AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Cheers

AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Cheers

America's Most Inspiring Movies Celebrated in Ninth Annual AFI/CBS Television Event

ERIN BROCKOVICH, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, NORMA RAE, ROCKY, SEABISCUIT, THE SOUND OF MUSIC and Hundreds More Vie for the Title of 'Most Inspirational Film of The Century'

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Film Institute (AFI) today announced that AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers will be the theme for AFI's ninth annual celebration of 100 years of American movies.

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies will count down America's 100 most inspiring films, as chosen by experts of the motion picture community, in a three-hour television event on the CBS Television Network in June 2006.

Each year, the AFI program has garnered considerable attention from movie lovers around the world. Previous programs within this series have included AFI 100 Years... 100 Movies (1998), ... 100 Stars (1999), ... 100 Laughs (2000), ... 100 Thrills (2001), ... 100 Passions (2002), ... 100 Heroes & Villains (2003), ... 100 Songs (2004) and ... 100 Movie Quotes (2005).

"Over the years, the movies have given us something to cheer about," stated Jean Picker Firstenberg, AFI's Director and CEO. "The past few years have not been easy in America -- from September 11th to the devastation of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers will celebrate the films that inspire us, encourage us to make a difference and send us from the theatre with a greater sense of possibility and hope for the future."

For the ninth consecutive year, the primetime special will be executive produced and directed by Gary Smith; executive produced for AFI by former AFI Board chair Frederick S. Pierce; and produced by Dann Netter and Bob Gazzale. SFM Entertainment LLC is the distributor of the program. Past sponsors of the series have included General Motors, Pepsi, Johnson & Johnson, Best Buy, Anheuser-Busch, Colgate-Palmolive, SBC and all major motion picture companies.

About the Jury Process

Today, AFI distributed a ballot with 300 nominated inspiring movies to a jury of over 1,500 leaders from the creative community, including film artists (directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, cinematographers), critics and historians.

This year, the jury will be asked to choose up to 100 inspirational films from a comprehensive list, including entries such as APOLLO 13, BREAKING AWAY, CHARIOTS OF FIRE, THE COLOR PURPLE, DEAD MAN WALKING, DEAD POET'S SOCIETY, 8 MILE, ERIN BROCKOVICH, FIELD OF DREAMS, GANDHI, GOOD WILL HUNTING, GOODBYE MR. CHIPS, HOOSIERS, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, THE KARATE KID, NATIONAL VELVET, NORMA RAE, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, RAIN MAN, ROCKY, SCHINDLER'S LIST, SEABISCUIT, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

Due to the extensive number of movies that inspire in American film, jurors may also write in votes for up to five films that may not already appear on the ballot.

The jurors have been asked to consider the following criteria in making their selections:

CRITERIA

FEATURE-LENGTH FICTION FILM
Narrative format, typically over 60 minutes in length.

AMERICAN FILM

English language film with significant creative and/or production elements from the United States.

CHEERS

Movies that inspire with characters of vision and conviction who face adversity and often make a personal sacrifice for the greater good. Whether these movies end happily or not, they are ultimately triumphant -- both filling audiences with hope and empowering them with the spirit of human potential.

LEGACY
Films whose "cheers" continue to echo across a century of American cinema.

*AFI defines an American film as an English language motion picture with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States. AFI defines a feature-length film as a motion picture of narrative format that is typically over 60 minutes in length. Only feature-length American films released before January 1, 2005, will be considered.

Interesting Facts about the Ballot

Tom Hanks and Henry Fonda are the most represented male actors on the ballot with eight inspiring movies each. Sidney Poitier, Gary Cooper and Denzel Washington each have seven movies on the ballot.

Jean Arthur is the most represented female actor on the ballot with four movies.

Frank Capra and Steven Spielberg each have six inspiring movies on the ballot, leading all directors. Capra's films are MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN ('36), YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU ('38), MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON ('39), MEET JOHN DOE ('41) and IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE ('46), POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES ('61); while Spielberg directed CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND ('77), E.T THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL ('82), THE COLOR PURPLE ('85), SCHINDLER'S LIST ('93), AMISTAD ('97) and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN ('98).

Over one third of the movies on the ballot are movies inspired by real life people and events.

1939 is the most represented year on the ballot, with 12 inspiring movies.

About the American Film Institute

AFI is a national institute providing leadership in screen education and the recognition and celebration of excellence in the art of film, television and digital media. AFI trains the next generation of filmmakers at its world-renowned Conservatory, maintains America's film heritage through the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and explores new digital technologies in entertainment and education through the AFI Digital Content Lab and K-12 Screen Education Center. As the largest nonprofit exhibitor in the US, AFI ON SCREEN encompasses the annual AFI FEST presented by Audi: AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival-as well as year-round programming at ArcLight Hollywood and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, including SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival. AFI AWARDS, the annual almanac for the 21st century, honors the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year, while AFI's 100 Years . . . series has ignited extraordinary public interest in classic American movies. And, during the past 33 years, AFI's Life Achievement Award has become the highest honor for a career in film. Additional information about AFI is available at AFI.com.

Source: American Film Institute

CONTACT: Alison Deknatel, +1-323-856-7896, adeknatel@AFI.com, or Erin
Hurff, +1-323-856-7603, ehurff@AFI.com, both of American Film Institute

Web site: http://www.afi.com/

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