Sandra Bullock To Be Honored With The Hollywood Actress Award At The 17th Annual Hollywood Film Awards

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Sept. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Carlos de Abreu, founder and executive producer of the 17th Annual Hollywood Film Awards, announced today that Academy Award^®-winning actress Sandra Bullock will be honored with this year's Hollywood Actress Award for her riveting performance in Alfonso Cuaron's acclaimed dramatic thriller "Gravity."  The award will be bestowed at the Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony on Monday evening, October 21, 2013 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

"We are honored to present the Hollywood Actress Award to Sandra Bullock for her outstanding work in 'Gravity,'" said de Abreu.  "Holding the screen alone for a large part of the film, she delivers a stunning and emotionally layered performance that shows once again why she is one of Hollywood's most respected and popular actresses."

Sandra Bullock won an Oscar^® for Best Actress for her performance in the true-life drama "The Blind Side," for which she also took home Critics' Choice, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards.  In addition, she has been Golden Globe-nominated for Best Actress for her work in the comedies "The Proposal," "Miss Congeniality" and "While You Were Sleeping."  She more recently starred in the smash hit comedy "Heat" and the Oscar^®-nominated drama "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close."  Bullock has also earned plaudits for her memorable roles in such diverse films as "Infamous," "Crash," "Two Weeks' Notice," "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," "28 Days," "Practical Magic," "Hope Floats," "The Net," and "Speed," among many others.

"Gravity" is a heart-pounding thriller set in the infinite and unforgiving realm of deep space.  Dr. Ryan Stone (Bullock) is a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) in command.  But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes.  The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalski completely alone—tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth…and any chance for rescue.  As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left.  But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

The film was written by Alfonso Cuaron & Jonas Cuaron, and produced by Alfonso Cuaron and David Heyman.  Chris deFaria, Nikki Penny and Stephen Jones served as executive producers.

The Hollywood Film Awards honors cherished stars, filmmakers and up-and-coming talent, and traditionally kicks off the film awards season with the biggest stars and top industry executives in attendance.

Last year's awards show received more than 41 million media impressions, in addition to more than 300 million online and print readers' impressions.

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ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD FILM AWARDS®
The Hollywood Film Awards® founded in 1997 were created to celebrate Hollywood and launch the awards season. The recipients of the awards are selected by an Advisory team for their body of work and/or a film(s) that is to be released during the calendar year. In the last ten years, a total of 96 Oscar® nominations and 34 Oscars® were given to the honorees of the Hollywood Film Awards. For additional information, visit: www.hollywoodawards.com.

SOURCE The Hollywood Film Awards