Los Angeles Times To Be Presenting Sponsor For 2012 Hollywood Film Festival And Hollywood Film Awards

The 16th Annual Hollywood Film Festival begins October 18 at ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood; Hollywood Film Awards to take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 22

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Hollywood Network Inc.

Aug 29, 2012, 08:00 ET

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Aug. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Entering their sixteenth year, the Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards announced today that the Los Angeles Times will be the Presenting Sponsor of this year's festival and star-studded gala.

"We are very honored and excited to have the Los Angeles Times as our Presenting Sponsor," said founder and CEO Carlos de Abreu. "The Times is a Hollywood institution, and their support and leadership will help take the festival and awards to the next level."

The festival, which starts October 18, encompasses five days of screenings at ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood and culminates with the prestigious Hollywood Film Awards Gala on October 22. The event honors cherished stars and up-and-coming talent, and traditionally kicks off the film awards season with the biggest stars and top industry executives in attendance. Times publisher and Tribune Company CEO Eddy Hartenstein will present one of the evening's special awards, with details to be announced next month.

"The Los Angeles Times is Hollywood's hometown news source and we have been at the forefront of entertainment coverage since trailblazing filmmakers and producers invented the industry," said Times Vice President, Film Advertising, Francie Berns. "We're excited to present the first marquee event of the all-important film awards season and support the creative community."

"We are very proud to be the first stop of the awards season. In the last nine years, a total of 85 Oscar nominations and 32 Oscars were given to the honorees of the Hollywood Film Awards," said de Abreu.

The 2011 awards show reached a total TV audience of more than 41 million media impressions, in addition to more than 300 million online and print readers' impressions.

"In addition, we are very happy to continue to bridge the gap between established Hollywood and emerging filmmakers. Craig Brewer, director of "Footloose," "Hustle and Flow," and "Black Snake Moan," was discovered by the Hollywood Film Festival with the world premiere of his first film, "Poor and Hungry," added de Abreu.

Aside from celebrating accomplishments on screen, the Hollywood Film Awards established the "Hollywood Gives Back" program to expand and continue highlighting and assisting important local and national charities to raise funds. Over the years, the Hollywood Film Awards has contributed to such charities as the following: The Art of Elysium, Artists For Human Rights, Artists for Peace and Justice, MatchingDonors.com, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, the Enough Project, and Variety The Children's Charity of So. CA, among others.

Further, the Hollywood Film Awards selects individuals to be recipients of their "Hollywood Humanitarian Awards" in recognition of their contribution to the betterment of their communities or society at large. Prior recipients include Nobel Peace Prize winner and ex-President of East Timor, Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta, Nobel Laureate Jody Williams, Father Rick Frechette, and actor and activist Sean Penn.

The Hollywood Film Awards Gala ceremony draws more than 1,100 attendees, including such A-list celebrities and stars as Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Christian Bale, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, Kristin Scott Thomas, Berenice Bejo, Annette Bening, Halle Berry, Orlando Bloom, Josh Brolin, Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Glenn Close, Jennifer Connelly, Cameron Crowe, Russell Crowe, Penelope Cruz, Billy Crystal, Ted Danson, Viola Davis, Benicio Del Toro, Robert De Niro, Danny DeVito, Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr., Jean Dujardin, Clint Eastwood, Elle Fanning, Colin Farrell, Will Ferrell, Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Richard Gere, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Anne Hathaway, Goldie Hawn, Amber Heard, Jonah Hill, Julianne Hough, Dustin Hoffman, Anthony Hopkins, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ron Howard, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Janet Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Angelina Jolie, Felicity Jones, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Diane Keaton, Nicole Kidman, Greg Kinnear, Diane Lane, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ray Liotta, Lucy Liu, George Lucas, Michael Mann, Matthew McConaughey, Ewan McGregor, Mike Myers, Christopher Nolan, Ellen Page, Joaquin Phoenix, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, Sydney Pollack, Keanu Reeves, Andrea Riseborough, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Martin Scorsese, Will Smith, Octavia Spencer, Steven Spielberg, Mary Steenburgen, Emma Stone, Oliver Stone, Sharon Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Charlize Theron, Marisa Tomei, Robert Towne, John Travolta, Cicely Tyson, Naomi Watts, Harvey Weinstein, Forest Whitaker, Michelle Williams, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Shailene Woodley, Anton Yelchin, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, among many others.

ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL
The festival was created to bridge the gap between established Hollywood and the global creative community, as well as discovering embryonic filmmakers. This year will be our 16th anniversary and the Hollywood Film Festival will take place from Oct 18 to 22, 2012, at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood. "The ultimate networking opportunity for filmmakers looking for a break," says Variety. Some of our film finalists have been acquired by HBO, Miramax, IFC, and Starz, among other distributors, and filmmakers have secured agents, managers, and jobs. One of our winners, Craig Brewer (director of "Hustle and Flow," "Black Snake Moan" and "Footloose"), was discovered by the Hollywood Film Festival(r) with the world premiere of his first film "Poor and Hungry."

ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD FILM AWARDS
The Hollywood Film Awards were created to honor excellence in the art of filmmaking, both in front of and behind the camera, and launch the awards season. Last year alone, our recipients received 12 nominations and 5 Oscars. In the last 9 years, a total of 85 Oscar nominations and 32 Oscars were given to our honorees. The awards are bestowed at a GALA ceremony that takes place at the prestigious Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

For more information go to http://www.hollywoodfilmawards.com

SOURCE Hollywood Network Inc.