John Travolta to Receive Hollywood Supporting Actor of the Year Award at Hollywood Film Festival's 11th Annual Hollywood Awards Presentation October 22

John Travolta to Receive Hollywood Supporting Actor of the Year Award at Hollywood Film Festival's 11th Annual Hollywood Awards Presentation October 22

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Sept. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Hollywood Film Festival(R) and Hollywood Awards(R), presented by Starz, announce that actor John Travolta will receive the Hollywood Film Festival's "Hollywood Supporting Actor of the Year Award" at the Festival's October 22 awards ceremony.

John Travolta's selection was determined by his remarkable performance as Edna Turnblad in Adam Shankman's musical comedy "Hairspray," a role first made famous by Divine in John Waters' 1988 classic, and subsequently introduced in the Broadway musical by Harvey Fierstein in 2002.

"Hairspray" is the story of Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, who has only one passion -- dancing. And, when big hair meets big dreams, anything can happen. New Line Cinema released "Hairspray" on June 20, garnering the largest opening weekend gross ever for a musical film.

"We are honored that John Travolta will be the recipient of this year's 'Hollywood Supporting Actor of the Year Award.' His superb performance in 'Hairspray' should be acknowledged and enjoyed by the established film industry as well as the public at large," said the Festival's executive director Carlos de Abreu.

The award will be presented to Travolta during the Festival's black-tie awards ceremony banquet before a gathering of 1,200 industry and guild executives, stars, celebrities, filmmakers and members of the media in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

The Hollywood Awards(R) other honorees include actor Richard Gere (The Hoax), supporting actress Jennifer Connelly (Reservation Road), breakthrough director Ben Affleck (Gone, Baby, Gone), producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan (Hairspray and The Bucket List), screenwriter Christopher Hampton (Atonement), breakthrough actor Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), breakthrough actress Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose), the ensemble cast of "Hairspray" (Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, Christopher Walken, Zac Efron, Brittany Snow, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Elijah Kelley, Allison Janney and Nikki Blonsky), director Brad Bird (Ratatouille), film composer Mark Isham (Reservation Road, Lions for Lambs), cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt (Charlie Wilson's War), editor Joe Hutshing (Lions for Lambs), production designer Dante Ferretti (Sweeney Todd) and visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar (Transformers).

In a career that spans three decades, John Travolta has distinguished himself in film, stage and television performances and is undoubtedly one of the most prolific actors of our time. He has demonstrated his versatility in a string of successful comedy, drama, action and musical roles.

First coming to national prominence in the TV sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter," Travolta catapulted to superstardom in the film "Saturday Night Fever." He has been honored twice with Academy Award nominations, most recently for his portrayal of a philosophical hitman in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction." He earned his first Oscar nomination for his role in the blockbuster "Saturday Night Fever," which launched the disco phenomenon of the late 1970s. Travolta won a Golden Globe award for his performance as a Mafioso-turned-movie producer in the hit comedy "Get Shorty," the Alan J. Pakula Award from the U.S. Broadcast Critics Association for his performance in "A Civil Action," and a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in "Primary Colors," directed by Mike Nichols and co-starring Emma Thompson and Billy Bob Thornton.

After his success in "Saturday Night Fever," Travolta went on to star in "Grease" and the highly successful "Urban Cowboy." Other film credits include the Brian DePalma thrillers "Carrie" and "Blow Out," as well as Amy Heckerling's hit comedy "Look Who's Talking."

Travolta starred in "Phenomenon" and in John Woo's action thriller "Broken Arrow." He also starred in "Face/Off" opposite Nicolas Cage, "The General's Daughter" co-starring Madeleine Stowe, and in John McTiernan's "Basic." John Travolta has also starred in "Domestic Disturbance," directed by Harold Becker, "Swordfish," directed by Dominic Sena, and the hit comedy "Michael," directed by Nora Ephron.

Most recently, John Travolta has starred opposite Joaquin Phoenix in "Ladder 49," in "The Punisher" co-starring Thomas Jane, in "A Love Song for Bobby Long" co-starring Scarlett Johansson, in "Be Cool," co-starring Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel and Danny DeVito, in "Lonely Hearts" opposite James Gandolfini, Jared Leto, and Selma Hayek, and in the comedy "Wild Hogs" opposite Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy.

The 2007 Annual Hollywood Film Festival(R) will take place from October 17 to 22. The Festival's screenings take place at ArcLight Theatres in Hollywood. Its Hollywood Awards(R) Gala Ceremony will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Monday, October 22.

According to the "New York Times," the Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards are "the first mandatory stop in the awards season." In the last 4 years, a total of 54 Oscar(R) nominations and 12 Oscars(R) were given to films the festival showcased and to the nominees and honorees of the Hollywood Film Festival(R) and Hollywood Awards(R).

The festival and awards presenter is Starz Entertainment, LLC, a premium movie service provider operating in the United States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz and Encore brands with approximately 15.8 million and 28.2 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies per month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Starz On Demand and Vongo(SM). Starz Entertainment (http://www.starz.com/) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation that is attributed to Liberty Capital Group.

Source: Hollywood Film Festival

CONTACT: Hollywood Film Festival, +1-310-288-1882,
festival@hollywoodawards.com

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

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Profile: International Entertainment