Legendary actor Morgan Freeman to be honored with the 39th AFI Life Achievement Award
Clint Eastwood, Helen Mirren, Sidney Poitier, among actors to attend ceremony
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—AFI and TV Land announced today that Clint Eastwood, Helen Mirren, Sidney Poitier, Mike Nichols, Matthew Broderick and Rita Moreno are among the luminaries in film who will pay tribute to Morgan Freeman, the 39th AFI Life Achievement Award recipient. AFI will present its highest honor for a career in film to Freeman in Los Angeles at the Sony Pictures Studios. “TV Land Presents: The AFI Life Achievement Award Honoring Morgan Freeman” will air on TV Land on Sunday, June 19, 2011 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Clint Eastwood, who received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1996, has worked with Morgan Freeman many times over the years with extraordinary results, in films such as “Unforgiven,” the Oscar®-winning “Million Dollar Baby” and “Invictus.”
Sidney Poitier is one of Freeman’s biggest inspirations. In 1992, Freeman spoke at Poitier’s AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony, where he said, “Every man has his own heaven and for me, heaven has always been being in the movies, and always in my heaven...I had one bright light...Sidney Poitier.” Freeman will now share this accolade and a little slice of heaven with Poitier. Both actors took on the challenging task of playing former South African president, Nelson Mandela—Poitier in the television movie, “Mandela and de Klerk,” and Freeman on the big screen in “Invictus.”
Mike Nichols, who received the AFI Life Achievement Award last year, directed Freeman on Broadway in “The Country Girl” (2008).
Helen Mirren most recently worked with Freeman in the 2010 film, “Red,” which also co-starred Bruce Willis and Mary-Louise Parker.
Rita Moreno co-starred alongside Freeman in PBS’s “The Electric Company,” which was Freeman’s breakout role in television. The highly regarded children’s educational program won several Emmy® Awards during its broadcast run.
Matthew Broderick worked with Freeman in “Glory,” which was directed by Ed Zwick, produced by Pieter Jan Brugge and edited by Steven Rosenblum—all three are AFI Conservatory alumni.
Rosenblum will receive the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal, awarded annually to an alumnus of AFI who best embodies talent, taste, dedication and commitment to quality filmmaking, as part of the Freeman gala.
The black-tie event will take place on historic Stage 15 at Sony Pictures Studios, where “The Wizard of Oz,” “Grand Hotel,” “Spiderman” and other classic movies were filmed. The stage will be transformed into an elegant ballroom to honor the storied career of Morgan Freeman. Proceeds from the AFI Life Achievement Award Gala directly support the Institute’s national educational programs and the preservation of American film history.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman will receive the American Film Institute's 39th Life Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed by the organization honoring a career in the film industry, the group announced today.
"Morgan Freeman is an American treasure,'' said Howard Stringer, chairman of the AFI board of trustees." 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.
LOS ANGELES - The inaugural Museum of Tolerance International Film Festival will be held Nov. 13-18 in Los Angeles, with Clint Eastwood to receive the top honor, the museum announced.
Films "from around the globe that shine a light on human rights issues both past and present'' will be screened at the museum's three theaters, including the 300-seat Peltz Theatre.
Morgan Freeman and Angela Bassett star in a roller-coaster ride of a movie—“Olympus Has Fallen”—in theaters Friday. Olympus is a code name for the White House, and it looks as if terrorists have managed to kidnap the president and take over the White House. Just saying it is such an understatement. When you see the movie, you’ll understand why I’m writing this, because the takeover is mind-blowing. Of course, it would have to be, we’re talking the White House.
People around the world were praying for the health of former South African President Nelson Mandela as he remained hospitalized since last weekend for a lung infection.
Widespread reports say the 94-year-old justice icon was doing well, but the Associated Press described worshipers at Soweto’s Regina Mundi Catholic Church on Sunday as praying for the Nobel Laureate, a symbol of freedom and democracy around the world. The church “once served as a major rallying point for anti-apartheid activists,” the Associated Press reported.
In 1921, Los Angeles was a young city trying to carve out its place in a world that was rapidly industrializing. It was also a mecca for people of different races, ethnicities and visions.
That included African Americans who left the South in droves seeking a life free of segregation, racism and bigotry. Unfortunately, some of the Whites who perpetuated those ideas and practices also moved West, and Blacks formed organizations in order to fight for their rights.
