Ralph Fiennes and David Cronenberg are to receive lifetime achievement awards at the London Film Festival, organizers said Tuesday.
Fiennes will receive a British Film Institute Fellowship in recognition of “a singular career” that has blended arthouse dramas and mainstream hits.
Fiennes — who plays evil Lord Voldemort in “Harry Potter” series — said he was “extremely honored and delighted” by the award.
Fiennes’ directorial debut, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus,” will screen during the Oct. 12-27 festival.
Cronenberg, the director of “Videodrome,” ”The Fly” and “Crash,” will receive the same honor in recognition of films “exploring the darker impulses and inner lives of his characters.”
Cronenberg said he was thrilled to be the first Canadian to receive the award.
“British cinema has been a potent inspiration for me, and to be associated with this particular group of filmmakers is tremendously exhilarating,” he said.
The pair are due to receive the prizes at the London Film Festival awards on Oct. 26.
Previous BFI fellows include “Slumdog Millionaire” director Danny Boyle and actor John Hurt.
Organizers also announced a shortlist for the festival’s best film prize. The nine finalists, selected by artistic director Sandra Hebron, include French silent movie “The Artist”; Aleksandr Sokurov’s Venice Film festival winner “Faust”; British director Steve McQueen’s body- and soul-baring “Shame”; and Lynne Ramsay’s high school massacre drama “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”
Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants,” which stars George Clooney as a neglectful father of two daughters whose wife falls into a coma, is the only American film among the finalists.
The winner will be chosen by a panel that includes “Shakespeare in Love” director John Madden, actress Gillian Anderson and artist/director Sam Taylor Wood.
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More