Professional Motion Picture Production and Distribution NEWS
Morgan Freeman to Receive 39th AFI Life Achievement Award
By Staff
posted Oct 12, 2010, 19:17
"Morgan Freeman is an American treasure," said Stringer. "Across decades, whether playing a prisoner, a president or God, he embodies a calm authority that demands respect for the character and for the art form. His gifts to the cultural record are also underscored by his unmistakable voice that echoes through the hearts and minds of movie lovers around the world..."
America's Highest Honor for a Career in Film to be Presented June 9, 2011
(LOS ANGELES) Morgan Freeman has been selected by the American Film Institute's
(AFI) Board of Trustees to receive the 39th AFI Life Achievement Award, the
highest honor for a career in film, it was announced today by Sir Howard Stringer,
Chair of the AFI Board of Trustees.
The award will be presented to Freeman at a gala tribute on Thursday, June
9, 2011 in Los Angeles, CA. TV Land will broadcast the 39th AFI Life Achievement
Award tribute on TV Land PRIME later in June 2011.
"Morgan Freeman is an American treasure," said Stringer. "Across
decades, whether playing a prisoner, a president or God, he embodies a calm
authority that demands respect for the character and for the art form. His gifts
to the cultural record are also underscored by his unmistakable voice that echoes
through the hearts and minds of movie lovers around the world. AFI is proud
to present him with its 39th Life Achievement Award."
Last year's AFI Tribute to Mike Nichols brought together the film community
in unprecedented fashion, including Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Candice Bergen,
Cher, Michael Douglas, Nora Ephron, Calista Flockhart, Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks,
Dustin Hoffman, Eric Idle, Shirley MacLaine, Elaine May, Jack Nicholson, Mary
Louise Parker, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Meryl Streep, Emma
Thompson, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Williams and a special musical performance
by Simon and Garfunkel.
About Morgan Freeman
Academy Award®-winning actor Morgan Freeman is one of the most recognizable
figures in American cinema. His works are among the most critically and commercially
successful films of all time and Freeman himself ranks 10th among worldwide
top-grossing actors of all time. His films have earned over $3 billion in cumulative
ticket sales. Whether a role requires an air of gravitas; a playful smile, twinkle
of the eye or a world-weary, yet insightful soul, Freeman's ability to delve
to the core of a character and infuse it with a quiet dignity has resulted in
some of the most memorable portrayals ever recorded on film.
Freeman won the Academy Award® in 2005 for Best Supporting Actor for his
role in "Million Dollar Baby." In 1990 he won the Golden Globe for
Best Actor for his performance in "Driving Miss Daisy." Freeman also
received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for Best Supporting Actor for "Street
Smart" and in 1994 for Best Actor for "The Shawshank Redemption."
In 2000 Freeman was honored with the Hollywood Actor Award from the Hollywood
Film Festival. Eight years later he received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor
for his distinguished acting.
In 2010 he received an Academy Award® nomination, a Golden Globe nomination
and a Broadcast Critics Association nomination for his performance as Nelson
Mandela in the acclaimed film "Invictus." He also won the National
Board of Review award for Best Actor and was the film's executive producer.
The picture was produced by Revelations Entertainment, the company he co-founded
in 1996 with a mission to produce films that enlighten, express heart, and glorify
the human experience. Other Revelations features include "Levity,"
"Under Suspicion," "Mutiny," "Bopha!", "Along
Came a Spider," "Feast of Love," "10 Items or Less"
and "Maiden Heist."
Freeman's credits include Summit Entertainment's comedic espionage thriller
"Red," "The Dark Knight," "The Bucket List," "Glory,"
"Clean and Sober," "Lean on Me," "Robin Hood: Prince
of Thieves," "Unforgiven," "Se7en," "Kiss the
Girls," "Amistad," "Deep Impact," "Nurse Betty,"
"The Sum of All Fears," "Bruce Almighty, "Nurse Betty,"
"Coriolanus," "Attica," "Brubaker," "Eyewitness,"
"Death of a Prophet" and "Along Came a Spider." He also
narrated two Academy Award® documentaries "The Long Way Home"
and "The March of The Penguins." His next film "Dolphin's Tale"
begins production in the fall of 2010.
After beginning his acting career on the off-Broadway stage productions of
"The Niggerlovers" and the all- African-American production of "Hello
Dolly", Freeman segued into television. Many people grew up watching him
on the long-running Children's Television Workshop classic "The Electric
Company", where he played several recurring characters. Looking for his
next challenge, he set his sights on both The Great White Way and silver screen
simultaneously and quickly began to fill his resume with memorable performances.
In 1978 Freeman won a Drama Desk Award his role as Zeke in "The Mighty
Gents." He also received a Tony Nomination for Best Performance by a Featured
Actor.
His stage work continued to earn him accolades and awards, including Obie Awards
in 1980, 1984 and 1987 and a second Drama Desk Nomination in 1987 for the role
of Hoke Colburn which he created for the Alfred Uhry play "Driving Miss
Daisy" and reprised in the 1989 movie of the same name.
In his spare time, Freeman loves the freedom of both sea and sky; he is a long-time
sailor and has earned a private pilot's license. He also has a love for the
blues and seeks to keep it in the forefront through his Ground Zero club in
Clarksville, Mississippi, the birthplace of the blues. In 1973 he co-founded
the Frank Silvera Writers' Workshop, now in its 37th season. The workshop seeks
to serve successful playwrights of the new millennium. He is a member of the
Board of Directors of Earth Biofuels, a company whose mission is to promote
the use of clean-burning fuels. He also supports Artists for a New South Africa
and the Campaign for Female Education.
Resources:
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