AFI AWARDS 2005 Salutes Film and Television Creative Teams

AFI AWARDS 2005 Salutes Film and Television Creative Teams

George Clooney, Steve Carell and Catherine Keener Among Guests at Sixth Annual Celebration of AFI Almanac Today

Steven Spielberg Toasts the Achievements of the Year

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- George Clooney, Steve Carell, Steven Spielberg, Catherine Keener and many other artists from in front of and behind the camera were among the attendees honored by the American Film Institute (AFI) in Los Angeles today, during its AFI AWARDS 2005 luncheon. This is the sixth year to record entries to AFI's almanac of the 21st century, which documents the year's most outstanding achievements in film and television, as well as significant moments in the world of film and television.

AFI AWARDS is the only form of national recognition that acknowledges the collaborative nature of film and television by honoring the creative ensembles as a whole-including those both in front of and behind the camera.

Principal cast members joined distinguished filmmakers, executives and other members of the creative community today at the Four Seasons Hotel for the luncheon. Among the principal cast members (in alphabetical order) were Shoreh Aghdashloo and Roger Cross (24); Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA); Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser and Terrence Howard (CRASH); Clifton Collins Jr. (CAPOTE); Powers Boothe, John Hawkes, Timothy Olyphant (DEADWOOD); Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Romany Malco and Leslie Mann (THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN); George Clooney (GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK and SYRIANA); Lisa Edelstein and Jennifer Morrison (HOUSE); Evangeline Lilly (LOST); Michael Lombardi, Jack McGee, Steven Pasquale, Andrea Roth, John Scurti and Daniel Sunjata (RESCUE ME); Michael Ealy and Oded Fehr (SLEEPER CELL); Jeff Daniels (THE SQUID AND THE WHALE) and Kristen Bell (VERONICA MARS).

Among acclaimed filmmakers present were Bennett Miller (CAPOTE), Paul Haggis (CRASH), Judd Apatow (THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN), David Cronenberg (A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE), Steven Spielberg (MUNICH), Noah Baumbach (THE SQUID AND THE WHALE) and Stephen Gaghan (SYRIANA.)

In both an inspirational and contemplative moment, Steven Spielberg -- an AFI trustee and AFI Life Achievement Award recipient -- closed the event with the final toast honoring the great story-tellers in the room. Mr. Spielberg reflected on his days directing for television in 1969 and JAWS in 1975 with hopes that in the future others will look back through AFI's almanac to appreciate the great stories of the past.

Also among the guests were members of the AFI Board of Trustees, AFI AWARDS jurors and longtime supporters of the institute including Dick Askin, Jon Avnet, Cathy Bradley Berg, Lionel Chetwynd, Martha Coolidge, John F. Cooke, Anna Everett, Richard Frank, Marshall Herskovitz, Fay Kanin, Pat Kingsley, Charlie Koones, Kristi Kosmata, Jeffrey Kramer, Suzanne Lloyd, Tara McPherson, Carole Mitchell, Jay Pearson, Daniel Petrie Jr., Joe Pichirallo, Del Reisman, Vivian Sobchack, Patric Verrone.

Martha Coolidge from the AFI Jury for Motion Pictures and Marshall Herskovitz, Chair, AFI Jury for Television, entered the jury rationales into the almanac by reading them as scenes from the films and TV programs were presented. Announced for the first time today, the complete rationales can be found at www.AFI.com. Jean Picker Firstenberg, AFI's Director and CEO, congratulated the creative ensembles as a whole from each of the 10 films and 10 television programs selected (listed below and previously announced on December 11, 2005).

The luncheon also reflected on the six AFI Moments of Significance-issues that most affected the art of film and television during 2005. These spanned issues from the continuing consolidation in the film community as both Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Dreamworks were purchased this year by larger companies; movies and television in the post 9/11 world with themes of terrorism, heroism and the struggle to find common ground; the theatrical experience in crisis; television breaking out of the box to migrate to new platforms such as the iPod video and mobile phones; the role of television in the news coverage of Hurricane Katrina and the Internet as an important broadcast tool demonstrated through AOL's on-line coverage of the Live 8 concert.

The official selections are listed below in alphabetical order:

AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR -- OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
KING KONG
MUNICH
THE SQUID AND THE WHALE
SYRIANA

AFI TV PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR -- OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

24
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
DEADWOOD
GREY'S ANATOMY
HOUSE
LOST
RESCUE ME
SLEEPER CELL
SOMETIMES IN APRIL
VERONICA MARS

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/

NOTE TO EDITORS: PHOTOS OF THE LUNCHEON will be available online at 5:00 p.m. EST (2:00 p.m. PST), Friday, January 13, 2006 at http://www.afi.com/about/press/index.asp. Additional event photos are available at http://www.gettyimages.com. VIDEO FOOTAGE WILL BE PROVIDED DIRECTLY BY AFI immediately after the event via satellite at IA 5 / Tr. 7 (C-Band) Downlink Frequency 3840 Vertical on January 13, 2006, from 6:00-6:15 p.m. EST (3:00-3:15 PST) and a re-feed from 8:00-8:15 p.m. EST (5:00-5:15 PST). The complete JURY RATIONALES will also be available on-line at 6:00 p.m. EST (3:00 p.m. PST), Friday, January 13, 2006. For selected films please visit: http://www.afi.com/tvevents/afiawards05/movies05.aspx For selected television programs visit: http://www.afi.com/tvevents/afiawards05/tvshows05.aspx THE AFI AWARDS 2005 FULL-LENGTH ANNOUNCEMENT listing the official selections along with the complete creative ensembles, 2005 jury members and Moments of Significance can also be found at: http://www.AFI.com/tvevents/awards05

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