IndependentFilm.com

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Hollywood screenwriter, producer, and director Oliver Stone to be honored by the Hollywood Fest with the "Hollywood Director of the Year Award." A celebratory retrospective of his films, followed by "A Conversation With" the auteur and his guests, will be showcased during the festival. Films include "Salvador," "Platoon," "Born on the Fourth of July," and "World Trade Center."

The 10th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards, co-chaired by Paula Wagner and presented by STARZ, will honor Oscar-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone with its "Hollywood Director of the Year Award." The award will be bestowed upon Oliver Stone as part of the Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony on Monday evening, October 23, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

In addition, the Hollywood Film Festival will present a celebratory retrospective of some of Oliver Stone's films, followed by "A Conversation With" the filmmaker and his guests. On Saturday, October 21, the festival will screen "Salvador" and "Born on the Fourth of July," both followed by "A Conversation With" Oliver Stone and guests. On Sunday, October 22, "Platoon" and "World Trade Center" will be screened, again accompanied by "A Conversation With" Oliver Stone and guests.

To get screening tickets go to http://www.arclightcinemas.com/

The announcement was made today by Carlos de Abreu, Founder and Executive Director of the Hollywood Film Festival. "Oliver Stone's career exemplifies extraordinary ability, craftsmanship, and determination. He is an excellent example of a highly talented filmmaker whose work and creative vision are to be honored," said de Abreu.

Oliver Stone has won Oscars for directing "Born on the Fourth of July" and "Platoon," and for writing "Midnight Express." He also received Academy Award nominations for directing "JFK" and co-writing "Nixon." He has also won three Golden Globes for directing ("Platoon," "Born on the Fourth of July," and "JFK") and one for writing ("Midnight Express"). Most recently, he directed Paramount's "World Trade Center." He has also directed "Alexander," "Any Given Sunday," "U-Turn," "Nixon," "Natural Born Killers," "Heaven and Earth," "The Doors," "Talk Radio," "Wall Street," "Salvador," "The Hand," and "Seizure." He has written or co-written all of the above with the exception of "U-Turn" and "World Trade Center," in addition to writing or co-writing "Scarface," "Conan the Barbarian," "Year of the Dragon," "Evita," and "8 Million Ways to Die."

Oliver Stone has also directed three documentaries -- "Looking for Fidel," "Comandante," and "Persona Non Grata." He has produced or co-produced "The People vs. Larry Flynt," "The Joy Luck Club," "Reversal of Fortune," "Savior," "Freeway," "South Central," "Zebrahead," and "Blue Steel," and the ABC miniseries "Wild Palms." An Emmy was given to him and his co-producer for the HBO film "Indictment: The McMartin Trial."

Oliver Stone wrote the novel "A Child's Night Dream" (St. Martin's Press, 1997), based on his experiences as a young man. He is also a contributor of some 200 pages of essays on movies, culture, politics, and history to the book "Oliver Stone's USA," edited by Robert Brent Toplin and published by the University Press of Kansas (2000)

Prior to his film career, Mr. Stone worked as a schoolteacher in Vietnam, a merchant marine sailor, a taxi driver, a messenger, a production assistant, and a sales representative. He served in the U.S. Army Infantry in Vietnam in 1967-68. He was wounded twice and decorated with the Bronze Star for Valor. After returning from Vietnam, he completed his undergraduate studies at New York University Film School in 1971.

This year's industry professionals who will be honored for their achievements at the Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony include Sony Pictures Classics' co-Presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard for leadership; the Film Foundation for film preservation; Robin Williams for career achievement; Oliver Stone for directing; Mike Medavoy for producing; Forest Whitaker, Penelope Cruz, Ben Affleck, and Sandra Bullock for acting, the cast of "Bobby" (Harry Belafonte, Joy Bryant, Nick Cannon, Emilio Estevez, Laurence Fishburne, Brian Geraghty, Heather Graham, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Hunt, Joshua Jackson, David Krumholtz, Ashton Kutcher, Shia LaBeouf, Lindsay Lohan, William H. Macy, Svetlana Metkina, Demi Moore, Freddy Rodriguez, Martin Sheen, Christian Slater, Sharon Stone, Jacob Vargas, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Elijah Wood) for ensemble acting; Eric Roth for screenwriting; Vilmos Zsigmond for cinematography; Joel Cox for editing; Gustavo Santaolalla for film composing; John Myhre for production design; Penny Rose for costume design; Kris Evans for make-up; John Knoll for visual effects; Disney/Pixar's "Cars," directed by John Lasseter, for animation; and Francine Maisler for casting. In addition, Derek Luke and Lindsay Lohan will be honored with the festival's Breakthrough Actor and Actress awards, and Ryan Murphy with the "Hollywood Breakthrough Director of the Year Award."

The 2006 Annual Hollywood Film Festival will take place from October 18 to 23. The festival's screenings take place at ArcLight Theatres in Hollywood. Its Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Monday, October 23.

Starz Entertainment Group LLC (SEG) is a premium movie service provider operating in the United States. SEG offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz and Encore brands with approximately 14 million and 26 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment Group airs more than 1,000 movies per month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HDTV, Starz On Demand and Vongo(SM). Starz Entertainment Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, www.starz.com.

Source: Hollywood Film Festival

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

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

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