Hunter S. Thompson novel and will be released on October 28.

She recently completed production on the independent film “Syrup,” a dark satire also starring Shiloh Fernandez. Heard also starred in John Carpenter’s “The Ward” and the independent film, “And Soon the Darkness,” on which she also served as a co-producer. Some of her other films include “Zombieland,” “The Stepfather,” “The Pineapple Express,” and “North Country.”

ABOUT BERENICE BEJO -“The Artist”

Bejo can currently be seen in Michel Hazanavicius’ silent film, “The Artist,” opposite Jean Dujardin. The film follows a silent movie superstar and a young dancer who become interlinked as the arrival of talking pictures threatens their destinies. In 2001, she entered America’s big screen by performing in “A Knight’s Tale,” and in 2002’s “24 Hours in the Life of a Woman.” Some of her film credits include “What Love Means,” “Prey,” Henri-George Clouzot’s “Inferno,” “Modern Love,” “OSS117: Cairo, Nest of Spies,” “Final Arrangements,” “Le Grand Role,” and Cavalcade.”

ABOUT ELLE FANNING — “Super 8”

Elle was most recently seen last summer starring in the blockbuster film “Super 8” for director J.J. Abrams and producer Steven Spielberg. She made her feature film debut in 2001 at the young age of two when she co-starred as a “Young Lucy” in New Line Cinema’s “I Am Sam.” Since then she has starred in more than 10 films and numerous episodes of television. In 2004, Elle appeared in Focus Films’ “The Door in the Floor” from director Tod Williams.

In 2006, Elle appeared in two movies. The first was Paramount’s “Babel,” directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Next was Touchstone’s “Deja Vu,” directed by Tony Scott and starring Denzel Washington. In 2007, Elle filmed “Reservation Road” where she played “Emma Learner,” the daughter of Joaquin Phoenix, and director John August’s “The Nines.” In 2008, she played the young Cate Blanchett in Paramount’s and director David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” opposite Brad Pitt. Also that year, Elle starred as “Phoebe Lichten” in the independent film “Phoebe in Wonderland” opposite Patricia Clarkson, Felicity Huffman and Bill Pullman, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival with rave reviews for its young star.

In 2010, Elle starred alongside Stephen Dorff in Sofia Coppola’s film “Somewhere,” which won the Golden Lion for Best Picture at the Venice Film Festival. Elle was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award for her performance in the film.

She will next be seen starring in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Twixt,” which had its world premiere at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival, and this December stars opposite Matt Damon and Scarlett Johannson in Fox’s “We Bought a Zoo” for director Cameron Crowe.

ABOUT JEAN DUJARDIN — “The Artist”

In 1995, Jean Dujardin began his first one-man show, the same year he met Eric Collado, Bruno Salomone, Emmanuel Joucla, and Eric Massot with whom he created the “Nous C Nous.” In 1999, he became “Loulou” in “Un gars, une fille.” This part permitted him to show his talent to a larger public. Since the end of “Un gars, une fille” in 2003, he has appeared in many films.

ABOUT ANDREA RISEBOROUGH — “W.E.”

Having spotted Andrea at the National Theatre, Mike Leigh offered her a place in the company of his latest film “Happy Go Lucky.”

Andrea had a number of film releases in 2010 and early 2011. The first was “Made in Dagenham,” a true story directed by Nigel Cole (“Calendar Girls”), in which she plays the role of a woman working in a Ford factory fighting for equal pay. Her role as a waitress in Rowan Joffe’s remake of “Brighton Rock” received rave reviews at last year’s Toronto Film Festival. Following this, Andrea starred in “Never Let Me Go” (January 2010), an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel.

Andrea can next be seen starring in Madonna’s new film “W.E.” where she plays the role of Wallis Simpson. The film showed at this year’s Venice and Toronto Film Festivals, and will be released this December. She also stars opposite Michael Sheen in “Resistance,” which will be released in London later this year. Andrea most recently finished filming “Welcome to the Punch” with James McAvoy and is currently filming “Disconnect.” Both are set to be released in 2012.

ABOUT SHAILENE WOODLEY – “The Descendants”

Shailene Woodley began her career at the age of 5 when an agent recognized her potential and signed her on the spot. She has been working ever since. She started in commercials and then got her first TV role in the 1999 movie of the week “Replacing Dad,” which starred two-time Oscar nominee Mary McDonnell. More recently, she played the title character in the popular Warner Bros. movie “Felicity: An American Girl Adventure,” which was produced by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Julia Roberts.

Her first lead role performance earned this review: “Felicity offers Woodley’s feisty performance; she’s warm and cheeky, and immensely fun to watch.” Woodley’s other television work includes recurring roles on “Crossing Jordan” (as a young Jill Hennessy), “The O.C.,” and “Jack & Bobby” (where she played the daughter of John Slattery). She has also made guest appearances on series like “Cold Case,” “My Name is Earl,” “CSI: NY” (playing an angel-faced killer), and “Close to Home.” She also had a lead role opposite Ann-Margret and Matthew Settle in the television movie “A Place Called Home,” and co-starred with William Mapother and Treat Williams in “Moola.”

ABOUT ANTON YELCHIN – “Like Crazy”

Anton Yelchin is one of Hollywood’s hottest rising stars. With his highly acclaimed performances in “Charlie Bartlett,” “Star Trek,” “The Beaver,” “Fright Night,” “Like Crazy” and a slew of starring roles in major films this year, Yelchin is quickly becoming a household name. “Like Crazy”, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won the coveted Grand Jury Prize, hits theaters October 28, 2011. Yelchin, who is receiving critical raves for his performance as an American college student who falls for a British exchange student and experiences the joy and heartbreak of first love, was just recently honored by the Aspen Film Festival with the “Artist to Watch” award for his performance in the film.

Earlier this year he Yelchin lent his voice to the role of “Clumsy Smurf” in Sony’s summer blockbuster film “The Smurfs.” He starred opposite Toni Collette and Colin Farrell in “Fright Night,” a remake of the 1985 comedy-horror picture about a teenager who discovers his neighbors are vampires. Yelchin recently finished work on the film “Odd Thomas.” In the film Yelchin will play the title character of “Odd Thomas,” a short-order cook with clairvoyant abilities that encounters a mysterious man with a link to dark and threatening forces. In the film Yelchin will star alongside Willem Dafoe, Addison Timlin and Patton Oswalt. “Odd Thomas” is set to be released in 2012.

Yelchin’s past projects include “New York, I Love You,” “Terminator Salvation” opposite Christian Bale, “Middle of Nowhere” opposite Susan Sarandon, “Alpha Dog,” “Hearts of Atlantis” for which he won a Young Artist Award, among many others.

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

Behind the Scenes Photos Of Madonna’s W.E.


Director Madonna on the set of the film W.E.
Photo by: The Weinstein Company

Check out these brand new photos from the set of Madonna’s film W.E. The film premiered at the 68th Venice Film Festival earlier this month and will show this evening at the Toronto International Film Festival. The Weinstein Company will release W.E. in New York and Los Angeles on December 9, 2011.

Synopsis:

W.E. tells the story of two fragile but determined women – Wally Winthrop and Wallis Simpson – separated by more than six decades.  In 1998, lonely New Yorker Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish) is obsessed with what she perceives as the ultimate love story: King Edward’s VIII’s abdication of the British throne for the woman he loved, American divorcée Wallis Simpson.  But Wally’s research, including several visits to the Sotheby’s auction of the Windsor Estate, reveals that the couple’s life together was not as perfect as she thought. Weaving back and forth in time, W.E. intertwines Wally’s journey of discovery in New York with the story of Wallis (Andrea Riseborough) and Edward (James D’Arcy), from the glamorous early days of their romance to the slow unraveling of their lives in the decades that followed.


Abbie Cornish as Wally Winthrop and Oscar Issac as Evgeni in Madonna’s film W.E.
Photo by: The Weinstein Company


Andrea Riseborough as Wallis, James D’Arcy as Edward and director, Madonna on the set of W.E.
Photo by: The Weinstein Company


Abbie Cornish as Wally Winthrop and Oscar Issac as Evgeni in Madonna’s film W.E.
Photo by: The Weinstein Company

A Taste Of Madonna’s W.E.

On Sept. 1st, W.E. premiered out of competition at the 68th Venice Film Festival with the film’s stars and director, Madonna, in attendance. The “Material Girl” hit the red carpet before greeting a flurry of photographers and reporters at the press conference.

Unfortunately, the film’s reception wasn’t as enthusiastic. In his review of Madonna’s film, Guy Lodge from In Contention called it “irredeemably silly, self-admiring ode to life, love and all the fabulous bed linens in between.” With that in mind, check out this clip of W.E.

Synopsis:

W.E. tells the story of two fragile but determined women – Wally Winthrop and Wallis Simpson – separated by more than six decades. In 1998, lonely New Yorker Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish) is obsessed with what she perceives as the ultimate love story: King Edward’s VIII’s abdication of the British throne for the woman he loved, American divorcée Wallis Simpson. But Wally’s research, including several visits to the Sotheby’s auction of the Windsor Estate, reveals that the couple’s life together was not as perfect as she thought. Weaving back and forth in time, W.E. intertwines Wally’s journey of discovery in New York with the story of Wallis (Andrea Riseborough) and Edward (James D’Arcy), from the glamorous early days of their romance to the slow unraveling of their lives in the decades that followed.

The Weinstein Company will release W.E. on December 9, 2011.

Madonna’s W.E. Vanity Fair High-Fashion Photos Strike A Pose

In a haute couture feast for the eyes, have a look at a smattering of the costumes in store for Madonna’s W.E.

In the Vanity Fair piece, reporter Krista Smith says:  

“The fashions, modeled here by Riseborough and D’Arcy, were the special domain of Madonna’s longtime collaborator Arianne Phillips. The Oscar-nominated costume designer worked with such labels as Cartier, Dior, and Dunhill for the 60 or so wardrobe changes in the film.”

For those unfamiliar with the fashion conscious Duke and Duchess of Windsor, click HERE to watch a part of the 80’s miniseries

Madonna’s narrative feature directorial debut, W.E. is co-written by Madonna and Alek Keshishian, produced by Madonna and Kris Thykier and executive produced by Scott Franklin (BLACK SWAN). W.E. will make it’s North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and released in New York and Los Angeles on December 9, 2011.

Visit Vanity Fair’s website to see the entire portfolio by Tom Munro.

Synopsis:

W.E. tells the story of two fragile but determined women – Wally Winthrop and Wallis Simpson – separated by more than six decades. In 1998, lonely New Yorker Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish) is obsessed with what she perceives as the ultimate love story: King Edward’s VIII’s abdication of the British throne for the woman he loved, American divorcée Wallis Simpson. But Wally’s research, including several visits to the Sotheby’s auction of the Windsor Estate, reveals that the couple’s life together was not as perfect as she thought. Weaving back and forth in time, W.E. intertwines Wally’s journey of discovery in New York with the story of Wallis (Andrea Riseborough) and Edward (James D’Arcy), from the glamorous early days of their romance to the slow unraveling of their lives in the decades that followed.

The Weinstein Company To Release Madonna’s W.E. On DECEMBER 9, 2011 In New York And L.A.

 

Love Story Stars Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough, James D’Arcy And Oscar Isaac

New York, NY, June 29, 2011 – The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that it will release Madonna’s “W.E.” on December 9, 2011 in New York and Los Angeles. The film will expand to additional markets in December, with wide release anticipated by mid-January. Madonna’s narrative feature directorial debut, W.E. is co-written by Madonna and Alek Keshishian, produced by Madonna and Kris Thykier and executive produced by Scott Franklin (BLACK SWAN). It stars Abbie Cornish (LIMITLESS), Andrea Riseborough (NEVER LET ME GO), James D’Arcy (MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD), Oscar Isaac (DRIVE), Natalie Dormer (“The Tudors”), Richard Coyle (PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME), James Fox (SHERLOCK HOLMES) and Laurence Fox (“Inspector Lewis”). The announcement was made by TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein and TWC President of Theatrical Distribution and Home Entertainment Erik Lomis.

“Madonna beautifully interweaves past and present in W.E. It’s a very smart film, and a stunning feature directorial debut,” said Weinstein. “I’m incredibly excited about this movie and I wanted to give it a prominent release date.”

Madonna is represented by CAA and managed by Untitled Entertainment.

SYNOPSIS

W.E. looks at the fabled romance between American Wallis Simpson and Britain’s King Edward VIII, who famously gave up the throne to marry the woman he loved. More than six decades later, their story enthralls a young woman named Wally Winthrop, who thinks she sees in their devotion a stark contrast to her own unhappy marriage – and an example to follow as she searches for the meaning of true love. The cast features Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough, James D’Arcy and Oscar Isaac.

ABOUT THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY

The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a multimedia production and distribution company launched in October 2005 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films in 1979. TWC also encompasses Dimension Films, the genre label founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein, which has released such popular franchises as SCREAM, SPY KIDS and SCARY MOVIE. Together TWC and Dimension Films have released a broad range of mainstream, genre and specialty films that have been commercial and critical successes, including Tom Hooper’s THE KING’S SPEECH, winner of four 2011 Academy Awards®, including Best Picture. Since 2005, TWC and Dimension Films have released such films as GRINDHOUSE; I’M NOT THERE; THE GREAT DEBATERS; VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA; THE READER; THE ROAD;  HALLOWEEN; THE PAT TILLMAN STORY; PIRANHA 3D; INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS; A SINGLE MAN; BLUE VALENTINE, THE COMPANY MEN; MIRAL; and SCRE4M.  Upcoming releases include SPY KIDS 4, APOLLO 18, DIRTY GIRL, OUR IDIOT BROTHER, I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT, and MY WEEK WITH MARILYN. Recently wrapped is COGAN’S TRADE.