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Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal to Return as Host for 84th Academy Awards®

Beverly Hills, CA – Producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer have announced that Billy Crystal will serve as host for the 84th Academy Awards. “I’m thrilled to welcome Billy back to the Oscar® stage,” said Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Tom Sherak. “He’s a comic legend and Oscar icon, and it feels good to have him back where he belongs.”

Commented Grazer, “Like so many others, I’ve been eager to see Billy host again. It’s very gratifying that he agreed to do it with Don and me at the helm.”

Said Mischer, “With Billy, we’re moving forward with one of the greatest hosts in Oscar history. His return to the Oscars® is, in a sense, a celebration.”

This will mark Crystal’s ninth time as host. Only Bob Hope has hosted more Academy Awards presentations, with 19 ceremonies between 1940 and 1978. Crystal last hosted the Academy Awards in 2004.

“Some of the best moments of my career have happened on the Oscar stage. I am thrilled to be back there. Actually, I am doing this so that the young woman in my pharmacy will stop asking me my name when I pick up my prescriptions,” said Crystal. Continue reading “Billy Crystal to Return as Host for 84th Academy Awards®” »

Cambodia

Academy Doc Series Examines Cambodian People’s Hopes and Struggles

Beverly Hills, CA – “Born Sweet” and “Enemies of the People” will screen as the next installment in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 30th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” series on Wednesday, November 9, at 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Admission to all screenings in the series is free.

Directed and produced by Cynthia Wade, “Born Sweet” follows Vinh, a 15-year-old boy as he contends with severe arsenic poisoning in a small Cambodian village, but uses karaoke to keep his spirit alive.

For Cambodian journalist Thet Sambath, who directed and produced “Enemies of the People” with Rob Lemkin, the terror his country endured under the Khmer Rouge struck close to home with the deaths of friends and family members.

Haunted by these losses, he has spent the intervening years bringing the brutal truth behind Cambodia’s history to light. Sambath and Lemkin will be present to take questions from the audience following the screening. Continue reading “Academy Doc Series Examines Cambodian People’s Hopes and Struggles” »

Le Grand Amou

Academy Brings Back the Laughter with Pierre Étaix

Étaix to Appear in Person

Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a rare look at the films of French comedian Pierre Étaix in its latest installment of the Jack Oakie Celebration of Comedy in Film, on Wednesday, November 16, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Hosted by film critic Leonard Maltin, “Pierre Étaix: The Laughter Returns” will feature Étaix in person followed by screenings of “Le Grand Amour” (“The Great Love,” 1969) and the Oscar®-winning short “Heureux Anniversaire” (Happy Anniversary, 1962) from new restorations.

Étaix is a clown, magician, illustrator and cabaret artist whose films recall the genius of Keaton, Chaplin and Lloyd. He worked with famed director Jacques Tati in various capacities on “Mon Oncle” (1958), then found an ideal collaborator for his own film projects in Jean-Claude Carrière. Continue reading “Academy Brings Back the Laughter with Pierre Étaix” »

Vanessa Redgrave

Academy to Salute Vanessa Redgrave in London

Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will celebrate the career of Oscar®-winner Vanessa Redgrave with its first-ever European tribute to an actor, on Sunday, November 13, in London.

The event, hosted by David Hare, will include special guests Meryl Streep, Ralph Fiennes, Joely Richardson, James Earl Jones and Eileen Atkins. Past Academy President Sid Ganis will introduce the evening.

The salute will explore Redgrave’s dramatic range and exquisite skill. Hare has created three film sequences, each with its own narrative, showing the depth and array of characters that Redgrave has inhabited.

A member of the distinguished Redgrave acting family, Vanessa rose to prominence in 1961, playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Since then, she has made dozens of stage appearances and has appeared in more than 70 films. Continue reading “Academy to Salute Vanessa Redgrave in London” »

Academy Awards

Melissa Watking Trueblood Tapped For 84th Academy Awards®

Beverly Hills, CA – Melissa Watkins Trueblood has been named talent producer for the 84th Academy Awards, telecast producers Brett Ratner and Don Mischer announced today. This will be her first association with the Oscar telecast. In addition, Danette Herman has signed on to consult for the 84th and 85th shows.

“As the newest addition to our team, Melissa brings a wealth of experience and years of great talent relationships to the table,” Ratner and Mischer said. “We know she is going to be a fantastic asset.”

Trueblood has served as a co-producer or talent producer on numerous awards shows, recently serving as co-producer for “The 63rd Primetime Emmy® Awards.”

Her other credits include the American Music Awards, the Golden Globe® Awards, the People’s Choice Awards and the World Music Awards.

“Danette has been an integral and committed Oscar presence for well 38 years,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “Over the next two years, her continued guidance and participation in the show will be invaluable.” Continue reading “Melissa Watking Trueblood Tapped For 84th Academy Awards®” »